Sympathy Gifts for Loss of Husband
When a family member, friend, and/or close peer you know loses someone, it can be difficult to know what to do or say to them. They are in this whirlwind of emotions that are hard to navigate and as their close confidant, we are always looking to find the right words to say during this tough time. It can be uncomfortable or hard, but the important thing to do is to push through and be there for them as often and as early as possible as they need during their grieving process.
There are a multitude of ways to help them through this time and one reliable way is through gifts. Gifts are something that can be immensely helpful when given the right thought and care.
We have made gift guides in the past and this time we’re going to be taking a look at sympathy gifts for the loss of a husband. These aren’t just any gifts, no, these are gifts that are actually meant to help, meant to alleviate some of the weight off their shoulders as they go through their day-to-day life. So get out a note pad and let’s help our loved one feel a little better.
Meal Train, Groceries, and Home-Cooked Meals 🍝
Grief impacts people in so many different ways, some shut-down and find it hard to get back to daily needs like cooking and cleaning. While others dive down into the opposite, cooking and cleaning so much they don’t know what to do with it all. Some find themselves in-between the two.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to help is make sure she has the necessities she needs to live and take care of herself and one of the most crucial things is having a well-balanced meal.
Set Up a Meal Train
A home-cooked meal can make such a difference. Image courtesy of MealTrain.
Meal Trains are a way for friends, family, and neighbors to help someone who has been or currently going through a major life event, including the loss of a loved one. For all those who are able, they contribute homecooked (or takeout) meals to the grieving individual all at different times throughout a period of time.
Resources like the MealTrain website are free to use and set-up.
Contact those around the widow and ask if they’d be willing to contribute food to them for however long you can. Through the spreadsheet or MealTrain page you make, you’ll be able to organize a steady stream of comfort for them for a little while.
Buy Groceries
Sometimes seemingly the simplest of gifts are ones that make a difference. Image courtesy of: Good Morning America.
When something unexpected happens or the anticipatory grief finally reaches its due, it can be a lot to handle. Basic week-to-week routines fly out the window, so having someone help pick up the slack would make for an unbelievably thoughtful gift.
If they are in need of groceries, snacks, basic essentials like medicine, shampoo, heck, batteries- anything they could expectantly and unexpectedly need, you can be the one that goes and gets it for them.
Anticipate their needs, look at what they need around the house and get it without them having to ask or get themselves. Get their groceries and cook something for them all while being with them.
No Meal Train? Make the Food Anyway
Cook things that will last. Image courtesy of: Jones Dairy Farm.
If a Meal Train isn’t an option or not feasible at the moment, then you can still offer a home cooked meal or two, but not just any home cooked meal. We’re making things that are going to last. Casseroles might be a cliche, but they are a cliche for a reason, they work. Casseroles are great because they will last a while, are chock-full with all different kinds of ingredients, and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Here are three kinds of casseroles you can make for them:
- The Fully Loaded Cheesy Breakfast Casserole from Jones Dairy Farm (as pictured above).
- Chicken and Rice Casserole from Simply Recipes.
- Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie from Southern Living is a supersized recipe perfect for what you need.
Whether you use these recipes or not, making a dish that can be of comfort for them is a great sympathy gift for the loss of a husband.
The Gift of Company and Help
Sometimes the easiest gifts are the ones we provide ourselves.
Offer a Shoulder and Ear
A hand to hold or a shoulder to lean on from someone they love makes for a great gift.
One of the best things you can do for someone who has just been through a tremendous loss is to be what you already are in their lives. If you are a family member or friend, be the best family member and/or friend you can be. If you work with them, offer your support in small ways, listen to what they need. You just being in their presence, taking them to dinner, or spending time not talking but watching TV, reading books side-by-side, together is a perfect sympathy gift.
Offer to do Chores/Handy-Work
Pick up what they need done and take away the stress.
If they have things that need to be done around the house, or things that they relied upon their husband to do, you can help them get those things done. Whether it's through mowing the lawn, fixing something that unexpectedly breaks, washing their car, or cleaning from the messiness of grief; you can help make their life a little bit more “normal” again.
Sympathy Gifts for Down the Road
When you believe they’re ready and think the time is right, these next few gifts will definitely be most appreciated.
A Tree to Remember
Let their legacy live on in the Earth.
There are some amazing services out there that offer unique and thoughtful ways to those who lose a loved one, and A Tree to Remember is one such service. You can buy a tree that will be planted via a carefully managed reforestation project through the Arbor Day Foundation. This way they live on Earth, they will give back to the environment, and will stand tall as they once did. Besides planting trees in forests, this company also has an online store where you can buy condolence flowers and other sympathy gifts as well.
And if you like this idea but think they would appreciate seeing the tree grow themselves in person:
Let their spirit flourish in your home. Image courtesy of: Uncommon Goods.
The Plant with Love Memorial Tree for $50.00 at Uncommon Goods is a great way for widows to keep the memory of their husband with them and see something new and full of life flourish in their home. Honor their memory through an evergreen sapling that will grow and grow for many years to come. It comes with planting and care instructions to ensure that the tree thrives as well as a printed sentiment card that can be customized.
A Photo Album of Him
Keep his memory alive through a photo album. Image courtesy of: Hallmark.
This will make for a great gift a little ways down the road of grief, a photo album full of pictures and written memories from those closest to him. Ask around to those who know him best, see if they have pictures and specific memories they think would make for a good addition to a personalized photo album about his life. Pictures above is the A Life Remembered photo album which can be found at Hallmark for $39.99, but you can always get something else or make your own through somewhere like Shutterfly.
Memorial Windchimes
A gentle reminder of the one they loved. Image courtesy of: laurelbox.
A popular gift that seems to be well-received are memorial windchimes. They are something simple that can mean so much, especially when times are hard. We often look at the robin bird as messages pass through from loved ones who are no longer with us, and we see other things in nature like that too, take for instance the wind.
A gentle breeze that makes music through the Hear the Wind and Think of Me Wind Chime from laurelbox for $48.00 is a small way to remember the one we lost. This gift comes with a wooden tag that hangs from the itself that can be “engraved with your loved one's name, angel wings, and the phrase "HEAR THE WIND AND THINK OF ME."” You don’t have to add a name if you don’t want to. Anytime they hear that windchime go, they can think of it as a message from their husband. Sending them warm thoughts from beyond.
A Locket
Keep them with you, always. Image courtesy of: Caitlyn Minimalist.
Keeping something on them as they move through life in the future makes for a great remembrance gift, especially if it’s something like the Endless Love Locket Necklace(s) from Caitlyin Minimalist on sale for $29.40 (normally priced at $42.00). These little lockets come in four different shapes: rectangle pearl, disc pearl, a heart, and earth. Choose either a sterling silver finish or 18k gold, and then add in a photo- (or give to them so they can put the photo they want inside). This way they can keep a little token of their husband with them around their neck for the rest of their lives.
A Sympathy Gift You Can Gift from Afar 🛒
Unfortunately, you may not be in person to give a gift or help them in their time of need, and while we are sure they would love nothing more than to have you with them, that doesn’t mean we can’t give a gift from far away. Something easy and simple you can do to say “hey, I’m thinking of you,” is sending them a useful gift like a DoorDash gift card.
As we mentioned above in our “meal train” gift idea, cooking and basic necessities like groceries are going to be put on the back-burner during this time of grief, so sending them a DoorDash gift card is a great way to help alleviate some of that pressure. They can order at their comfort restaurants and their favorite meals delivered right to their door without having to leave the house or spend time in the kitchen.
PerfectGift.com is all about finding, well, the perfect gift! With hundreds of popular eGift card brands available, you can personalize and send someone a gift in just a few minutes. Pick between multiple restaurants, famous retailers, online subscription services, and more for your first PerfectGift today.
PerfectGift+ which takes gifting to a whole new level as it allows you to give the amount of money you would be putting on the gift card, but not tie it to any specific merchant. Instead the recipient gets to choose any merchant they want from our vast catalog. What makes PerfectGift stand out from the crowd is our flexibility.
Become the perfect gift giver.
It isn’t easy trying to find suitable sympathy gifts for the loss of a husband, but as long as you’re there to lend a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, and a support system they can count on- you’re going to be such a great help.
