I am sorry that I have not been posting as much this week. My grandfather had to undergo surgery, this past Thursday, and I have been back and forth to the hospital to be with him. He had an aneurysm that needed to be operated on, and has been suffering some setbacks from his surgery. He is currently in ICU and is needing lots of prayers, so please keep our family in your thoughts. I know he would really appreciate the good thoughts and prayers, as do the rest of our family.
I never know what to do in crisis situations except to cook. Since I knew everyone would be sitting in the waiting room for hours on end, I figured I could make some snacks for everyone while we were waiting. I made some of my granola bars, Rice Krispy treats (with whole grain Cheerios mixed in since I ran out of Rice Krispy cereal), and some of my trail mix.
I save my oatmeal containers since they make the perfect container to put snacks in. When I send treats to college students, I use these containers and decorate them. I really love to give gifts in the oatmeal containers. They make a great presentation for anything containing oatmeal like oatmeal cookies, granola bars or anything else that utilizes this ingredient.
There are a variety of ways to decorate oatmeal containers to pretty them up. Here are some examples of cute ways to decorate these:
- Take wallp
aper or gift wrap and wrap the container.
- Crinkle a brown paper bag and cut out a circle to go around the top of the container. Use a wide ribbon to secure the paper bag on top.
- Take a hole punch and punch out two holes on the top of the lid. Loop ribbon through the top of the lid and tie a bow on top. You can also loop a gift tag through it and stamp or decorate the tag with well wishes.
- Get your child involved and have them help you decorate the container. Have them draw a picture on Kraft paper or on construction paper and have them write their name on it. This can make the gift even more special for grandparents.
- Have your child cut out pictures of their favorite things and make a collage on the outside of the container.
The containers themselves make a practical solution for transporting treats, since the snacks are less likely to get smashed, and you will have no worries about leaving the container (unlike your favorite Tupperware).
If you know of a family who will be at the hospital, this can be a thoughtful gift to bring along with you. As someone who has been spending a little more time than usual at the hospital, I can attest to the fact that the days are long and the food is bad, not to mention expensive. Save that family some money and provide some healthy snack alternatives. I guarantee they will appreciate the gesture. There might not be much you can do about the situation, but making it more bearable is appreciated by the family members.
Tuck in some snacks for the family, the newspaper, old magazines and a favorite book. These things can help make the days less long for families and they will really appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Related Readings:
Chewy Granola Bar Recipe
Teaching My Kid to Say Thank You
How to Make Trail Mix
Sharing the Bounty
Sound Off: What are some other containers that you like to reuse in your house? Do you have any hospital hospitality tips to share?
I re-use Jif Peanut Butter jars ALL THE TIME. They are small, plastic and so verstaile. We are headed to the beach this weekend and will use a few for sea shell collecting.
I also use my glass mayo jars to store sugar, salt and oft-used spices.
Also empty kleenex boxes (square ones) work great for plastic bag storage. You only pull one out at a time that way!
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I am a former Girl Scout. We used large metal coffee cans for everything! Now that we are coffee drinkers I can’t throw them away. I use them to store things, a holder for plastic bags so I can put cookie dough in them for freezing, and I donate the rest to a boy scout leader I work with. He knows the value of a good 1lb metal coffee can.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.
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Amy, your family is in our thoughts and prayers. I hope that your Grandfather is feeling better soon.
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Amy,
I’m sorry to hear about your grandfather, and hope he will be felling better and stronger very soon.
These are wonderful suggestions for easy, practical and thoughtful gifts.
When I was in the hospital for several days, a friend brought take-out from a favorite restaurant–it was so delicious and much-appreciated!
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My thoughts and hugs from upstate NY are with your family.
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Great ideas! We use the oatmeal boxes for toys (stacking blocks, shape sorters and drums), but I never thought to save them for storage. Thanks for the tip!
ann at mommysecrets
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