Should I Send Flowers or Food or a Keepsake Gift After a Death?

The answer to this question depends on the type of relationship you have with the one who is grieving.

Any type of gift received is better than receiving nothing at all. Receiving a sympathy card is better than receiving nothing at all. Sending an e-card in many cases is absolutely free. When we don't somehow reach out to someone who is grieving, it makes the pain the grieved is feeling that much worse.

Those who are grieving don't like feeling alone in their grief. Extending a kind gesture, whether it's by placing a telephone call, writing an e-mail, sending a handwritten note, sending flowers, sending a gourmet food or fruit basket, or sending a keepsake gift, is always welcome and appreciated.

I created the Kindred Spirits Gift Shop after my dogs Tasha and Niki died many years ago. My grief was inconsolable. I've always loved animals and angels, so I set out to search the Internet for dog angel gifts. There were barely any pet sympathy gifts to be found, at least what I would like for myself. I felt if I had a need that wasn't being fulfilled, someone else was feeling the same way.

When my world was falling apart and my heart was broken in a million pieces, I received a few pet sympathy cards, a lovely keepsake angel dog gift book from a friend, and a beautiful flower arrangement from my sister. That year when my sister sent me a Sarah's Angel for Christmas, that was all she wrote for me. When it was time, my gift shop was born.

When someone is grieving the death of a loved one, what do you think would make them feel the best they can feel in their darkest hours? For me, I choose In Loving Memory Keepsake Gifts or Gift Baskets because grief isn't over in a matter of days or weeks.

One day someone will look at a keepsake gift you've given them and think, Someone thought so much of me, they sent me this beautiful gift of the heart that I will have forever.

So the question is: How would you like your gift to be remembered?