Thursday, January 27, 2011

Thoughtful Gifts For Hospital Patients

By Anya Shiela Richards


When your best friend suddenly falls ill and needs to go to hospital, you are probably wondering what to bring him or her as a present. What is the etiquette? And does that really matter? What would be a good idea from the practical point of view? Believe it or not, this is one of the hardest parts of hospital visiting. We want to be helpful, but we are not sure what to do. And we certainly don't want to embarrass ourselves by doing the wrong thing.

Choosing one of the following get-well gift ideas for hospitalized patients should make your hospital visit easier:

- Everyone knows that hospital food is not exactly appealing, and one of the things hospital patients miss most is something good to eat. Bringing your friend a tasty treat is always a good idea, but you should first make sure that he or she is not on a special diet. Women who have just given birth in particular always appreciate a special treat.

One good idea would be to bake some cupcakes. These little cakes in their colorful cupcake papers will bring a lot of good cheer. If you are able to bake them yourself, that would be best. You could find some cupcake decorating ideas that would help you make a personalized "get well" greeting. The beauty of this idea is that you can bake and decorate them yourself, with whatever colors or designs you can find.

- Reading material (magazines as well as a humorous novel or two) and crossword or number puzzles will work wonders to chase away the boredom that many hospital patients suffer from. Choose reading material and puzzles that you know your friend likes and, again, make sure that he or she is well enough to enjoy this kind of gift. This gift is great for a patient who is bed-ridden but alert, but it certainly isn't appropriate for someone who is groggy or who suffers from constant headaches, for instance.

- A selection of the newspapers and magazines for that particular week. There is nothing more boring than being stuck in a hospital bed, especially if you are not mobile. In fact, apart from these publications, you can also cheer up your friend by bringing them a selection of books to keep them going while they are still in the hospital.

- Depending on how long the other person is going to be in the hospital, you may want to make a photograph album of all of the loved people in their life to cheer them up. Whether the pictures are of you and your children, their children, or other people that they care about, this kind of gift is always a winner.

- To help cheer up hospital patients, lend them a laptop, an iphone or whatever other gadget you know they enjoy using. This will help them to pass the time and make it possible for them to feel more connected with the world outside of the hospital.

Of course, the gift that you give to your sick friend is not only about being fancy, expensive, or exciting. The simple ideas given above will do far more to raise morale than the most expensive items or accessories.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment