What to give to a recent widower after his wife's death?

[gouligann]

I don't want to buy flowers for the funeral. Also, since he's got a large family of sisters, they will be providing tons of food for the funeral. I'm sure he'll have fruit baskets, meals, etc, delivered to his home afterwards.

My question is: what (food or other?) can I make or buy that would be appreciated and not spoil if there is lots of other food/flowers?

[SunGrins]

Donate to a charity of his choice in his our his wife's name.

[joe from dayton]

It sounds like the food is covered, so I wouldn't even mess with it. Plan of dropping by his house with a meal in a few weeks or take him out to eat/get him out of the house.

[gouligann]

Thanks SunGrins, that is always offered at the funeral home but we won't be attending, and I want something more personal that helps HIM.

Thanks Joe, dropping a meal off for him would be more appropriate, but we are not close friends enough to take him out. We don't know him enough really, but I feel I should do something for him because his sister made sandwiches for at the funeral home when MY brother's wife passed away.

Is a gift certificate in a card appropriate for a frozen food store? I'm thinking about M&M's... It has fully cooked frozen meals, frozen individually packaged meats, frozen entrees and frozen desserts. I was thinking in the future that might help him out with a meal or two.

[maggiekate]

Originally Posted by gouligann

Thanks SunGrins, that is always offered at the funeral home but we won't be attending, and I want something more personal that helps HIM.

Thanks Joe, dropping a meal off for him would be more appropriate, but we are not close friends enough to take him out. We don't know him enough really, but I feel I should do something for him because his sister made sandwiches for at the funeral home when MY brother's wife passed away.

Is a gift certificate in a card appropriate for a frozen food store? I'm thinking about M&M's... It has fully cooked frozen meals, frozen individually packaged meats, frozen entrees and frozen desserts. I was thinking in the future that might help him out with a meal or two.

what about a gift certificate to that steak place he can use when he wants

[Flamingo13]

Seriously, food after a month/2/3 - is seriously appreciated - people don't realize that sometimes it takes time for people to "absorb what happened" - they still really need comfort months after.

[SunGrins]

I was in his shoes a while back. A gift certificate to eat alone at a restaurant would not be something I'd enjoy...HOWEVER...a gift certificate for me and my daughter to get out and enjoy a dinner together would have been welcome. Does he have kids?

[Marcy1210]

How about a gift certificate to a house cleaning service. If he's living alone, he may not feel like cleaning, and might appreciate having his house cleaned. A gift certificate would let him choose a time that works for him.

[kygman]

Something we do on the food part is take things like paper plates, cups, etc. Plus a lot of time they get a lot of food but still need something like bread or drinks. Even some snacks for the younger family members, to keep them satisfied and out of Mom and Dad's hair. And, taking things like this, they don't have to worry about cleaning the dishes and getting them back to you.

Plus, even though you're not a close friend, they might need just a shoulder to lean on or an ear to talk to at a later date.

[gouligann]

Thanks to all of you for your answers. We've decided that giving him two gift certificates in smaller amounts will be helpful.