The Chapman family is busy preparing for their first Christmas without the late Beth Chapman. According to Duane “Dog” Chapman, the family is trying their best to keep Beth’s memory alive during the holiday season.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, published on Dec. 19, the reality star detailed how and where his family would be spending Christmas this year.
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“For the holidays, probably half of us, including me, will be in Colorado, and then the other half is in Hawaii, and of course Leland is in Alabama,” he told ET. “So this year, everybody’s all spread out.”
He then went on to explain exactly how they’re keeping Beth’s memory alive during the holiday.
“Beth was old style, old-fashioned. So, you know, that means the tree and the presents. All the stockings hung up… so I’m trying to keep that exact tradition,” he said. “I’ve got it all decorated. All the stockings are hung. We always left — when the kids were young — cookies for Santa, and I think I’ll do that this year also.”
“Every little ball that’s on the tree, every ornament, you know, there’s 20 years plus of ornaments on that tree, so as I hung [them], I remembered where and when we bought each one,” the Dog the Bounty Hunter star added.
If that wasn’t enough to leave you a little emotional, Duane went on to say that Beth’s daughters are especially feeling the loss during the holiday season, as they always got into the Christmas spirit with their mom.
“Beth knew every single [Christmas song], and she made us all listen to Christmas songs like two weeks before Christmas. As we decorated the tree, she’d put on Christmas songs. Every night before we went to bed she’d put them on,” Duane continued to tell ET. “So I think the girls are taking it the hardest without being able to sing with mom.”
Duane’s interview comes about six months after Beth passed away. In June, it was reported that the reality star had died from cancer. She was 51 years old.
Duane confirmed the sorrowful news on Twitter, writing that his wife had passed away in Hawaii.
“It’s 5:32 in Hawaii, this is the time she would wake up to go hike Koko Head mountain,” he wrote on social media. “Only today, she hiked the stairway to heaven. We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side.”
