What To Bring A Grieving Friend
Ideas on What To Bring A Grieving Friend. It is a bummer that we all even need to know what to bring a friend or family member who is grieving. Grief and loss are such horrible parts of this broken world. Thankfully, no matter how hard it gets, there are promises that the Lord gives us to hold tight to.
On Sunday I took a large box to my friend who is grieving a horrible loss.
This list is just a starting point.
Often, we bring gifts, flowers, and meals. All of these things are so wonderful, and we should keep bringing them. But sometimes the practical things are forgotten. Here are a few ideas for you. Share this with anyone you know to keep in their back pocket.
* Quick Snack- I took poptarts. Eating when grieving is hard…and sometimes you need a 2am snack.
*Juice
*Gatorade- grief wreaks havoc on a tummy. A sick stomach usually needs some extra TLC.
*Paper goods- no need to do dishes. Lots of paper towels, plates, bowls, silver ware, cups, toilet paper, and tissues. LOTS! We are talking more than Costco size.
* Garbage bags and ziploc bags. Bring several boxes.
*Freezer meals- in the weeks to come, the hot meals will slow down but a grieving friend may not be yet able to cook. These things are great to have on hand. The one skillet meals are my favorite to offer.
*Goodies- I like to take sweet breads or muffins to snack on. Lots of cookies and muffins will come as well.
*Pantry meal- This is something as simple as spaghetti sauce and noodles.
*Gift- get your friend or family member something for them specifically. Being thought of is so lovely.
*Flowers- they will brighten a room and smell nice.
* Cleaning supplies- these are for you to use. When you drop off the box of items, take with you a bucket and cleaning supplies. No deep cleaning, just wipe down bathrooms, toilets, and the kitchen. Tidy up the dining room, make the bed, and empty the garbage. Do this weekly. It's not too personal, but it really freshens things up. Don’t ask too many questions about how they want it cleaned. They will just be glad you did it.
I hope this list will be helpful to you so that you can bless someone in need.
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What a helpful post! I was also perusing on Pinterest when I stumbled upon this post. I will be saving this for future reference.
Also, when my dad passed away 8 years ago, someone brought over toilet paper and paper towels. Was such a thoughtful thing instead of more food!
Thank you! 🙂
A great addition to this post would be to help with laundry. Don't ask questions, just gather, sort, and do the laundry. When you don't feel like doing anything at all, laundry and dishes are the first to pile up. Great post!
When my dad passed away someone sent us several books of stamps and thank you cards. It was a very nice gesture and made the task of saying thank you to many many people less daunting.
My mom just recently passed away and my school sent over a meal for us. Since we were having lots of out-of-town guests, the most helpful thing someone sent was coffee, creamer and filters. Saved us from having to make a trip to the store. So helpful!
I love this post so much- it's so easy to say, "if you need anything...", but when you're in the midst of that much pain, you can't even think of your own basic necessities. I just found your blog as I was perusing pinterest, looking for easy freezer meals for a girlfriend who just had her first baby and I've been super-blessed reading through all your awesome posts!
Having lost both of my parents last year, just 29 days apart, I just want to tell you that this is a very well thought out post. All of it is right on target. Good to remember to help others.
Beautiful. I wish I had this when my my dear friend lost her husband suddenly three years ago. Although I did some of these things instinctively, I would have never thought of paper goods. I will bookmark this as quite a few members of our church adult class are going through trials, grief, job loss, cancer. My heart is heavy, but this list gives me something concrete to do. Thank you.
This is an amazing post! As someone who is still kind of managing grief, there are things that really helped me (such as someone cleaning up my dining room and kitchen for me, bringing dinners, taking kids, bringing potted plants, sending flowers, etc...) and this list covers many of those things, plus a few extras that would have been nice. I wasn't ready to start cooking again when the meals stopped coming. Some freezer meals would have been nice, like shepherd's pie or lasagna or anything with baking instructions written on the foil cover (and nothing but baking required). Snacks like muffins would have been nice. Fruit would work instead of Pop Tarts. This is an awesome list. Thank you for sharing it!
would like to add..my dad passed away our neighboro of many years ..brought over toliet paper, trash bags ..she said all these folks in and out using up your stuff .. also a cooler packed with ice and drinks ..esp if kids are going to be around
I think you are definitely on the right track. These are times when people cannot really think about normal every day things.