Present for a friend staying with her DS in hospital for a fortnight?

[Rainallnight]

A friend has to go into hospital with her son for a fortnight. She’s done this before so knows what to expect etc, but she’s a relatively new friend of mine so I’ve not been around when she’s done it before.

I’d like to get her a little present to make her life easier when she’s in there. Any ideas? I thought nice coffee travel mug, or a book?

But I’d be grateful for ideas from any experienced hospital mums out there.

Thanks so much.

I recently gave my friend a gift basket of posh snacks and other goodies when she went into hospital with her toddler. She particularly liked the tea bags (tea pigs) and neals yard calming scent roller ball which helped while waiting through a long operation.

Does the hospital have a coffee shop attached to it? I'd give a voucher for that

Eye mask, ear plugs and a pashmina.
Hospitals bright, noisy and often cold

Or a battery fan. My ward is boiling hot.

Talking books for the Audible App.

Things I liked
Handcream
Nice socks
Pashmina
Puzzle book
Nice teabags & biscuits - my ward had a parents room
Another parent had a mini cafitiere(?)
Books I have on my kindle so if she has one - an Amazon voucher?

Voucher for any of the concessionaires (Costa, Starbucks, M&S food, whatever her hospital has)
Hand cream
Nice hand gel
Tea bags
Instant latte/cappuccino sachets which only need hot water
Porridge pots which only need hot water
Some lego or something similar for her child
Flip flops

You are such a lovely friend!

If she has done this before she will probably have brought all the essentials she really needs. Love the suggestion about about a destress roller. When I stayed recently it was nice to have a few treaty snacks/chocs I could nibble while DS was asleep. Hand cream great idea due to endless hand washing. Also toy for her child too as these very restricted due to covid when I stayed recently - made keeping my toddler entertained more challenging!

Thanks for all the ideas! Making a list. Yes, she’ll definitely have the essentials already.

@Youhavewonaprize Yes, planning a present for her DS too. He’s best friends with my DS, so that bit’s easy!

Gift voucher for whatever shops are in the hospital (e.g Costa, M&S, Boots - check the hospital website or call patient services). If you stick to the chains, then if for whatever reason she doesn't get round to using it, she can use it on the high street at a later date.

A small hand cream (hospital hand gels are quite harsh on the skin) and lip balm (the air is often dry).

Some nice sweets or snack bars (avoid chocolate - the high temps on the wards are a recipe for a sticky mess!).

A few magazines might be better than a book as she may not have enough time / headspace to get into a novel.

Some nice hot chocolate sachets or fruit tea bags (anything that just needs water to make up).

Vouchers would be a good idea though the hospital she’s going to literally has two generic cafes - it’s an inner city hospital which is quite major but without much space so there’s no M and S or anything, sadly.