A friend of mine who lives several thousand miles away is having open heart surgery in a couple of weeks. I want to send him a gift basket to brighten up his week in the hospital. I was looking around on the web and was thinking something like this would be nice, but for $80 + $13 shipping, I’m sure I could make one just as nice if not better, more personalized. I could also put in some puzzle books and things to amuse him while he’s laid up.
Anyone ever done this? Have any helpful hints? I’m especially concerned about packaging and shipping, so if you have any ideas about that, I’d appreciate it. If I’m going to be sending homemade cookies, chocolate, or other food, I don’t want it to get ruined in transit.
I would probably focus more on books, puzzles, fruit, gift certificates. While my husband (having a triple bypass Monday,) would probably love to have some cookies and chocolate in front of him, it might not jive with the dietary guidelines he’ll probably have to follow. Just a thought. I’ll keep an eye on this thread because I’m trying to figure out what kinds of things to have on hand for him!
If you’re not too stuck on it being in a “basket” then just put together a care package. That would be easier to ship.
Puzzle books would be fun. I love the Two Minute Mysteries books by Donald J. Sobol (the guy who wrote the *Encyclopedia Brown * books, but these are for adults…murder and kidnapping vs stolen bicycles and lunch money). They’re short and sweet, and he can read a couple before he takes a nap.
A nice comfy blanket is always welcome, and instead of food, maybe some coffee or flavored teas with a mug? Dried fruit is good…make sure it doesn’t have a lot of added sugar. Can he eat nuts?
I would agree to get more entertainment stuff than food stuff. I was in the hospital for a few days when I was 15, I was so bored I was actually crying. (It was an unexpected visit, I didn’t have time to pack a bag). Puzzles and puzzle books would have been wonderful. Or a stack of fluff magazines, even if it’s back issues. Maybe DVDs you think he’d like? Even if he doesn’t have a portable player I’d assume he’ll be at home for a bit.
ETA: obviously your friend will have time to pack than in my story :smack: nonetheless, being sick can be real boring, being bored sucks.
We put together a similar basket for some friends once, but we used a wicker laundry basket so that the basket would be more likely to be used afterwards. And even at that size, we still didn’t spend that kind of money filling it up, though we dropped it off in person, so we didn’t have shipping costs to worry about, either. It went over really well, and I’m sure your friend will be thrilled with whatever you put together.
The reasons why I was thinking food are that he’s in for valve replacement, not a bypass or anything. He’s quite thin and bound to lose more weight-- he’s one of those people who sitting on his ass makes him waste away, not gain. He’s been talking about food a lot. Maybe dried fruit/granola, homemade cookies in a tin, coffee and tea, and some jelly beans or something. And the puzzle books.
The next question is, do I try to have it shipped to him in the hospital, or wait until he gets home? What’s the etiquette on that?
Completely my own opinion only, but…when my MIL was in the hospital, she got tons and tons of flowers in vases, plants and knickknacks which were a total PITA to try to lug back to her house; it was difficult enough to be getting her checked out, into the wheelchair and loaded into the car. Consumables rule!
Come to think of it, if anyone asks how they can help when your loved one is hospitalized, ask them to come by the day before (or of) their discharge, pack everything up and take it home!
If you send puzzle books, make sure to send a pack of mechanical pencils too. When I’m in the hospital, I always make my husband get me one of those giant puzzle books, the kind with all sorts of puzzles, so if I’m tired of crosswords, I can go to the scrambled words, and so on.
I think that assorted teas would be a nice treat, especially herbal teas. Dried fruit travels nicely and keeps for ages. And homemade cookies are always a nice thought. He doesn’t have to inhale them all in one sitting.
Puzzle books, magazines a novel or two that you might happen to know he’d love to read would be nice. I like the idea of some nice coffee or teas too. Dried fruit, nuts and stuff sound good.
I have no idea how long it takes to get over a heart valve replacement but it might be a while before he could eat things like cookies. Sending a nice tin of homemade cookies might be even nicer a few weeks down the road when he might be able to enjoy 'em more.
This is a great idea Rubystreak and you earn major friend points for wanting to do this.