Send Comfort In A Basket

When you learn that someone has died, your first impulse is to send a gift to the deceased’s family in their time of grief, but make sure you know and follow good funeral gift etiquette according to their culture. There is a selection of gifts that you might consider sending to the anguished family that will ease their distress and send the message that your thoughts are with them in their time of hardship.

Food: Perhaps the most welcome gift during a time of bereavement is that of food. Whether you have dinners delivered or drop by with a casserole, the message is that you are thoughtful of the family’s loss. However, be sensitive about intruding on the family’s time when bringing the gift. A short visit of about 15 minutes is suitable to deliver the food and communicate condolences. Proper funeral gift etiquette for food is to send items that require little preparation, such as a sympathy gift basket or a comfort food gift basket. Even if you believe that many people will bring food, your condolence gift basket will last of quite a few weeks without being opened since all the items are shelf stable.

Flowers: The most widespread funeral gift is flowers. Before you send any, find out if there are certain conditions for memoral service flowers depending on the religious association of the deceased. For example, Jewish funeral traditions don’t include flowers while other gifts are considered more appropriate. Others, such as Hindus or Muslims, don’t consider funeral flowers as acceptable, but the gesture may be seen as thoughtful by certain groups. Funeral flowers for a Catholic, LDS or Buddhist funerals are suitable and welcomed. Consult a florist if you have any doubts, they will be well versed in varioustraditions for funerals.

Gifts to Charity: Memorial gifts are a popular practice that allows money that would normally be spent on expensive floral arrangements to be elected for a specific organization, charity or event. Normally, the family will publicize a preferred charity in the funeral announcement and ask for donations in lieu of gifts. Don’t violate funeral gift etiquette by sending flowers if the family has expressly asked not to.

After the Funeral: Funeral gift etiquette too allows friends and family members to send a fruit and cheese gift basket in the days and years following a funeral. A sincere card or memento on the anniversary of the death sends the message that you care about family members and remember their loss. Even visiting with family members a few weeks after the funeral with a meal or a potted plant can have a big impact on the grieving heart.

Funeral gift etiquette suggests that family members send a thank you card for the bereavement gift baskets or services they got during a time of sadness, don’t be offended if you don’t receive one at all or if it arrives several weeks or months after the funeral. When someone is dealing with grief, time can slip by rapidly.