Gifts that Comfort All Ages

Suffering, pain, grief, loss, and emotional turmoil are universal among humans. Virtually everyone has some experience with distress, regardless of their age. And, if you’re someone hoping to comfort a friend, family member, or even an acquaintance, you may be struggling to come up with ideas. This article will guide you through choosing gifts that can bring comfort and offer support for all ages. 

Meals and Snacks

If there’s one thing everyone has in common, it’s the need to eat. From the moment you’re born until the end of your long life, you need nutrition. One of the most wonderful parts of this need to eat is that there are so many wonderful foods to enjoy. Plus, food serves as so much more than mere nutrition. A variety of foods provide comfort when you’re hurting and bring moments of joy and delight when you’re down. The key is to tailor the meal or snack to the specific age and tastes of the recipient. 

For a kid, you might chop chicken soup ingredients into tiny bites. For a grown-up, add ham or gruyere to a classic macaroni and cheese. In a sympathy care package of treats, you could include sour patch kids or peanut butter cups for someone younger. But for an older friend, you may select dark chocolate truffles, champagne, or artisanal meats and cheeses. Make sure you customize the food to the maturity of the palette and the preference of your loved one, and you can’t go wrong. 

Comfort Items

When someone you love is dealing with a long-term illness or struggling with heavy emotions as a result of a loss, you may want to soothe them. Regardless of the time of year or even the time of day, there’s something about being sad or being sick that makes you want to curl up into a ball and move as little as possible. Those moments can feel almost like a mandate from your body that says, “Stay still. Just feel it. Just let yourself heal.” 

Because this feeling crosses the entire age range, you can offer support for someone at that stage with comfort items. For kids, you could create a sympathy basket with a cozy blanket with their favorite character or animal. You might include cozy socks, a pillow, and a stuffed animal to hug. For adults, you can level those items up by choosing from luxury fabrics like chenille or cashmere and adding candles or bath bombs to the basket. 

Entertainment 

In cases of illness or grief, a lot of people find themselves feeling like they have too much time on their hands. They’ve taken time off work or school, and they know they’re not ready to confront the world, but they also don’t have much to do at home. This situation can escalate quickly and lead to kids becoming restless and cranky. Even adults may find themselves spinning out or stuck in their heads, panicking over worst-case scenarios. 

As a friend or family member, you can help distract your loved one with entertainment. While the urge to stay busy crosses age ranges, you can tailor the entertainment you provide to the age and interests of the recipient. Kids might appreciate board books, word scramble books, and board games. Adults, in contrast, might prefer complicated puzzles, paperbacks, and crosswords. As a bonus, you can bring over a game or puzzle and offer to play with your loved one. 

Plants and Flowers 

Plants and flowers are such a wonderful way to lift someone’s mood. You can offer a bouquet of color or a nice pot of greenery to bring life into a room. There are many varieties to choose from, whichever way you decide to go, and you can make them age-appropriate. For younger kids, you’ll want to pick hardier plants and give them simple instructions for keeping the plant alive. For adults, you can have their favorite flower delivered on a random day. 

But the real bonus with plants and flowers is to bring a variety that you can plant in the ground. Anyone from a toddler to an octogenarian can benefit from time spent in a garden. You can choose a plant or flower that will thrive in your loved one’s hardiness zone, and then schedule a time to plant together. You could make a day of it, clearing space, planting the new plant, and enjoying a picnic outside in the yard. If your loved one doesn’t have a yard, find a community garden, and follow the same steps. 

In the end, you can make almost any comfort gift age appropriate, as long as you’re considering the maturity level and preferences of your recipient. The most important part of giving any gift, from a care package to a greeting card, is that you put your heart into it. After that, you can personalize, customize, and tailor to the delight of your loved one. And don’t be afraid to ask your friend or family member what they love, whether it’s candy or candles. That way, you’ll have even better insight into ways to soothe when it matters most.