Grief Gift Ideas: 9 Bereavement Gift Ideas to Make Them Smile.
If someone you love is going through a difficult time when facing the loss of a loved one, you might be looking for a way to cheer them up. These are the best grief gift ideas to help you do just that.
It’s absolutely heartbreaking to watch a loved one suffer with grief.
You can find yourself feeling at a loss.
What do you say? What do you do? How can you possibly help?
While grief is undoubtedly a process that you can’t shortcut (especially not on someone else’s behalf), unfortunately, there are things you can do to help get through this tough time.
One of those things is sending a gift.
It’s such a small thing in the long run, but sending a gift to a friend who is grieving and in pain is a special way to help them feel like they’re not alone in the grieving process.
It won’t take away their pain, but the right gift can help with the healing process and at least they know they have someone to feel it with them, and that can make all the difference.
That’s why I put this list together of the best sympathy gift ideas in order to help you know how best to show your support, no matter what your budget might look like.
Best Grief Gift Ideas To Show Your Support
Memento Box
There are all kinds of mementos that come up when someone dies. This is a great memorial gift.
There are the things that your loved one may have collected over time like ticket stubs and photos. Then there are also things like funeral programs, military medals that were passed down at the time of their death, and other memorabilia.
The problem is when you don’t know where to put those things to keep them safe.
Enter: a memento box.
Beyond Flowers and Food has a high-quality, beautiful memento box available that’s made from natural wood and bone.
A memento box keeps all those keepsakes safe and protected. It also gives the recipient a place to come and look through those things when they would like to feel close to the person they’ve lost.
There are other companies that make memento boxes, remembrance gift, and keepsake boxes, but one advantage of this company is that they specialize in grief gift ideas. That means they’ll send the gift to the recipient thoughtfully wrapped with a customized special message from the sender.
No matter where you go, though, a keepsake or memento box is a great bereavement gift for a grieving friend.
You can learn more about this Memento Box here…
Wind Chime
A memorial wind chime is a great gift idea because of its sensory nature. Every time you hear it chime, it can help you remember your loved one and connect it to a positive sensation.
I received one when my dad passed and it makes me feel like he’s right there with me every time the wind blows.
It will never take the place of my dad, but it helps me to have an uplifting reminder of him that I can hear every day! The chime always makes me smile.
It will never take the place of my dad, but it helps me to have an uplifting reminder of him that I can hear every day! The chime always makes me smile.
Beyond Flowers and Food has a beautiful seaglass-look wind chime: They also add an extra personal touch by sending each gift with a personalized message from you.
But you can also find more unique ones, like this one with colorful birds, or this beautiful Memorial Windchime from Amazon and there are others that can have more to do with an interest of the loved one who has passed.
Whatever you choose, a wind chime can be a great grief gift idea for someone who is grieving.
Candle/Lantern
On the topic of sensory gifts, candles are another great grief gift idea.
Not only do they give off a nice, peaceful light, but they can also have a nice scent, depending on the one you choose, of course.
This lantern is a gorgeous addition to any home decor and can be used with any candle in the center. That makes it not only a thoughtful bereavement gift, but also a long-lasting, reusable one.
Yankee Candle offers personalized jar candles for just $5. You can add whatever photo you like to any of their delightfully-scented candles. And those candles smell totally amazing!
Memorial Jewelry
Jewelry is a great choice to help a loved one dealing with grief because it can be worn, touched, played with, and offers a “physical presence.” That can be a really comforting and thoughtful way to respond.
Best of all, there are all kinds of affordable jewelry options that are great bereavement gift ideas, depending on what you think your loved one will like.
For instance, there are prayer beads said to contain healing energy. Whatever you think of that theory, it couldn’t hurt! Maybe it would even be a great option paired with an aromatherapy candle.
There are also simple yet beautiful necklaces like this one which come gift packaged with a thoughtful sentiment. If you’re looking for a sentiment to match a specific type of loss (loss of a mother, loss of a spouse, etc,) you can find ones specifically for those.
Cozy Blanket
Anything that can help increase the comfort of the person facing grief can help a lot, and that’s especially true of something they can wrap around themselves.
If you’re a noted quilter, you’ve probably already crossed this bridge, but if you’re not, there are plenty of other options out there.
If you’re dying to DIY a blanket, a simple tied fleece blanket can be a great option. Best of all, it’s no-sew!
However, if you’re not so into DIY, that’s okay, too.
For instance, there are these cozy throw blankets that come in a ridiculous assortment of colors, each as snuggly and as gorgeous as the last.
Weighted blankets are also a unique gift, as they’re proven to help the recipient relax and get better sleep than they would otherwise, which can be a real struggle when you’re grieving. They’ve become so popular you can find them almost anywhere including places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart, including ones with kids’ patterns like this fire truck one.
But there are also brands which specialize in weighted blankets and have been doing so for a long time, like Gravity Blankets, if you’re concerned about getting something as high quality as possible.
Living Plant Kit
While flowers are nice and thoughtful to be sure, it can be a little bit of a bummer when they inevitably wilt.
The solution to this? A living plant or a memorial garden.
This is especially thoughtful for someone who is already an avid gardener and wants to create a special place, but don’t count it out for others.
1-800-Flowers offers what they call a Seeds of Life Tree Kit, for instance. This kit allows you to choose one of three trees (maple, oak, or magnolia) along with growing instructions so a tree can be planted in honor of the lost loved one.
There are also smaller-commitment kits, such as these forget-me-not memorial seed packets. These are a good idea for someone with a smaller garden or who rents an apartment. Of course, there are also succulents to consider, which are nearly impossible to kill. It’s nice to give people who are already overwhelmed something they don’t have to worry about neglecting and having to throw away! They can be bought in super cute containers, such as these safari animal succulent planters.
Gift Baskets/Food
This is a classic, almost arguably to the point of being a cliche, but it’s commonly gifted for a reason. It can be super helpful for a grieving family!
If you’re concerned about their meals in a longer-term way, you could also get them a gift certificate or a gift card to a place like What A Crock, which delivers easy-to-prepare and delicious meals. This is a wonderful way to help a person grieving get delicious nutrition even when they have NO energy during their journey.
It’s also sometimes nice to have a thoughtful sympathy gift that’s pre-assembled so you can focus less on the specifics of the gift and more on the giving, especially if you yourself are short on time.
There is no end of options for this, but here are a few ideas for a custom gift.
This gift box with a candle, chocolates, and an easy to care for succulent.
There’s a few soup care package items available from Spoonful of Comfort, which are perfect for the cooler months though they have more than just soup, including cookie decorating kits, coffee packages, and even ones that include things like cookies, fine wine, and a blanket.
Or you can check out Pinterest for an endless list of ideas to DIY a gift box for your loved one!
Books
A book about dealing with grief, especially one that may have helped you personally in the past, can be another great and super thoughtful option.
There are some great choices out there, such as:
- ‘Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief’ by David Kessler
- ‘The Invisible String’ by Patrice Karst
- ‘It’s Ok that You’re Not Ok’ by Megan Devine
I hope this list of grief gift ideas helps give you some good ideas to help your loved one through this difficult time!
I hope this list of grief gift ideas helps give you some good ideas to help your loved one through this difficult time!
P.S. If you have a friend, neighbor, or someone you work with who has been diagnosed with cancer and you want to do something meaningful for the family but you have no idea what to do or how to proceed… The Support Squad Care Kit: 13 Genuine Ways to Help a Family with Cancer is packed full of thoughtful and practical ways that ANYONE can do.
Because when you ask a family with cancer “do you need anything?”, they’ll almost always say no. Why?
- They have NO clue what they need, how you can help, or what would make this any easier for them.
- They’re drowning in this situation trying to manage a complicated, terrifying diagnosis and it’s hard to see anything beyond that.
These are useful ways to help that will give the family the extra support they need without having to figure out a lot of complicated details.
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