February is Canned Food Month

Honor your friend by organizing a canned food drive in his/her name!  Donate the canned goods to a neighborhood food pantry. 

February is Creative Romance Month

Organize a special date for your friend and his/her significant other.  Arrange for childcare, transportation, reservations and a gift card that will cover the cost of meal and a tip.  A gift card for a nearby movie theater would also be good to include.

February is Great American Pie Month

Pizza Pie. Shepherd’s Pie. Cherry Pie. Chocolate Pie.  Lemon Meringue Pie.  Strawberry Pie.  Chocolate Pie.  Give a pie to your friend, your friend’s nursing staff, your friend’s oncologist, and to your own family!

February is National Cherry Month

Cherries are so good in so many ways – get creative and celebrate!  Whether you put a cherry on top of a milkshake or an ice cream sundae, or if you bake cherry cobbler or cherry turnovers, you will surely make someone smile!

February is National Grapefruit Month

Our natural instinct is to take dinners to friends – but providing breakfast for your friend’s family is a wonderful way to start everyone’s day.  Let your friend’s family know in advance that you plan to provide their morning meal on a specific day.  You can fill their home with the great smells of food cooking, or you can have the meal ready-to-eat when you deliver it.  Either way, don’t forget the grapefruit (and be sure it is ready to eat!)

February is Birdfeeding Month

At a loss for something special to do for a convalescing friend?  How about a birdfeeder to hang outside the window?  Be sure to include extra food for refilling.  Better yet, plan to stop by regularly to refill the feeder yourself – even if you don’t go inside to visit – just be a friendly little bird!

February is Cat Health Month

If your friend is challenged with health issues, taking care of the cat’s routine vet visits may not be possible.  Offer to take the cat for a check-up if it is due.  And if that’s not needed, a fun cat toy is always a treat for the kitty cat as well as the owner!

February is Chocolate Month

Chocolate seems to spell ‘friendly food’ for a lot of people.   Your friend will be so pleased if you shower his/her hospital or oncology staff with yummy chocolates.  Whether you bake something or pick up a bag of chocolates at the grocery, the treats will be welcomed!

February is Library Lovers Month

Is your friend an avid reader who is unable to get to the library right now?  Offer to help select some books online, then pick them up.  Mark the ‘due date’ on your calendar so you can return the books/movies, too.  If your friend isn’t up to reading right now, don’t forget about audio books!

February is Potato Lovers Month

If your friend loves mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, fried potatoes, be sure to include them in the dinner you deliver.  Most potato recipes reheat well, too, so include some extra servings.

February is Snack Food Month

Snack foods come in handy for family members of someone hospitalized or going through medical treatments.   Put together a fun basket of snack foods – both healthy and not-so-healthy.  Deliver the basket with a friendly note.  You can sign your name or leave the gift anonymously!

Surprises

A gift box on the doorstep filled with a coffee mug, tea bags, snacks, a book or DVD.

Daily gifts with a theme such as “spring garden” – flower seed packets on Monday, tomato plants on Tuesday, herbs on Wednesday, blooming flowers on Thursday, a note on Friday indicating that friendly elves will arrive at 1pm on Saturday to get flowerbeds ready for planting.

When you mow your lawn, go next door and mow your neighbor’s, too.

What Friends Did –

I wanted to buy Sonja an angel.  I thought that this was going to be an easy task, but by the fifth store I still could not find the right angel.  I went home and thought of everything that I wanted the angel to represent---encouragement, friendship, laughter, fun, hope, love, and support.  I then realized I needed more than one angel.  I received an Oriental Trading magazine in the mail, and this was the answer to my dilemma.  I bought several angels and attached a saying, poem, joke, or story to each angel.  I came up with a clever way to hide the angels around Sonja's house.  She still does not know who I am---which I think adds to the fun.  The Guarding Angel poem is the first poem an angel gave to Sonja; it expresses what I hope my troop of angels is achieving:

Guarding Angel

When times are hard, were feeling low, We don't know where we want to go it's time we need to know. 
 
An Angel to guide you on your way 
An Angel to brighten your day 
 
When you need an uplifting thought A hand to hold or to hug a lot 
 
An Angel to sit with you awhile 
An Angel to make you smile 
 
Our Angel knows our dented soul. The friend comes from an unknown 
source and soon we feel complete once more. 
 
An Angel to encourage and guide 
An Angel to stay by your side.  
 
~ Ruth Warren

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Letter Box
Your friend will treasure letters written from friends.  Borrow this idea that was recently shared on Oprah: Ask all friends to write a letter with a theme (Why your friendship is a treasure for me, What I admire most about you, etc.)   Collect all the letters and place them in a special box.  What a lovely gift.

This lovely memory box will hold all the letters nicely.

Tis a Gift to Give

Your friend will enjoy giving gifts to others even in the midst of a crisis or trauma.   Suggest one of the fun WhatFriendsDo.com ideas for your friend to do for someone who has helped them significantly.

Build a snowman – if you live in a climate where snow falls, bundle up and build a snowman in your friend’s front yard.  What a fun treat for everyone!

Recycling

Maybe your friend is having a difficult time sorting through belongings of a deceased loved one.   Recycling useful items to others may be just the opportunity needed to put those things to good use for someone less fortunate.   Gently suggest that you are donating clothing and household items to a local shelter – and ask if there is anything useful they could contribute.

Dining Out?

While you’re out having dinner with friends, and you’re discussing your friend in need purchase a gift card for the restaurant before you leave.  Enclose it in a card and let your friend know he or she was in your thoughts, and you wanted to share a meal with them.  If the restaurant has delivery service, be sure to enclose a menu with your gift card.

Picture This!

Make sure the family is all together by putting together pictures … video would be great gift … good for military people, or people who have moved away .. this can be from family or friends

Special delivery each Sunday:  collect notes and cards all week and bundle them with a pretty ribbon, then place the bundle in your friend’s mailbox each Sunday.  These don’t replace cards throughout the week – but instead they are a special delivery each week on the day the mailman doesn’t come.

Organize a housecleaning day – but this cannot be a complete surprise – you MUST let someone in your friend’s household be “in” on this one, because showing up unannounced could very possibly be an unwelcome invasion of privacy… and that is NOT what friends do!

Maybe the best surprise for your friend is to organize a collection to pay for a cleaning service.

Closet Cleaning

Many people rotate the clothes in their closets as the seasons change. Ask your friend if he/she needs help with this.

Children may be in need of spring and summer clothes, having outgrown those worn last year. Offer to take children shopping.

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Take a Turn - If your friend is going through chemotherapy treatments, offer to drive him or her to give the primary caregiver some time to do other things.  Take along a basket with some snacks and magazines.  You might also take along some blank note cards and ask if you write some notes on your friend’s behalf.   Take along some treats for the staff at the oncology center, too.   This will bring a smile to the staff and your friend!

Remember the whole family! 

When pampering your friend, keep in mind that his or her family members are also going through the experience.  They need to be pampered, too!   Movie passes (that include concessions!) for the entire family will be great for a fun family outing.  If going out isn’t feasible, DVD rentals are good – you can pick-up and return the DVDs – and maybe a family member would enjoy going with you to make the selection.

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This month, and every month, please visit your local blood donation center and share the gift of life.

Remember the caregivers!!

Doctor appointments, chemotherapy and radiation treatments do not stop during the holidays.  Caregivers also may appreciate having a friend’s help for these appointments in order to free some time for their own holiday preparations.

For Friends Grieving

Begin new and meaningful traditions for your friend’s family and help them find a way to honor the memory of the person who died.

• Give your friend a memorial candle to be lit throughout the holiday season
• When speaking with your friend, acknowledge that your are thinking of his/her loved one and tell of a specific holiday memory you have of that person
• Suggest that your friends dedicate a meal to the person who died
• Make a donation to a charity in the name of your friend’s loved one
• If children have lost a parent, take them shopping to buy their gifts for their surviving parent
• Observe a moment of silence before a holiday meal honoring the deceased person

Acknowledging the person who died is an important part of the healing process for the surviving family and friends.