Decorate a pillowcase or T- shirts with pictures for people to wear during treatments. Have all your high school or college friends frame favorite old pictures and mail them. It will create a room decorated with pictures that will hopefully bring some laughs. This can also be done with lights hung around the room and every new picture gets clipped to the lights.
These are awesome for kids! Choose angels or fairies, depending on what is more meaningful for you or the person to whom you are giving it. You can get tons of supplies for this at any craft store. Make it alone or have friends over for a Fairy Garden making night. The concept is that angels or fairies are all around us and the garden is a place for them to hang out.
Get together and decorate the front lawn or garage door with balloons and/or posters. Get the word out for everyone to get a balloon or make a poster and decorate the yard over the course of a day. This could be for the family to see when they get home from the hospital, a funeral service, a trip, or just on a gloomy Tuesday at home. Stay away from “Get Well Soon” balloons and just keep everything joyful and fun. This idea came to us when sweet Connor Crooks was 3 years old and in his final days with a brain tumor. We covered his lawn in balloons so that when he and his twin sister Claire looked out the front window all they saw was love. This was a way to show our love without having to bother them during such a sacred time.
Send kids a project so that they can make something for the person who is sick or sad. Stick to things kids can do on their own and that don’t need a lot of instruction.
Here are a few example ideas:
A bracelet making kit to design “healing bracelets” for everyone in the family or for people who come over to visit.
A painting set to make a picture to put in the person’s room.
Drop off cookie dough or baking supplies and a recipe. You can add an apron and other cute baking utensils.
Organize your friends to send something fun each week to the person who’s sick or grieving. It can provide a welcome distraction for kids and adults to have a little surprise to look forward to each week.
Send food items that can be out on the counter for everyone to grab when they want a snack. It never hurts to have new, fun snacks to eat! Heartworks loves Edible Arrangements, Cheryl’s cookies, and The Popcorn Factory.
It’s awesome to get mail! The cards don’t always have to be serious. Your first card can say something like “I know you have a bunch of serious stuff going on right now so I thought it may balance things out to get stupid, funny cards – so I’m on a mission to find the dumbest, funniest cards to send you!” Send a card once a week or organize with your group of friends to do this. If you don’t know what to write, just sign your name. Rally your friends to send the funniest, most inappropriate cards they can find on a regular basis.
In emergent situations, thinking of what kind of help to ask for can be overwhelming to the family, so offer something specific rather than asking what is needed. Here are some examples:
“I am going to grab Joey to drive him to and from practice for awhile, just have him ready by 5:00 and I will have snacks and water in the car for him”
“I can food shop this week or take the kids for a few hours, which feels most helpful?”
“I’m going early to the concert tonight and will save you seats on the left hand side towards the front. See you there!”
“I’m dropping off bagels tomorrow morning by 7:00 they will be on the porch. Enjoy! XOXO”
If a family on your kid’s team or activity is dealing with a grief or a health challenge, Read more
Pray for the family or person all day long while you are at work, running errands, or at home.
Organize prayer circles at you church or home.
Instructions: Send out a group text or email inviting friends over to your house. Have a candle lit before everyone gets there (to set the mood) and invite everyone to sit together in a room. Go around the room and allow everyone to say their own prayers out loud or choose common prayers everyone knows and say them out loud together over and over again. For family and friends who are not close by you can send out a group text or email with the date and time and ask them to stop what they are doing at the time of the prayer circle, light a candle, and sit in prayer. Before everyone leaves, remind them to keep praying.
Another way to bring people together remotely is to pick a day and time to pray and ask everyone to pray for the person all at the same time. You can let the person you are praying for know this so they can feel the power of it. Remind people that you can be at a soccer game or in a store and still pray!
