A Gift for a Friend Having a Rough Time

Sometimes, you need a gift idea for a friend having a bad day, or a gift for a friend having a rough time.  Sometimes, it is a culmination of events over quite a long time, making for an overall rough time.  Other times, it is a month or so where everything just seems to go wrong.

For example, one of my friends is an income tax accountant, so March and April are very stressful and overloaded months to start with and this year, there was a tragic loss in her small firm, followed by her boyfriend tearing a ligament in his knee several weeks later.  Needless to say, April 30th couldn’t come fast enough!

When trials and tribulations are short term, I recommend taking meals as a way to help out.  That said, you may also want to get an item that is a little longer lasting as a gift for a friend having a rough time, or something that is easy to pick up, but carries a lot of meaning.  Here are a few things that Kathleen and I came up with:

A Gift for a Friend Having a Rough Time

Cashmere Sweater – Okay, it doesn’t have to be cashmere, but a nice, comfy sweater that’s like a hug!  The whole idea is that you are giving your friend a long-lasting hug!

Hershey Hugs – These are a slightly more tangible version of the hug, that taste delicious!

Warm Gloves – You’re sending warm, fuzzy thoughts to your friend, so help them stay warm and fuzzy with a pair of gloves.

Snuggie – Like all of the above, with an added humourous kick!

Hot Chocolate (or Cococa) – Wrapping your hands around a warm mug, filled with rich, delicious chocolate and sinking into a couch corner, with your knees pulled up, is a way to relax and to reflect and deal with crappiness.

Pearl Jewelry – Do you know how pearls are made?  It is the science and “did you know” information of elementary school and sometimes we forget about it as we age.  Oysters coat irritants like sand, layer upon layer, until we can see and harvest lovely, large, shiny pearls.  Your friend is enduring hardship or strife, an irritant in their life, so remind them that beautiful things can come from them.  Here are some lines you could use in a card:

• This has been tough, but think of this experience like an oyster adding another layer to an irritant, adding another layer to the beautiful pearl that is you.
• Bit by bit, life’s trials and tribulations shape us into the people we are, like a pearl, built layer by layer.

What ideas do you have for a gift for a friend having a rough time or a bad day?