Our Annual Seven Holiday Gifts for Someone Who Is Grieving, 2023 Edition

A recently lost loved one’s absence may not be more keenly felt than at the holidays. During times of celebration and tradition, it may feel glaringly obvious that a loved one is missing and no longer around to share in the festivities. Perhaps our friends need even more support at this time than in the initial days of grieving.

Choosing a thoughtful gift can be a way to demonstrate your love and concern for a friend in mourning. Your gift my ease their grief, just a bit, by reminding them that they are loved, cherished, and considered this holiday. Here are a few of our favorite ideas this season.

1. A Festive Mug of Cheer celebrates their loved one’s initial.

This delightful mug offers a beautiful holiday option for monogram housewares. By selecting their loved one’s initial, you can help your friend to keep them close while enjoying their morning coffee or late night hot chocolate. Many bereaved feel deep sadness when their loved one’s name is no longer spoken. By gifting them with a mug with their lost love’s initial, you give them the opportunity to keep their name alive in their home.

2. The book, Extraordinary Things to Cut Out and Collage, will offer your friend beautiful ideas for creation.

This book by Maria Rivans, a highly respected and successful collage artist, has gathered hundreds of beautiful, quirky, and downright daft images, and they’re all here for your friend to cut out and stick. These layers of lovely oddities can be added to your friend’s photos to create a dynamic memory book or collage to hang in their home. They may also be inspired to create a vision board as they look toward the future.

3.  A Victrola Suitcase Record Player to relive memories through analog sounds.

Along with this classic record player, you can buy your loved one a few albums of their loved one’s favorite music. The whole experience of setting up the vinyl, laying down the needle, and listening to the scratchy sounds will produce a sweet nostalgia. Reliving the old days with their loved one will be a wonderful experience as they play all their favorite tunes. This gift also offers your friend the option to play music through its bluetooth speakers as well.

4. Design a Custom Bedspread to cover your friend with photos of their loved one.

Your friend can adorn their bed with this unique and cozy fleece bedspread. You can print photos on both sides so that they can have options each day. The blankets also come in four sizes, so it’s highly customizable to your friend’s needs.

5. A classic L.L. Bean Robe will help your friend feel cozy and warm at home this season.

This cozy robe will be a great comfort to your grieving friend. It will be like wearing a hug as they spend time at home. This bonded fleece robe will be the perfect holiday gift for person who may be spending time indoors this winter.

6. A Subscription to Chocolate of the Month Club will offer a wonderful gastronomic experience.

The subscription options from Lake Champlain Chocolates delivers gourmet chocolates to your friend every month. Featuring monthly shipments of fine Vermont-made chocolates, including luscious chocolate truffles, sea salt caramels wrapped in dark chocolate, macadamia nuts drenched in rich caramel and milk chocolate, these boxes are sure to delight the senses and satisfy any cravings. You can choose from three, six or nine month subscriptions.

7. Shapes of Emotions will help grieving children share their feelings.

Shapes of Emotions will help children identify and communicate how they are feeling by pointing the dial at one of the faces. Each wooden piece is sweetly crafted into a shape; on one side is the expression of the emotion, and the other side is  the word. happy, embarrassed, mad, frustrated, sad, tired, excited, scared, shy or surprised. Because it can be a challenge, grieving children often need help expressing how they feel. This beautifully crafted wooden chart will help children communicate their feelings.

This holiday season can be a wonderful opportunity to remind your grieving friend that you are there and you still want to offer support, though they may have experienced the loss months ago. If this is the first holiday they have been without their loved one, it may be especially challenging. Your gift may bring comfort, memories, and encouragement to your friend as they experience this season in grief.