MissLJBeauty

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Creature Comforts

Whether you search for gift hampers Auckland, or make something yourself, creature comforts are a great way to keep your friend in high spirits. A creature comfort can be anything from a comfy new pillow, to a few bars of their favourite chocolate. 

The goal is to simply create a space and environment that makes them feel good and makes them feel better. Whether it is a placebo or not, being in an environment that makes you feel good will make recovery feel easier. 

Books, Movies, TV Shows

Another easy thing to do, especially if your friend has to stay in bed, is to create a collection of books, movies, and TV shows. Whether it be titles you like or whatever is the most popular at the time, these are great ways to pass the time. 

If you have a streaming service, your friend doesn’t, letting them use it for a little while is an almost completely free way to achieve the same goal. If your friend owns a Kindle, you can also buy a dozen books for next to nothing for them. 

Cook

One of the best ways to make your friends life easier is to cook for them. This is especially true if they are a single parent, as ensuring there is food in the house at all times is important, whether they want to eat or not. 

You can also go down the meal-prepping route, whereby you cook something in bulk and give it to your friend to freeze. This can be anything from lasagna to chicken pie, all of which would be super-easy to heat up and eat whenever needed. 

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Meal Subscriptions

If you have the money to spare and don’t have the time to cook, you can purchase your friend a meal subscription for a week or two. These are brilliant as there are many that deliver ready-made meals, and not just the ingredients. 

What makes this better is that you can personalize it so that it meets your friend's dietary requirements, and it also means they won’t order unhealthy fast food regularly, which will most certainly help with their recovery. 

Chores

Another brilliant way to help your friend, and something that will only take a couple of hours a week, is to help out with their household chores. Whether it be doing laundry, cleaning, taking the dog out, or anything it between, it all makes a world of difference. 

Considering these are things you don’t typically have the energy for when you are recovering, doing even the most basic of chores makes a world of difference. 

Organize & Schedule

If your friend is typically fairly busy and has a lot of responsibilities, being able to schedule and get all of these things done when recovering can be tough. Therefore, doing it for your friend can take a small load off their shoulders. 

Help with the Kids

If your friend has children and has a busy partner or is a single parent, there are several ways to help with their kids. You can do the school run, make them lunches, pick them up from school, babysit, etc. 

If you also have kids that happen to go to the same school, that is even better as you can take them home with you, they can do their homework and give their parent a few hours of quiet time. 

Regular Visits/Phone Calls

If you don’t have the time do the things listed above, something small that can make a massive difference is simply visiting or calling your friend regularly. If your friend is single and stuck in bed or at home, loneliness is something that can make them feel far worse. 

Because of this, make the time to stop by for a cup of coffee, call them after a doctor appointment, or just call to catch up. 

Encourage Self-Care

Much like cleaning their home, self-care is also something that may slip when your friend is recovering; even something as quick and easy as a shower could be a struggle. Because of this, encourage your friend to partake in a little bit of self-care that can help them feel better. 

You can do at-home spa days, have a girls night where you paint your nails and do facials, or anything in between. 

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Be a Shoulder to Lean On

Finally, if anything, simply being a shoulder to lean on when your friend is having a tough day can do more for them than you may know. Going through cancer treatment, for instance, can be exceptionally tough, and your friend may just want to express their emotions, whether it be through laughter, or a cry. 

Being that friend that makes them comfortable enough to do these things can be exactly what they need to feel better.