The best gifts for someone in the hospital
Have you ever been sick and stuck in the hospital? It is awful. You probably wished someone would bring you a gift other than flowers. In this post, we will discuss the best gifts for someone in the hospital that are meaningful, useful, and even fun.
Flowers are nice and cheer a sterile hospital room. But non-flower gifts are practical when one is debilitated in the hospital and useful even after discharge home.
So if you have ever wondered how to put a gift basket for a patient together, or what the best gifts for someone recovering from surgery are, I hope the gifts listed below will answer that question for you.
Many times we think well, a loved one must want food. Yes, that is true, hospital food sucks.
But while the food idea is nice when it is appropriate, sometimes it is not. Many times the doctors may put a patient on an appropriate diet and you may not know what that is.
The good thing with some research and some imagination there are many great gifts when a friend or family is stuck in the hospital. These can range from gift baskets, to care packages, and other fun and practical gifts.
When considering gift ideas for a sick friend or family in the hospital, it is also good to consider an appropriate gift for an extended hospital stay.
I have seen patients spending as much as a month in the hospital, and can you just imagine how hard that is for them and their families?
Making their new environment as comfortable as possible would be a nice thing to do. Bring fun, laughter, ease, and comfort with these gifts and you will be contributing to their recovery as well.
Okay, so let’s see what the best gifts people stuck in the hospital actually want and really appreciate.
15 Gift Ideas for Someone in The Hospital
Well, we all know in spite of the staff’s effort hospitals can be noisy. Can you imagine you are trying to sleep and people are talking right outside your window?
Besides, sometimes a patient needs to sleep during the day. They have to. At night they are woken up for vitals, 4 times a night, for meds, and for blood work. So daytime napping is essential.
And to have a good nap a patient will appreciate a mask to keep the light out, and earplugs to dull all the noise and hospital sounds. Next time you have a friend or family in the hospital, include a comfortable sleep mask, and some earplugs.
It may not something many of us think about but ear plugs and sleep mask are appropriate gifts for men or women stuck in the hospital.
A Himalayan lamp is a great gift for a patient in the hospital. First of all the soft glow of a Himalayan lamp is pretty comforting and soothing.
And although research is lacking about supposed benefits, Himalayan lamps are said to promote rest by eliminating positive ions in the air. Himalayan salt lamps produce negative ions and therefore balance the positive ions in the environment.
It is said that positive ions can make one more anxious and irritable. As you can imagine a sick person can feel easily anxious and irritable sometimes because of course, they don’t feel great.
Also, Himalayan salt lamps are said to eliminate toxins and bacteria in the air. Well, hospitals do have bacteria in viruses so any little bit to protect a loved one is great. Here is more information about Himalayan salt lamps.
Oh, Nuts First Aid Kit; I think this is my favorite gift for someone in the hospital. After all, “laughter is the best medicine after chocolate.” And this gift brings laughter even before you open the basket.
This is candy-like you have never seen before that will make a patient smile or laugh out loud. Included is a prescription for wonderful things like massage ( of course after the hospital stay), a chocolate shot, gummy gauze, and more. Give the gift of laughter. It will tickle the nurses too. Spread joy with the Oh, Nuts First Aid Kit.
Just pre-fill with your loved ones’ favorite books and gift them some fun and even transport them away from the hospital to faraway places with tales and fun reading distractions. Make a loved one’s hospital stay or recuperation period easier by including a kindle paperwhite in the hospital care package.
This is a gift that keeps on giving more happy moments when one is hospitalized and debilitated. It is easy to put together or have a nurse help them when needed. Then they can play games, and watch movies.
Truth: hospitals do have many of their favorite TV channels and movies. Also, some people are social media mavens and they can stream to their social media when they are able even in the hospital. A tablet holder is so useful hospital gift for when one is laid down and needs some entertainment other than the lame channels offered on hospital TV.
Let’s face it. Hospitals are not as quiet. You have IV pumps beeping, nurses and CNAs forgetting to lower their voices, and sometimes you want to sleep during the day and there are more people and more noise than too.
So a white noise machine would really help a patient keep sleeping and not be disturbed by every little noise. This machine has various sounds and one can choose the most soothing of them.
Adult coloring books are so much fun even when one is not sick. They are calming and make time go by fast. Being in the hospital can make days long especially if one is not so sick as to need all day sleep.
And I see patients eagerly waiting for discharge but MD still feels not yet. Let this coloring book do the trick and keep days short, and filled with some fun.
Ah, now this one is just for new moms, but just how delicious is this robe? It has hidden ties that make access easy for a new mom. A great gift for a hospital stay and even much great for mommy and baby lounging at home.
Any new mom will adore this robe.
Chanasya Compassion and Healing Hugs Gift Throw Blanket Set
Comes with a beautiful plush soft blanket, soft nonskid socks, a pillow that hugs one’s neck, and a sleeping mask for total comfort. The words of the blanket, hope, positive thoughts, hugs, prayer, healing energy, further provide comfort joy, and hope and remind a loved one that they are loved and remembered in their difficult time.
Grab the reach tool.
A grab-reach tool is an absolute necessity, especially after surgery. If a loved one has had back surgery, kneed surgery, or any illness that makes bending and reaching hard, gift them this tool and they will not only be very pleased, but you will make their life so much easier.
Gift some independence and ease for a friend or loved one in the hospital or even as they recover at home. A grab tool is essential when you are debilitated. It is a must-give gift for someone in the hospital.
And the nurses will thank you too. That’s one call bell they won’t have to answer to come and help the patient pick up something they dropped.
This tea is great. A blend of echinacea, lemongrass, decaf green tea, honey goldenseal herb, elderberries, lemon peel, ginseng root, and ginger root has all the natural goodness to bring about healing and warm feelings.
A patient needs healing and this herbal tea is a great gift for someone in the hospital because its full of anti-inflammatory compounds. A warm cup of tea in a cold hospital room is also soothing and comforting. So be sure to include this tea in that patient care package.
And tea is nice but even nicer when accompanied by this get-well mug. Give these comforting words as they sip on that tea.
Assorted inspirational cards
These adorable colorful cards are a great way to show your love and care. Even when you leave your loved one will have these affirmation cards cheering them on to get better and will continue to feel loved.
Notebooks
If they have a sense of humor and bad words don’t offend them, Shit I can’t remember is a fun and useful gift for a patient in the hospital. I can tell you as a nurse there have been countless times when a patient needs a place to jot stuff about their care plan, medications they have received, and especially questions to remember to ask the doc on rounds
It is so important to write questions to ask your doctor when they breeze in for barely 5 minutes on rounds. If you have ever waited all night to ask the doc a question only to forget when they start talking, you know how helpful a notebook can be.
Yup. It is important to write it all down. And with this notebook, your loved one will be reminded in the title alone she needs to write down stuff she will likely forget.
Also, sometimes one just needs to journal and empty the brain of the mess that can cloud the mind. There is so much to keep up within the hospital if you want to be your own advocate.
Writing questions to ask your doctor when they breeze in in the morning for barely 5 minutes when you have been waiting all day and night to ask a question only to forget when they start talking.
Yup. It is important to write it all down. And with this notebook, your loved one will be reminded in the title alone she needs to write down stuff she will likely forget.
Books and magazines
It is no secret that hospitals are quite boring, and it is worse when a loved one is stuck in bed all day with a TV that has barely anything to watch. So bringing a loved one favorite book and or magazines can make it a bit easier on their mood.
If they have a Kindle, you can purchase a subscription for either. Anyone with a bit of strength even while sick will appreciate doing something other than staring at some boring TV. If they are into self-development, here is a list of the best life-changing inspirational books.
Now if your friend or loved one loved a funny book, I would suggest Can’t Make This Stuff Up book by Susannah B Lewis. Susannah has a way of capturing the absurd in life especially when life is challenging. This book will bring smiles and help a patient shift the focus from the misery they feel being sick, at least for a moment.
A Journal
I love this purple debossed-lined journal. It has an encouraging scripture on every page to comfort a weary loved one in the hospital. It will inspire them and comfort them.
Being admitted to the hospital is always a scary thing. Apart from worrying about how everything is going, one also feels out of control for most of the happenings.
There is a lot to think about and reflect on. So a journal is a perfect gift. It gives the patient somewhere to record these thoughts and to actually reflect on what is going on.
It is a great place to write about all these thoughts, express gratitude, write affirmations, and really get in touch with one’s self at a deeper level. This is a life-changing experience and journaling is a great way to keep things in perspective.
Being sick is awful. And being stuck in the hospital is worse because one loses autonomy to a degree. Plus a patient in the hospital is poked and prodded all the time.
A patient may be in pain or bored to tears. Hospitals can also be noisy when workers talk too loud, and the machines keep beeping. The darn IV pumps! So it is hard to rest.
A bit of comfort with a thoughtful gift can help the hospital stay be a bit tolerable. So if you have ever wondered what to give to someone in the hospital, I hope this list has provided you with some fun and thoughtful gift ideas for the hospital.
So, now that you have gone through this list of gifts for someone in the hospital, which gift would you love to get for a loved one in the hospital? Which one would you like to get if you ever got stuck in the hospital? Let me know in the comments
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