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This is our review of the best Gifts for Grieving Parents in 2023.
The loss of a child or baby is a devastating event for most parents. While you can express heartfelt condolences, offering a sympathy gift for grieving parents is another way to show your support. Although flowers are a beautiful gesture, this curated list focuses on items that show considered thoughtfulness.
After extensive review of grief forums and popular online recommendations, we’ve compiled a list of gifts that kept getting suggested by mothers who’ve lost a baby. These sympathy gifts were said to provide a small positive moment during the depths of sadness.
Check for Requests
While you may have the best intentions in sending a sympathy gift, grieving parents often request specific favors. This may be detailed in a funeral notice or invite where guests are asked to donate to charity in lieu of flowers. In many cultures, monetary gifts are customary as it supports the family to fund the service and gives them headspace to grieve.
Meal Delivery or Home-Cooked Food
In the depths of grief, having the strength or appetite to prepare a meal can seem impossible. Where the family also has other children to look after, sending a ready-made lunch or dinner is a great way to show your love. Good home-cooked options include lasagne with salad, comforting chicken soup, or a hearty casserole. A quick and easy idea is to gift a box filled with fresh fruit or vegetables so the fridge is stocked for use.
If you’re not much of a chef yourself or are limited on time, then consider a meal delivery service. Options such as Blue Apron and HelloFresh allow grieving parents to select a suitable dish themselves and the date it can be sent out.
Charitable Donation
If the family has not nominated a charity, you may choose to donate funds to a cause on behalf of grieving parents. This can honor the interests of the passed child (i.e. to a pet refuge if they loved animals), or to an organization that aligns with the circumstances of their death. For example, you can send funds to infant stillbirth foundations as a sympathy gift for mothers who’ve lost a baby.
Stress Less and Self-Care Cards
Give the grieving parents a practical way to mindfully manage their feelings. These cards are endorsed by medical professionals and provide practical coping strategies to those in pain.
Grief Counselling Session
Most people who have faced tragedy will benefit from grief and bereavement therapy. Pre-funding one or a series of sessions is a generous gift to your loved ones, just make sure that you pick a credible provider. There are many effective forms of therapy and you can choose something that aligns with the grieving parents. This should equip them with the tools to cope when it seems impossible.
Personalized Package
This option is a heartwarming gesture that shows how much you care. Think about the grieving parents and their interests – then source a well-sized gift basket to use as a hamper. Some popular neutral options are here or a more classic willow version here.
Fill the basket with things that show consideration. Sample contents can include a favorite coffee or tea blend, healing crystals, gourmet chocolates, bath bombs, or anything heartfelt. A short handwritten note on top expresses your condolences further.
Self-Care Gift Box
If you prefer to send a pre-curated package then there are many options and sizes online. Care packages range from those that are spa-focused to those that are purely snack-based.
Sympathy Notes Jar
After the funeral service is finalized, grieving parents often struggle in the quiet aftermath. With the shock of losing a child becoming a reality, reaching for a sympathy note may provide momentary comfort. This KindNotes Keepsake Jar includes 31 notes that aim to uplift those in pain.
Outsourcing Household Chores
A thoughtful gift for parents is to give them some time back from doing chores while they grieve a loss. If they are comfortable with having help in their home, consider hiring a cleaner or gardener as a once-off service. You can engage a trustworthy local business, or use Amazon Home Services for a variety of tasks.
Sympathy Card with Food Delivery Voucher
This simple but very practical gift is perfect when you’re struggling with what to give someone who lost a baby. Find a beautiful card and handwrite your condolence message – end with a phrase along the lines of, “I know nothing can take the pain away right now, but here’s something small to get you through minute by minute”. Then insert a gift card from a popular meal delivery service such as UberEats, DoorDash, or Grubhub.
Essential Oil
Many on grief forums spoke about the benefits of aromatherapy and research studies have shown promising results. Remedial use of oils for depressive symptoms is becoming more conventional and can promote relaxation.
If the grieving parents already have a diffuser then investing in a quality essential oil to gift (DoTERRA or Plant Therapy) are good options.
Coping With Grief Book
For those who have not faced loss, a book can be a great resource to turn to when the tears won’t stop. Having a reference enables a person to objectively process their feelings and know that their experience is normal. This text by Gary Roe provides useful tips along with coping strategies to use when it all gets too hard.
Grief Journal
Another practical book idea is to gift grieving parents with a grief journal. It not only documents their experience for future reference but also promotes mindfulness in writing.
Weighted Blanket
Using the therapeutic effects of deep pressure stimulation, weighted blankets can promote reduced anxiety and stress. Parents who have lost a child tend to long for sensory touch and embrace. Being swaddled in heavy material may bring much-needed comfort during a tough time.
Celebration of Life Windchime
A windchime is an unobtrusive but beautiful reminder of a lost child or baby who has passed. While also serving as a decorative ornament, the deep tones of the chimes can have an added healing effect. Sound therapy is said to promote relaxation and mental wellbeing.
Book For Siblings About Loss
While gifts for grieving parents may be appreciated, other children may be mourning and trying to process a death too. This text gently guides a child through loss in a considered way. Parents will appreciate that you have thought of their other kids while they may be focused on their own grief.
Bracelet for Dads Who’ve Lost a Baby
While many baby or child loss gifts focus on mothers, this thoughtful gift recognizes the father’s pain. Custom-made with the child’s name or nickname, a leather band is an understated but classic tribute for grieving dads.
Child Loss Necklace
While many baby or child loss gifts focus on mothers, this thoughtful gift recognizes the father’s pain. Custom-made with the child’s name or nickname, a leather band is an understated but classic tribute for grieving dads.
Custom Portrait
If you have access to a photo of the child who has passed, a custom portrait is a touching gift for grieving parents. Consider browsing the many artists on Etsy or similar online vendors for a unique sympathy present.
Angel Candle Holder
Many parents view angels as symbolic of a lost child. This candle holder provides a warm reminder that passed souls are still around.
Memorial Tree Kit
Nature has an underrated healing effect on grief. Grieving parents who have had their child cremated may value seeing their ashes turned into a tree. This gives them the benefit of seeing something grow, in turn with the cycle of life.
