Sympathy Gift Ideas for Offering Your Condolences and Support

When a death is sudden, it’s especially difficult to prepare financially. Whether you want to help with the costs of the funeral and aftermath or your budget is tight, here are some sympathy gift options that are just as practical as they are kind:

• Offer to help write, address and mail thank-you notes to friends and family who sent meals, flowers, cards, gifts or reached out with a phone call.
• Pick up a guestbook, a memory candle, poignant quote and other items they might need for the ceremony.
• Drop off a home-cooked meal or dinner from their favourite restaurant. Check their schedule first to see if they’ll be home and if it’s okay to leave at the door.
• Sign your friend up for a meal subscription box. Figuring out meals when you’re grieving is the last thing you want to do.
• Send restaurant gift cards or combine resources with friends to do one substantial amount from their favourite place or kids’ favourite eatery.
• Set up a meal train service you and others can participate in, so they’ll have many lunches and dinners taken care of.
• Give gift cards for food and grocery delivery services like Instacart, DoorDash and UberEats.
• Offer to pick up their groceries, clean their house, sweep their porch, take out their trashcans or mow their lawn.
• Offer to walk their dog, watch their kids or drive them to an appointment.
• Offer to teach their child how to play a musical instrument or act as a tutor for some of their school lessons.
• Collect a donation for funeral and life expenses from your church or group of friends. Drop off with a gift basket of snacks and mini meals.
• Start a prayer chain with close friends and relatives. Let your friend know who’s lifting them up each day.
• Give a memory trinket box that will help your friend collect keepsakes they can easily organize and store together.
• Crowdsource a community fund for a family who’s experienced the loss of the primary breadwinner, multiple losses or a tragedy due to fire or natural disaster. GoFundMe is a good place to start.

Faith helps many of us get through tough times. If your friend is spiritual or religious, consider sending them a sympathy gift that gives them strength through believing. Here are some faith-based sympathy gift ideas to consider:

• Add a tranquil statue to your friend’s garden. A gentle angel is a reminder of hope and the meaning of life.
• Give an angel figurine that simply says “Love you” or an angel that represents their loved one watching over them. If your friend collects Precious Moments, the Forever in My Heart Angel is a sweet choice.
• Make your own book of comforting quotes that have been a source of support for you, and pass along to your friend.
• Donate to your friend’s church, synagogue or mosque in their loved one’s name.
• Volunteer at a place that the deceased loved: Some examples are a soup kitchen, environmental group, women’s shelter or pet rescue.
• Give a handheld cross for prayer support, made from aged olive wood from the Holy Land and a reminder that God’s love is everywhere.
• Inspire your grieving friend with Bible verses they can change out each day. It's perfect for someone who primarily works at a desk.

Anyone who’s lost a best friend or fur baby knows the intense sorrow that comes with saying good-bye. It’s so important to let our friends see that we care during this painful time when they can’t believe their loyal companion is gone. There are lots of ways to keep their memory alive fur-ever:

• Frame a photo of your friend’s fur-, feather- or fin-baby. Instagram will probably give you lots of options. Take it one step further with a holiday photo ornament.
• Make a list of the things you loved about their pet.
• Give a garden memorial stone to display where your friend’s pet loved to roam. Or if they like personalization, order one with their pet’s name.
• Collect comforting quotes on a secret Pinterest board just for your friend.
• Give a book of pet sympathy quotes that will remind them of their little pal.
• Send a bracelet, cake, cozy blanket or flowers in rainbow colours, symbolizing the peace of the rainbow bridge.
• Give your friend something they can put on their desk, like a dog angel, cat angel or Willow Tree dog figurine.
• Give your friend something to clutch when they’re feeling sad. An inspirational stone fits perfectly in your hand.
• Provide a friend of faith with a vibrant prayer box that reminds us just how happy the rainbow bridge might be.
• Offer to take regular walks with your friend if they’re missing those daily walkies with their pup.

Guys can be hard to shop for, and it doesn’t get any easier when we’re looking for sympathy gifts for the men in our lives. But this challenge of finding a caring gift shouldn’t stop us from showing we care. Here are some sympathy gift ideas:

• Gather comforting snacks in a gift basket based on his favourites and dietary requirements. Can’t drop off in person? Ship a prepackaged one.
• Sign him up for a meal subscription box. This is especially helpful for the non-cook or the man whose partner always prepared meals.
• Give a funny letter or email his loved one wrote to you and share a little slice of the deceased’s personality he might not have seen before. (Of course, keep this classy and don’t send anything that would embarrass him or his loved one.)
• Coordinate a basket of essential supplies, like toilet paper, tissue, paper towels, toiletries, household cleaning supplies and other stuff some men don’t think about. (No offence, guys.)
• Order an engraved, personalized key chain with his loved one’s name.
• Gift cufflinks with his loved one’s initials.
• Ship him sports memorabilia of a team he enjoyed with his loved one.
• Give him something special to wear, like a watch, bracelet or necklace that reminds him of his loved one.
  
• Give an engraved dog tag necklace with the person’s name, a quote or photo.
• Order an elegant writing pen with an engraving of the deceased’s name.
• Get a personalized hammer with his loved one’s name. Perfect for someone whose dad or brother was a handy guy.
• Customize a bottle opener with an engraved toast to the deceased.
• Frame a picture of his partner, mom, dad, sister, son or daughter.
• Offer a rustic sign with the quote “always and forever no matter what.” This is nice for the loss of a spouse.
• Give a sentimental sympathy gift like a desktop figurine, whether he’s lost his dad or a child.

We’re used to getting little gifts for girlfriends but finding sympathy gifts for our best pals isn’t always as simple. If you have a caring friend in your life who needs some extra caring, here are some feminine sympathy gift ideas:

• Pamper her with a massage gift card or prepaid mani/pedi appointment.
• Chip in with your squad and gift her with a grocery delivery gift card.
• Show her you care with something for her home, like a memory candle or a hopeful Bible verse trinket tray.
• Honour her grandparent with an artistic sympathy gift like a loving depiction of a grandma and her grandchild by Ken Sheldon.
• Give a wooden wall cross as a symbol of hope and comfort.
• Remember her beloved sister with a symbol of their relationship.
  
• Tell your friend you love her with a “You are loved” angel or a prayerful angel for her office or home.
• Comfort her with something that represents your friendship. A friends figurine will remind your bestie you’re keeping her close in heart.
• Gift a butterfly symbol, like a butterfly tray or cross. Butterflies are symbolic creatures that represent rebirth and immortality. In Japanese culture, white butterflies are our loved one’s souls trying to connect with us.
• Commit to regularly scheduled online video calls (adult beverages optional).
• Read a book or take up a hobby their loved one was passionate about.

Losing a mother is one of the greatest losses imaginable, so it’s important to be extra sensitive during this time. Bring some comfort to your friend’s heart with these sympathy gift ideas for the loss of a mom:

• Give a huggable or snuggable sympathy gift, like a cozy throw, shawl or a cuddly pillow in the shape of a heart.
• Remember an angelic mom with a mom angel or mother’s love angel figurine that can be displayed on a mantel, bookcase or kitchen counter.
• Give a friend of faith a calming angel to help her through a painful loss.
• Send your friend a keepsake to take with them wherever they go. A quote stone offers comfort in the great beyond.
• Offer to work out with your friend on a regular basis.

Losing a dad can shake us to our core, whether our connection was close or the love went unsaid. Daughters and sons alike need the compassion of their friends when grieving and we can do a lot just by reaching out. Here are some things you can do for those who’ve lost their dad:

• Take your friend to their dad’s favourite restaurant or drop off his favourite takeout meal.
• Ship a specialty food Dad loved, like barbecue, gourmet cookies or a snack assortment.
• Offer to help your friend with things their dad helped with—lawncare, hanging up a picture, an oil change or assistance with grilling his most famous recipe.
• Give a symbol of their dad’s strength and enduring memory with a gift they can look at every day. A peace rock is nice for a desk or to hold during a sad time.

If friends are grieving the loss of their child, it’s important to show them how much you care. It’s very difficult to express how it feels for a son or daughter to die, and only those who’ve experienced it can come close. Listen to your friends and let them know they—and their child—are loved.

• Remember your friend’s sweet baby with something they can look at every day.
  
• Create a gift basket with comforting self-care items like a cozy blanket, tissues, teas, snacks, giving socks, luxurious soaps and something unique like angel wing trinket tray.
• Help your friend gather important keepsakes for their child. A memory box is for the loss of baby, but you can offer a pretty box for any age. Hat boxes or card storage boxes work well.
• Schedule regular calls or coffees with your friend. Listen to them and shower them with empathy.
• Offer a father who’s lost his child a game or movie night or a day out playing golf or listening to music. Think about what will bring him comfort, even how you’d want to be comforted if this were you.
• Commission an artist to sketch a portrait of your friend’s child or get their child’s name professionally lettered by a calligraphist. Add a frame to make it easy for your friend to display.
• Offer to help with unexpected funeral costs, chip in with friends to fund the headstone or provide a pretty floral arrangement for the service. These are all great ideas if you can’t be there for your friend in person.