Top Bereavement Gift Ideas

1. Learn to accept that your loss is real. For many people who are grieving a loss, the first impulse is to deny the loss. Grieving denial can range from downplaying the loss, as if it’s not important, to having the delusion that the person or pet is still alive.  It’s often easier for people who are greiving to have an intellectual understanding of the death (the person or pet is physically gone) than an emotional understanding (the loved one is not coming back). So the first task for the grieving person is accepting that the loved one is really gone.
2. Make it OK to feel the pain. The pain of grieving can be both emotional and physical, and unfortunately there’s no way to avoid it. Denying the pain of grieving can lead to physical symptoms and can also prolong the grieving process.  Some people try to avoid grieving pain by being busy or traveling; others try to minimize grieving their loss by idealizing the loved one or refusing to allow negative thoughts about the loved one enter their minds. Some grieving people use drugs or alcohol to deaden the pain.
3. Adjust to living without the deceased. When a loved one dies, we also lose the part of our lifestyle that included the deceased. So while we are grieving for the loved one, we are also grieving for the parts of our life that will never be the same. Sometimes it can take a few months following the death for this realization to sink in.  For example, if a man’s wife dies, he misses her physically and emotionally, but he may also have lost a dear friend, sexual partner, golfing buddy, and fellow grandparent. Part of his grieving will naturally include missing the parts of his life that have changed because of her death.  When a beloved pet dies, we miss the companionship and the love, but we can also miss having a special friend to come home to, walks in the park, playtime, riding in the car, or other activities we shared.  Grieving the loss of shared activities can feel as painful as grieving for the person or pet. So it’s a natural tendency for some people to feel that their lives are more empty following a loss. This is a normal feeling for a time, but part of the grieving and healing process includes acceptance, and shifting our focus to include other people and activities.  This opens the door to finding new opportunities for love and companionship.
4. Find a safe place in your heart for your loved one, and allow yourself to move on. This task can be especially hard for a grieving person because it can feel at first that you’re being disloyal when you start to think about enjoying a life that doesn’t include the deceased.  It’s likely that memories of the loved one will stay with you throughout your life, and sometimes, even years after the death, you may feel a stab of pain when you think about the beloved person or pet that was so important to you.  When this happens, it’s important to remind yourself that it’s a normal part of the grieving and healing process. Allow yourself to have these feelings.  Learning to cherish a memory without letting it control you is a very important step in the grieving process. By finding a special safe “place” for that person, you can heal from grieving and move back into your life. You begin to find joy in new experiences, and you can take comfort in the knowledge that you keep your cherished memories with you, wherever you go. The “place” where you decide to keep your memories is up to you. You can visualize tucking your loved one into a space in your heart, or you can keep a box of cherished photos or momentos. Perhaps you’d like to find a special tree or nature setting that you can revisit. Give some thought to where you’d like to hold memories of your loved one.  The important thing is learning how to cherish a memory without getting stuck there.
5. Find what you should do with the love that you feel? For many people, the hardest part of losing a loved one and grieving that loss is figuring out what to do with all the love they feel for the person or pet who is gone.  Remind yourself that you don’t have to stop loving someone just because he or she is no longer with you. When a memory pops up, send a loving thought and know that you are loved in return. You may find comfort in this, and the strength to continue on in your journey.

We hope this helps you to be able to move on and also to recognize that what you are feeling is completely normal and that this too will pass…

Top 10 Bereavement Gifts

	Sympathy Peace Lily - Let the beauty of this arrangement calm the soul and lift spirits above the sadness that dampens their hearts. This is far and away the number one seller on our sites. If you don't know what plant to send, this is a well-respected choice.
	Lush Green Sympathy - Give a lush and lasting token of your sentiments with this splendid assortment of vibrant green and flowering plants set in a charming handmade basket. This is our second most popular choice and provide a wonderful lasting memorial.
	Sympathy Spathiphyllum - Robust and leafy, this botanical wonder is a versatile gift. It is fun or impossible to pronounce and definitely gives people something to take their minds off of their current situation.
	French Garden Sympathy - Capture the beauty of life with these flourishing greens. This is a nice arrangement that also includes some flowers to add a touch of color to the recipient's day. This is a great choice if you cannot decide between fresh flowers and a plant.
	Sympathy Chinese Evergreen - Show your support with this refined verdant number. This is sleek and very different. This could be just the plant that makes a difference in someone's life. It is different and it shows that you really put a lot of thought into your selection.
	Large Variegated Sympathy - Give the lasting gift of a variegated green plant set in a beautiful basket. This is a large plant that comes in a very nice basket that will provide a nice home for this plant as time passes. This is a great plant to remember this time by.
	With Sympathy - Send your condolences with a beautiful gift basket filled with wonderful comfort food. This basket includes a gift box of caramel clusters, gourmet cheese and crackers, zesty cheddar corn, dark chocolate coconut cremes, almond roca, Lindt truffle box, Chocolate wafers cookies, Bellagio hot cocoa,& Ghirardelli squares.
	Sympathy Azalea - Lush and lively, this flourishing plant is the perfect ornament for any room. This is the most flowery option in the top 10 list of plants sent for sympathy. If the person you are sending the flowers to loves flowers, this is the right arrangement.
	Pink Plant Sympathy - Distinctive and unique, this cheerful number is a statement of your care and refined taste. This is another great choice with a splash of color and quiet pleasure. This plant will be enjoyed.
	With Deepest Sympathy - Send our most highly regarded sympathy gift basket filled with an abundant selection of gourmet foods and gift items. Besides the wonderful selection of crackers, cheeses, chocolates and cookies, it contains a lovely gift boxed silk rose petal assortment, Damask designed pocket tissues, and a burgundy wine scented pillar candle.

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