Sympathy Flowers and Gifts
Gifts and flowers are tangible ways to express sympathy to friends, family members, neighbours or co-workers who have lost a loved one. Funeral flowers and gifts are ways to send heartfelt condolences and express your concern in their time of grief. For many people, these gestures are more than just a pretty flower arrangement or gift basket. They are a gesture of sympathy, love and comfort during a time of sadness and grief.
When you read an online obituary, you can leave a condolence message and send a sympathy gift to show your support. The Dignity Memorial® network joins with Teleflora, offering a convenient resource for sending just the right expression of your sympathy.
Expressing condolences
Family and close friends
If you are a family member or close friend of the person who has passed away, you might choose to send a beautiful floral arrangement for the service. A standing spray, heart-shaped wreath or standing floral cross are some popular options. Standing baskets or floor baskets of a favourite flower, or flowers chosen for their meaning, are both beautiful and thoughtful sympathy gifts. Sending a remembrance gift like wind chimes or a rosary following the service, can be a cherished daily reminder of a special someone.
Friends and acquaintances
If you are a friend or acquaintance of the person who has died, a bouquet sent to the funeral home or site of the life celebration event is very fitting. You might also consider sending a plant, gourmet-food basket or a small remembrance gift like a ceramic keepsake or candle to the family's home.
Coworkers
When someone from work or the close loved one of a coworker passes away, a group gift is often sent to express condolences and support. A beautiful floral arrangement or sympathy gift basket sent to the funeral home is common for either relationship. If you are very close to the person who has lost a loved one, it is also a nice gesture to send a sympathy gift to that person’s home.
Meanings of sympathy flowers
Many senders want their gifts to convey a specific message or honour a relationship in a personal way. Popular flowers with specific meanings and colours include lilies, roses, calla lilies, daffodils, chrysanthemums and orchids. Colour meanings may include white for purity and peace, red for love, yellow for happiness or hope, and pink for appreciation. Keep in mind that flower and colour meanings vary across religions and cultures. If you’re uncertain about a choice, you can ask a member of the Teleflora Sympathy Customer Service team via online chat or by calling 800-546-9523.
Sympathy gifts according to religion and culture
Customs around mourning and appropriate funeral flowers or sympathy gifts vary across religions and cultures. Flowers are not generally an appropriate expression of sympathy for Muslim or Jewish families. Instead, a basket of gourmet foods or a fruit bouquet may be a more appropriate choice. (For those of the Jewish faith, sending only kosher foods is also a consideration.) In contrast, for Buddhist mourners, food gifts are not appropriate. Instead, memorial flowers are welcome but should be white. Other preferences include sending flowers to the funeral home or delivering food gifts to the home for those of Roman Catholic and Hindu faiths.
If you have questions about sending funeral bouquets or other gifts during a time of grief, our friends at Teleflora are always available to assist you.