How to Create a "Get Well" Box

Knowing how to create a "get well" box can come in very handy when you have an ailing relative or friend and you are at a loss for how to reach out and help. For me knowing how to create a "get well" box has helped me answer the call when someone I knew was suffering from a long term illness, was laid up with a broken limb or was convalescing at home after a hospitalization. Knowing how to create a "get well" box has been especially helpful when the afflicted friend or relative lives at a distance meaning that I can't go pick up groceries, take him or her to a doctor's appointment or run other normal errands. And knowing how to create a "get well" box has also given me something positive to do even when my schedule just doesn't seem to allow for stopping by and making a personal visit.

Knowing how to create a "get well" box begins with the recognition that the "get well" box is an outreach method that allows you to creatively express your concern for your friend or relative in your own time and in your own way. So find a small box that you feel you can fill with articles that are meant to help the recovering individual feel just a little bit better. And then gradually fill the box as your mood and schedule permit. Put the box in a place in your own home where you are constantly reminded of your desire to connect with your friend and then gradually add articles to the box until it is full and ready to be shipped off.

In your attempt to connect with the patient don't overdue. It is tempting to keep going to a slightly larger box and as a result delaying getting your package off to the place where it will do much more good than sitting on your kitchen table. You want to connect, produce a smile, induce a little happiness with your box and you can do that with a small collection of articles. Overdoing in what you send can actually make your friend or relative uncomfortable and even a little guilty that so much has been done. Remember that there is no rule, written or otherwise, that will keep you from sending off additional "get well" boxes according to the duration of your friend's illness. If some is good, a second helping at an appropriate time will be just as good.

Rather than quantity of articles in your "get well" box you will want to concentrate on collecting and packing items that are pure quality. That doesn't necessarily mean expensive. Filling the "get well" box should mean packing up articles, new and used, that symbolize your feelings for the friend or relative who is currently recovering. In short the articles enclosed should be personal and have meaning for you both. This doesn't mean they need to be overly emotional, in many cases it may be better if they are amusing, entertaining and thoughtful.

So what kinds of things should you send ? It all depends on you, your recovering friend and the relationship you share. Only you can decide what will sit well with the box recipient. Some general ideas that you might from and then personalize include a favorite old video, a small box of candy or special pack of gum, a scratch ticket, a book you have enjoyed and would like to share, some small seasonal decoration that could brighten a room, some note paper and stamps, some photos of places you both enjoy, silly pictures of friends or pets, even a hand towel with the logo of a special sports team. It's not the articles themselves which will have meaning to your friend but the fact that they came from you and show your special brand of thoughtfulness and friendship.And don't forget, just because it's a box of "stuff" it's okay to also enclose a brief note. The contents will mostly speak for you, but everyone likes to see the personal touch of your signature and a few personal words. So don't get so excited about closing the box that you omit that personal touch.

Close and address the box. If you chose to, dress the box up a little with your own artwork or some well planned sticker attachments. You may quickly master how to create a "get well" box. But before you start congratulating yourself, take the final step and mail the box. No matter how clever, touching or meaningful the contents of your box they will be totally ineffective unless they are mailed. Don't be surprised if when all is completed you end up enjoying sending the "get well" box almost as much as your friend or relative will enjoy receiving it.