Jay

Thoughtful Gift Ideas for a Grieving Mother

I have received many thoughtful gifts from several wonderful friends.  Gifts are definitely not a must, but are very considerate.  If you are looking for ideas on what to do for someone, here are some suggestions based on items I received that brought me comfort in some way.

My school FamiLE brought a basket of goodies by when I got home from the hospital.  It was full of snacks, magazines, crossword puzzles, and cards.  They also sent a plant that I planted in my flower bed.

Different people from my school and many friends of ours made sure we had dinner almost every night for the first two weeks after losing Jay.

I received many cards in the mail from friends offering their condolences and deepest sympathies.

We received flowers and plants from the memorial service and the first few weeks after.  My favorite plant was the peace lily.  I still have three of them that have grown so much over the years.  Anytime I see a peace lily, it makes me think of Jay.

I highly recommend a Dammit Doll.  A friend of mine left this on my porch with a sweet card.  I used that Dammit doll quite a bit the first few months.  If you don’t know what a dammit doll is, here’s an example of one.

I received a necklace with a small blue stone, Jay’s September birthstone, from my friend whose baby was stillborn the week of her due date.  She understood what I was feeling and going through.  I do not remember where she got it, but this one is very close to what mine looks like.

One of the girls I work with gave me a sweet cross ornament at Christmas time.  It says “always loved, in our hearts for ever.”  There are many similar ones on Amazon, check them out.

My little sister had an ornament made and sent to us for Christmas.  It was a circular slice of a branch with the picture and information we had on the memorial card for Jay.

A good friend of mine gave me ornaments for our first two Christmases.  The first Christmas she gave me a metal shoe ornament with Jay’s name engraved on the bottom.  The next year it was a train engine with his name engraved on it.

That same friend also gave me a Willow Tree figurine, Angel’s Embrace!  A card comes with it that says, “Hold close that which we hold dear.”

I received a blue shirt with a picture of Jay’s feet.  The quote from Winnie the Pooh, ” sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in our heart“, is on the front with his feet in the middle of the quote.

I used one of my Origami Owl bracelets and attached an angel wing dangle on it.  They no longer make the bracelet I had or the dangle.  Here are some they have in stock now and are similar to the one I wore.

When that broke I came across my Pandora bracelet that my husband gave me on our first anniversary.  I hadn’t worn it since I had my daughter, because it didn’t fit.  I started adding charms to it and wear it daily.  I bought this angel wing charm to represent Jay.

Picking out a beautiful journal for them to write in could be helpful.  I journaled daily for quite awhile.  It helped me put my thoughts and feelings to paper when I didn’t know what to say or my thoughts were all over the place.

You can visit my Etsy shop (coming soon) for some great customizable signs that I’ve made for many friends or contact me to request something you have in mind.

These are many of the wonderful things I’ve received to honor Jay.  Each one of them were so thoughtful.  I cried when I got them because they meant so much.

I hope you were able to come up with ideas of things you could gift to someone going through loss.  It is more about the thought that you put in to the gift, than the gift itself.