Get Well Gift Basket Ideas for Someone Resting at Home
Someone recovering at home has more time than usual and less energy for almost everything, including food. Flowers wilt, and a big tray of rich treats can sit untouched. The get well basket that helps is small and practical: something warm to drink at any hour, something plain to eat, something to do with the hands, and a card. Everything in it should keep on a counter until it is wanted.
This guide starts with what to ask first, then builds two baskets from listed prices, a light one and a fuller one, with notes on each item.
Ask before choosing food
Illness and treatment change what a person can eat and drink, and the household knows the details. A short message to whoever is helping at home covers it: is there a diet to follow, is caffeine off the list, and does anything need to stay out of the house? Doctors' instructions come first, and this basket is not meant to replace them. When in doubt, choose the non-food parts of the basket and add food later.
One rule applies in any home with a baby. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says honey can contain the bacteria that cause botulism and advises not to feed honey to a child younger than 1 year old. If the patient is an infant, or an infant lives in the house, leave the honey out or note it on the card.
Shelf stable, so it waits
A recovering person may not want anything for days. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service calls foods that can be safely stored at room temperature "shelf stable" and recommends a cool, dry place below 85°F. Tea, honey, crackers and shortbread all wait on a counter until the appetite returns. Fresh fruit, cheese and anything that needs a fridge take up space someone else has to manage.
Something warm, at any hour
Warm drinks are the center of most get well baskets. Because sleep is often broken during recovery, caffeine-free choices make sense for the evening and the middle of the night.
- Mariage Frères Mentha Piperita is a pure peppermint-leaf infusion, naturally caffeine-free, with a cool, peppery and mellow cup. It comes as 30 cotton muslin sachets, so there is nothing to measure (shop Mariage Frères Mentha Piperita).
- Mariage Frères Nil Rouge is a naturally caffeine-free South African rooibos scented with citrus, spice and marigold, loose in a sealed 100-gram canister (shop Mariage Frères Nil Rouge).
Add honey for the cup. Bee Squared Apiaries, a Colorado apiary with hives across the Front Range, makes an orange blossom honey that is medium bodied with a distinctive citrus flavor, in a squeeze bottle that is easy to use from a chair or a bed (shop Bee Squared orange blossom honey).
Something plain to eat
Plain and dry is the safer bet when appetite is low. Rustic Bakery makes both of these in small batches:
- Rosemary flatbread, crisp crackers made with rosemary and olive oil (shop Rustic Bakery rosemary flatbread).
- Vanilla shortbread, a traditional buttery cookie flavored with Madagascar vanilla bean. It contains milk and wheat, so check with the household if either is a concern (shop Rustic Bakery vanilla shortbread).
Something to do
Long days at home are part of recovery. A notebook gives them a use: a place to track medicines and appointments, list questions for the doctor, or write. The LEUCHTTURM1917 medium hardcover notebook is A5, with 251 numbered pages, a blank table of contents and a thread-bound spine that opens flat (shop the LEUCHTTURM1917 A5 ruled notebook).
The card
Keep the message short and about the person, not the illness: that they are missed, that someone is thinking of them, and a specific offer of help if there is one, such as a meal on Thursday or a ride to an appointment. Ginger P. Designs' Get Well Soon card has floral and animal illustrations and a blank interior (shop the Get Well Soon card).
Two get well baskets by price
| Basket | What goes in | Listed price |
|---|---|---|
| The light basket | Mentha Piperita, orange blossom honey, rosemary flatbread, card | $58.50 |
| The fuller basket | Nil Rouge, Mentha Piperita, orange blossom honey, rosemary flatbread, vanilla shortbread, notebook, card | $126.00 |
Prices follow the listed price on each product page. For a smaller gift, a single tin of tea and the card make a complete gesture. Products ship across the continental U.S. from theambrosianpantry.com.
Short answers
What do you put in a get well gift basket? Something warm to drink, such as caffeine-free tea and honey, something plain to eat, something to do, such as a notebook, and a short card.
Is food a good get well gift? It can be, after checking with the household about diet. Shelf-stable food that waits on a counter is easier than anything that needs the fridge.
Can you put honey in a get well basket for a child? Not for a child younger than 1 year old; the CDC advises against feeding honey to infants.
How much should a get well basket cost? The two baskets here are about $59 and $126 at listed prices, and a tin of tea with a card is enough on its own.
A get well basket works when it asks nothing of the person receiving it. Keep it small, keep it shelf stable, and let the card carry the message. For a longer stretch at home, the care package that keeps covers foods that travel well by mail.
