Search

Medical
Great Gifts For Hospital Patients Who Would Rather Be At Home

A hospital stay isn’t fun, but any of these gifts for hospital patients can make everything feel better.

The hospital is not the most pleasant place to spend any time, let alone days. Nothing in the hospital is as comfortable as you would like it to be. They have uncomfortable beds, cold floors, bland food, all kinds of disruptive beeps and noises, and many more issues that make it unpleasant to be there for long periods of time. The atmosphere in a hospital can be downright depressing for anyone who has to stay in one, and there are many reasons why. Having to be there in the first place can feel bad enough, even if you’re there for something minor. 

So since the experience of staying in a hospital isn’t necessarily a great one, when someone you care about is stuck there, you probably feel bad for them and wish you could make things better. Well you’re certainly not completely helpless in this situation. You can do small things to make your friend feel more comfortable while they are at the hospital. 

One way to do that is to get them better versions of things they have at the hospital to make their stay more pleasant. You can get them items for their bed, for entertainment, and even food for the family at home. Anything can be a welcome distraction when you’re stuck in a hospital bed when you’d rather be anywhere else. Whatever they can use for comfort or entertainment can help significantly and make someone feel less as if the time is just dragging on. Anything that can make someone’s hospital stay better will likely be greatly appreciated. 

Gifts for hospital patients

When you know someone who is stuck in the hospital, you can probably imagine just how uncomfortable they must be. The hospital isn’t a place that anyone wants to spend much time in, but you can make this time a lot more bearable for someone by giving them a few useful gifts that will make their stay in the hospital a lot more pleasant. 

Bathrobe

This is soft enough to make walking around the hospital feel luxurious. Image courtesy of Amazon

When someone you care about is lying around in an uncomfortable hospital gown, a bathrobe can really make their stay more comfortable. Hospital gowns are known to be uncomfortable. They are thin, rough, and don’t even close all the way. Your loved one will need something thick and fluffy to wear so they can be as comfortable as possible. A bathrobe can really make them feel cozy and feel more comfortable walking around their room without having to hold their outfit closed themselves. 

A comfy outfit goes a long way towards making someone more comfortable as they spend all day lying around in a hospital bed. Get a robe that feels soft and silky so it feels smooth to the touch. It will be a huge contrast from the hospital gown, making it easy to love. Something big and roomy will be just what someone in a hospital bed needs. 

Slippers

These will make walking across cold, hard floors into a comfortable experience. 

One way to make a friend in the hospital feel comfortable is to take care of their feet. Whatever sandals they were given by the hospital likely aren’t as comfortable as they could be, and you can help them out by getting them a comfortable pair of slippers. A nice pair of warm slippers will make it feel nicer to walk around the cold hospital floors. A person can’t easily relax when their feet are feeling cold and sore from cold, hard floors. 

You need to get them the softest and warmest pair of slippers you can find that will make them feel happy to slip them on each time. And when it comes to slippers, you have many options to choose from. There are various colors, shapes, and styles. You can find a pair in all kinds of silly shapes and styles if you want a pair that’s really fun. 

feet wearing fuzzy socks are slipped into fluffy slippers

Socks

A few warm pairs of socks will be useful to anyone spending a few days in a hospital. Hospital socks can feel rough and scratchy and aren’t too comfortable to be stuck in for days. They also don’t feel warm enough. You can fix those problems by getting your loved one soft and comfortable socks that will make their hospital stay much more comfortable. 

When it comes to socks, there are many great options you can choose from to make someone’s hospital stay more bearable. Fuzzy socks will work great for this occasion to keep someone’s feet extra cozy. But you can also get different types depending on your friends’ preferences or potential mood from time to time. 

Meal Train

This meal will be a welcome change from daily hospital food. 

Meals are probably one of the best things you can gift to a friend while they have a stay at a hospital. Hospital food is famously bland, and most people can’t stand having it for days on end. To give your friend food, all you have to do is find out what the hospital will allow, and then you can go ahead and get started on helping. You can always set up a meal train to have different meals delivered at different times of the day. This kind of gesture is sure to make anyone’s hospital stay so much better than usual. 

When you want to set up a meal train, you should get some friends or family involved to help someone during their time of need. If your loved one isn’t medically required to eat bland hospital food, there’s no reason why they should have to! Having good meals come from outside of the hospital will make anyone’s stay a whole lot more tolerable. Give InKind will help you set up a meal train to feed and support someone you care about. 

GiveInKind will assist you through the entire process. Just write down your loved one’s’ favorite meals on the InKind Page you have set up, and share with supporters who will take turns signing up to provide meals at a regular schedule. All anyone who wants to help out has to do is pick a meal and choose how they will have it delivered. They can always make and deliver meals on their own or have a meal delivered by a restaurant on GrubHub or DoorDash.

simplified sample Give InKind page titled "Monique's Meal Train"

Squeeze Bottle

When someone is spending all day in bed, drinking beverages could stand to be easier for them. To avoid dropping anything on themselves or on their hospital bed, they have to make sure to position themselves properly whenever they want to take a drink, which can feel like a burden depending on how they feel physically. A squeeze bottle will make drinking so much easier for your hospital bed bound loved one. They can simply hold their head back and pour the liquid into their mouth from any position, so they don’t have to struggle just to take a sip of water from time to time.

It can also be stored in any position, whether standing up or lying down, so it makes the whole process of having drinks in a hospital bed a lot easier. 

Pillow

Like with many of the things given to patients by the hospital, hospital pillows work, but are often not as comfortable as they could be. Since your loved one will be spending a lot of time lying in a bed, having the most comfortable pillow possible will make their hospital stay much more pleasant. Your friend will be a lot happier to lay down all day when they feel as if they are lying on a cloud. 

You should get one that makes them feel comfortable from any position they choose to lie in. Make sure to get a fun pillow case to go with it. Something that can brighten up the look of their drab hospital room. 

Books

Someone who will be spending their days lying down in a hospital bed can use a welcome distraction from the boredom they’re inevitably going to feel a lot of the time. A fun book will make a great gift in this moment because it will get them to focus on an interesting story rather than on their unfortunate situation. The hospital room is going to be quiet and boring a lot of the time, so they are in need of a distraction. Make sure to get the kind of book that will really keep someone’s mind occupied.

If you know what kind of book your friend tends to be into, you can easily find the type of book that will pique their interest. There are so many great genres available to choose from, you will be surrounded by options wherever you go to get books. You can choose a mystery, comedy, historical fiction, and even non-fiction books about a number of different topics. If you’re unsure of what to get, you can always look through different best seller lists for ideas. Any way you choose will likely end up getting you some great results. 

stack of books with a pair of glasses sitting on top

Back Massager

It can be uncomfortable to lie down in a hospital bed all day. Someone in that situation may end up feeling stiff and tired because they aren’t able to stretch or use up any energy. One thing that can help them out is an electric back massager. A back massager can help to relieve some of anyone’s pain when they have a sore back. It can reduce any stiffness or tension in the body, which is helpful when someone has been in the same position for a while. A back massager can feel like a relief to have. 

A back massager makes it so a person can take care of their aches and pains on their own without anyone else’s help. Since someone isn’t going to be there to massage them, it is good to have a device that can do it for them. Something that they can simply place behind their back and lean up against is perfect to use while sitting up on a hospital bed. It can even help to increase blood flow and circulation, which is very beneficial for someone who can’t move around all day long. 

A hospital stay is something that is never pleasant. If someone you care about has to stay in one for a while, there are things that you can give them to help them out. With just one or more of the items on this list, you can turn a hospital stay from torturous to completely tolerable, and maybe even nice.


Give InKind does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We have an affiliate relationship with many of the advertisers on our site, and may receive a commission from any products purchased from links in this article. See Terms & Conditions.

Call for Submissions

Share Your Story

Give InKind offers a platform for anyone to submit their stories, to help and inspire others to get through any of life’s disruptions.