What to send when someone loses their dad
Food arrives when people need it most and asks nothing in return. In the days after a loss, the family is often too tired to cook and too distracted to think about eating. A basket that sits on the counter, ready to open, is useful in a way that most gifts aren't.
A fruit basket is light and easy to pick at over several days. A snack and comfort food basket feeds whoever comes through the door. Baked goods are familiar, require nothing, and work at any hour.
A cheese-and-crackers basket sits
out during a gathering without anyone having to manage it. A breakfast basket gives the person grieving something to reach for in the morning, when it's often hardest. Tea and cookies are quiet and low-key, right for someone who needs comfort without ceremony.
Comfort now, or something to keep
Most sympathy gifts fall into one of two categories, and it helps to know which one you're buying.
Comfort now is food, snacks, something to eat and share in the days and weeks after the loss. It's practical and immediate. It meets a real need at a time when practical things are hard to come by. Most of the baskets on this page fall here.
Something to keep is a memorial keepsake, an item the person holds onto as a way of marking the loss. A framed piece, a personalized item, something that stays. This isn't what everyone needs, but for some people it matters to have something tangible.
If you're not sure which to send, lean toward comfort. Something to eat is always useful. A keepsake is only right if you know the person well enough to know they'd want one.
When to send it
The hesitation is almost always one of two things: it feels too soon, or it feels too late. Both hesitations are usually wrong. The first week is when most things arrive. That's fine. The family is together, people are in and out, and food gets used. But the person grieving is also on autopilot that week. They're moving through arrangements, visitors, and logistics. They're not always fully present for what arrives.
The second and third weeks are often harder. The visitors stop coming. The calls slow down. Everyone else returns to their normal life, and the person who lost their dad is left alone with it. A basket that arrives in week two or three often means more than one that came on the first day.
What arrives, and how
Every basket is packed and shipped from the Exeter, NH facility. Orders typically arrive within two to three business days. You can select a delivery date at checkout.
A note card is included with every order. You write the message during checkout. It doesn't need to be long. "Thinking of you" is enough. If you're not sure what to write, we can help.
Baskets can be shipped to a home address or a place of work. They can also be delivered to a funeral home. If you're sending ahead of a service, confirm the address and timing with the funeral home directly, as receiving procedures vary.
Related: Sympathy Gifts for Loss of a Mother · Loss of a Spouse · Sympathy Gifts for Coworkers · All Sympathy Gifts