Choosing Thoughtful Gifts

If you would like to offer your condolences to the family members of one of your colleagues who has recently passed away, a floral arrangement, standing spray, or wreath are some beautiful gift options. Depending upon your budget and the size of the item that you have in mind, these tips can help you select an attractive display that will help ease the pain of the recipients. 

A Modest Bouquet

A modest bouquet that contains a variety of colorful flowers can be contained in a vase, basket, or custom holder. Fresh, fragrant flowers will permeate the room where the service is being held, and one of the loved ones of the recently-deceased can keep the floral arrangement and bring it home with them so that they can enjoy the flowers. An arrangement won't put a large dent in your cash supply, yet you will still be able to demonstrate your respect.

Don't go overboard with personal messages or accessories that could offend or embarrass the recipients. The idea is to acquire a demure arrangement that won't overpower the room where the service is being held. If you would like to verbalize your sadness in hearing about your colleague's passing, purchase a sympathy card and write a personal message inside of it before securing the card to the side of the flower holder.

A Floral Spray

A floral spray is often more elaborate than a standard arrangement. Flowers are secured to floral foam and displayed on a wire support. Floral sprays are often used to adorn caskets but can also be used independently as decorative pieces. An easel-like support system is used as the backdrop of a spray. Because floral stems tend to be intact when a spray is constructed, people often think that this type of arrangement symbolizes life.

The family members of the deceased will likely select and purchase the spray that will cover the top of the casket, so refrain from choosing anything that will overpower it. If some of your friends or co-workers are going to be attending the funeral service, ask them if they would like to chip in toward the cost of the spray, since sprays can be rather costly in comparison to flowers that are in a holder.

A Floral Wreath

Circles do not have a beginning or an end, and they can be thought of as symbols of eternity. For this reason, a floral wreath could be fitting if you would like your gift to demonstrate hope and the possibility of loved ones seeing the recently-deceased in the afterlife.

Choose one or more flower varieties and the material that you would like the wreath to be made of. If you have a strict budget, stick to a small wreath that contains a minimal amount of flowers. Otherwise, choose a more prominent wreath that contains many flowers. Select a ribbon to tie around the wreath and use a permanent marker to write a basic statement that encompasses your feelings of sorrow.

Contact a local florist to learn more about your options for funeral flower arrangements.