Picture this. You open the front door to a delivery driver holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers. You take them inside, placing them on the table with a handful of other arrangements that you've received over the past few days. You open the card that reads "Thinking of you as you mourn the loss of your sister."
At first glance, I'm sure you are wondering, what's the problem? Isn't it a thoughtful gesture to send someone flowers when a loved one dies. Thoughtful, sure. Flowers are an easy gift to send and don't require much thought. You don't even have to leave the comfort of your home. Less than a few minutes and you can check the box that you sent a sympathy gift. All that's left is to attend the memorial service and you can move on.
Now let's fast forward a week, maybe two. Those once beautiful, fragrant flowers are wilting or even better already dead. After returning from your loved one's memorial service, your house is filled with dead flowers that you have to throw away.
The average flower arrangement sent as a sympathy gift is $60 - $80. That is a lot of money for something that will only last a couple of weeks and honestly aside from being a nice guesture doesn't help a grieving person.
The next time you need to send a sympathy gift, I encourage you to consider alternatives to flowers. I have some ideas of what would be more helpful. Follow along to learn more. In the meantime, learn more about my story and comment below what you think about flowers for the grieving.