Thoughtful Sympathy Gifts for Loved Ones and Friends
It’s often difficult to know what the best thing to do is when a friend or loved one experiences loss. What we’ve come to realize over the years is that, often, there is not one “right” thing to do — the best thing is to simply show up and love them well. Now, this can look different depending on the person. But a universal way to show up and express your love, support, and care is by giving a gift. So today we’re sharing some incredibly thoughtful ideas from our Sympathy Gift Guide for both adults and children.
Did you know that the red cardinal has long been a symbol of hope in God during times of despair? The beautiful acrylic cardinals and doves from Fig & Dove make such unique yet meaningful sympathy gifts. They would be so pretty hung on a door wreath or to use an ornament during the holidays. Fig and Dove has so many beautiful gifts for all occasions and offers gift wrapping which makes sending long distance gifts very easy.
Sending food to a grieving family is a long held tradition and incredibly helpful. We have several recommendations for sending food long distance on our Sympathy Gift Guide, but one of our go-to sources for beautiful packaging and comforting dinners is Southern Baked Pie. They ship quickly and have several savory and sweet options.
Many of the gifts on our guide are appropriate to send shortly after someone’s passing or even months later. Gifts like Bottle of Tears would be so meaningful memento on a year anniversary of a loved one’s death. Anne Neilson’s coffee table books are one of my most recommended sympathy gifts.
Below you’ll find more gift ideas for adults as well as children. We’ve included gifts both large and small, because different situations call for different gifts. Just remember that the act speaks louder than words. We’ve all experienced loss and hard times — and know just how much it means to receive a small gift and kind words from people we know!
One more thing: don’t forget to include a sympathy note with your gift. You can find our post on Writing a Proper Sympathy Card here.
If you have any gift ideas to share with the DoSayGive community on what to send to a loved one during difficult times, please let us know below!
Lee
