Kitchen

[ECBG]

River Street Sweets, who make the homemade pralines have some beautiful cakes and other items that would be very nice.

[rac71]

We received three fruit baskets when my mom died last month. It worked out well for us as we are a Jewish household and it alleviated concerns about kashrut.

[Sooner]

Get a gift card. They may be inundated with food, run out of space, don't want to bother with it, etc. etc. It is a hard time. A gift card would always be welcome and you don't have to find a place to put it, or remember to put it in the fridge, or eat if you don't want to.

[CWS22]

On 2/28/2015 PeterDM said: Whatever you do, don't use 1-800Flowers. A few years back, I ordered a large Hydrangea arrangement to send to a friend who lost her mom. They sent the correct card, but the wrong gift. The card said "My deepest sympathies to you and your family. I hope this provides a little lift in this moment of sadness." They sent 2 dozen yellow, smiley-face balloons. I didn't hear about it for a year, and from another friend. I was mortified.

Wow, that's unreal!

[denisemb]

Peter DM that truly was unreal!!! I once worked for a florist and it was requested that balloons be sent with the floral display because the deceased had volunteered as a clown. Made it a point to use subdued colored balloons and found one mylar with a fitting message. Sorry you had that experience.

When my 1st husband passed suddenly, all forms of sympathy were appreciated, but I especially remember receiving a "bakery basket" with individual wrapped pastries, sweet breads and rolls. It was welcome when one was not "hungry", but knew they needed to get something in their stomach.

Not realistic for the OP, but just a suggestion for others attending local services to see if a nearby bakery could do something similar.

[cookinfreak]

This reply is probably too late for what OP needs, but when my mom passed, we had people bringing us food which was wonderful since many people stopped by. One family brought us stamps (for thank you notes) extra TP, napkins, paper plates and disposable silverware. That was really appreciated also since there was so much company. We could feed them if they were hungry and the disposable things came in very handy. Nobody had to worry about running out of something when there was someone visiting.

cookin

[vermint]

On 2/28/2015 PeterDM said: Whatever you do, don't use 1-800Flowers. A few years back, I ordered a large Hydrangea arrangement to send to a friend who lost her mom. They sent the correct card, but the wrong gift. The card said "My deepest sympathies to you and your family. I hope this provides a little lift in this moment of sadness." They sent 2 dozen yellow, smiley-face balloons. I didn't hear about it for a year, and from another friend. I was mortified.

My family is a little warped in our sense of humor...but we would probably have laughed hysterically upon receiving something like that--and realized that it was an honest mistake! Hopefully your friend realized that, too. Maybe she even got a smile out of it!

[sciencegeek_1]

Harry and David's would be an excellent choice for a long distance gift.

For local funerals, I bring a couple cans of coffee, cups, creamer, sugar, etc. We all go through so much coffee at visiting hours at home, it helps for the bereaved not to have to go out to buy more. Since others bring food, it's a good change.