The corona virus places a number of people in a very compromising position. This is especially true for people with chronic illnesses and the elderly. At the moment, it’s not a good idea for old people to be leaving their homes. If they contract the virus, they will be less likely to recover. In addition, medical professionals generally favour young people when it comes to life-saving medical decisions. One of the best things we can do is ensure that our elderly loved ones are receiving the love and attention that they deserve.
This can be done by compiling a care package with the following items:
• Delicious snacks
Everybody loves being gifted with some of their favourite snacks. Consider the fact that many elderly people will not be able to go to the shops and buy the treats that they enjoy. However, buying snacks for an elderly person might be different to buying them for a child or teenager. Try to make a good portion of the snacks a healthy alternative that doesn’t compromise one’s health in major ways.
• Newspapers, magazines and books
You might be creating this care package for an elderly person who is not tech savvy. This means you could help them stay up to date on the situation by giving them recent newspapers, magazines and books. It might be difficult to source publications that are still printing at this time. However, if you’re able to get your hands on some relevant content, it would be great to include in the package.
• Printed photos
Photographs are incredibly sentimental and they create a sense of comfort. Printing out photographs of family, friends and loved ones and including them in the care package is a lovely gesture. If you’re lucky enough to have a printer at home, you should definitely print out a few photos. They can also serve as a reminder of how wonderful things will be when we are able to get back to our normal lives.
• Toiletry items
The great thing about toiletry items is that you can almost guarantee that they’ll be useful. Assuming that you know the person that you are creating the package for, try incorporate toiletry items that you know they use all the time. This could be toothpaste, deodorant, aftershave, a nice soap etc.
• Seasonal items
As we head into winter, care packages can include nice flavoured teas, hot chocolate, or perhaps a scarf. Winter is a time when most people’s immune systems are compromised. It’s a good idea to equip the elderly people with a variety of comfortable and warm clothes.
During a pandemic it’s important to be as caring as possible. Everybody could use some care and support, especially the elderly people in our lives. Care packages might be difficult to put together during this time. However, food is certainly still on sale at the grocery stores. This means that you can still put together an awesome care package, even if it only consists of food.