NWR: Gift for boss who lost her dad

Wind chimes. A friend received a beautiful wind chime when she lost her mom. It hangs on her back patio, and reminds her of her mom every time she hears it.

I've done the same for others since she shared that, and it's seemed to be appreciated.

Our office manager lost her dad this week as well, and I'm already shopping for one for her.

Great idea CountingDowntoMrs!

I would say a frame and she could put a photo of him in it when she is ready.

YES Wind chimes are great. I have a hard time expressing condolences in a traditional manner, because I hate grief. I handle things in my life so differently than most, so expressing outwardly is hard. I love that you want to give a small gift rather than flowers.

I love the wind chimes idea. I also think a pretty picture frame could be nice with a "Thinking of you card" rather than a sympathy card. That way she knows she's on your mind, and she has a useful frame that she can fill with a photo of her dad and have his memory with her.

I love the wind chimes idea! One thing that I recently gave to a coworker who's parent had passed away was a gift certificate to a local restaurant. She said it was wonderful because she had spent so much time caring for her mother before she passed that it was a treat to spend some time alone with her husband and not have to worry about cooking.

Thanks for the suggestions! I guess my next question would be, where can you buy wind chimes?

What if you have others in your office pitch in for the flowers? I'm sure they'd be interested.

I had a friend give me a gift card to Applebee's when my loved one passed.Sometimes you don't feel like cooking,after losing a loved one.

My dad passed away ago almost exactly a year ago, and one of my dear friends gave me a massage gift card. With everything being so stressful (I was beneficiary on everything so all decisions and plans where on my shoulders) it was the perfect way to come home and just take time to myself.

My concern with the flowers is that she didn't tell very many people in the office her reason for being out this week. Many of them have been asking me if she's on vacation to which I have just been replying that she will be out all week. I think anytime you have flowers at work, people tend to ask what the occasion is, and I don't want to put her in the uncomfortable position to have to answer that question.

When my dad passed away we had dinners brought to us every night for months by our friends who got together and made a schedule. It was so thoughtful and even just one dinner would have been amazing. My mom didn't want to cook so it helped in more ways than our friends will ever know. A dinner or gift card to a restaurant could be a good idea along with the wind chimes because I think that's a super cool idea.

If you don't want something conspicuous, I like the idea of giving a sympathy card with a gift card to go out to eat.

I wouldn't call it a gift for someone dying, but a gift to let her know I'm thinking of her. I also don't have her address to send flowers to her home.

ETA: Mrs. Fall - My comment about flowers at work was directed towards Jillian who suggested I ask the office to pitch in for flowers.

When my boss' mother passed away almost two years ago now, I bought her a small elephant statue (and got her a card); only because I knew her mother loved elephants based on our conversations. She incorporated it as part of her mother's memorial shrine in her house.

I think flowers and food are typically common gifts for deaths/funerals. You could always send flowers to the service (unless there's an "in lieu of flowers..." request).

Kelsey - Amazon has tons!

I do think she would really like the wind chime, so I may do that in addition to a gift card to a restaurant. I really appreciate y'all's feedback!

I've never personally lost someone in my immediate family, but I have watched a middle-aged lady (who is practically my second mother) suffer the very tragic loss of her soul mate, her father and her mother. Many times when you lose someone so close to you, you really just want to be alone/in your own safe place. I think I would rather have a few freezer meals that I could throw in the microwave and eat rather than going out and having to deal with folks. I love the wind chime idea. Or just do a small gift basket of goodies. A nice card, bubble bath, candies, etc. Etsy also has nice pieces of personalized jewelry if you would want to take that route.