Make A Flu Kit: A Care Package Tutorial

Growing up in rural Pennsylvania nearly required a childhood filled with farm kittens. It also required fantastic names for these fluff-balls. From the obvious Brownie and Snowball to the more creative Sneakers, Raja, Stephanie and Kephanie—we had them all. To be honest though, my cousins were even better at names, one year they had deemed their runt Sicky…and now every time someone is sick, the name reappears for whoever is camping out on the couch.

Typically, when a sicky emerges in our family, my Mom or I get a little excited (this may or may not be a little bit weird). We love to set up a folding table and stock it with tissues, remotes, hot tea, water, crackers, magazines—whatever we can find. Sometimes we even can find some flowers to put in a vase! We are on our A-game when we can serve! But what happens when your sicky isn’t in your home, or lives a hundred miles away? I have been working on the perfect solution for taking care of your friends & family when they are sick with the flu, a cold, or whatever comes their way! Creating a kit ahead of time will assure that you are an answered prayer when your friend comes down with whatever is going around. Here’s how I made mine:

Make a Plan

First thing’s first: head out for a little shopping! There are a few essentials that you’ll want to include in your sick-kit:

• A box of tissues
• Magazines (MaryJanesFarm is always what the doctor calls for!), books, Sudoku, or movies (you can really think about your friend’s personality for this one!)
• Some kind of food! This could be canned soup, snacks, crackers, or tea (if you do tea, you must include a mug!)

Some other fun ideas include:

• A vase with fake flowers
• Peppermint or lavender oil
• A heating pad or ice bag
• Their favorite candy
• Fleece blanket
• A basket to put everything in
• Bubble Bath or aromatherapy shower tablets
• Cozy jammies or slippers

Get Creative

My favorite part of this whole kit is putting a little bit of old-fashioned time and effort into it! I love how tissue boxes look wrapped in fabric. Not only is a tissue box cover an adorable idea, it’s really cheap and easy to make (especially since I’m giving you a free sewing pattern!)! The best part is that you can also whip up a *matching* pillowcase (which is also cheap and easy to make!). If you want to get really wild, you could throw in a no-sew fleece blanket or grab one on your shopping spree!
I’m giving you free sewing patterns for both the tissue box cover and the pillowcase! Hop on over to my shop to get your free downloadable sewing patterns!

Presentation Is Everything!

Once you’ve got everything together, it’s time to pack it up! Decide if you’re going to send it in the mail or leave it on their doorstep. A basket makes such a cute home for all these items. Arrange all the items so that it’s a lovely surprise when they open it up! It will definitely make their day and might just help them on their way to recovery!

Maybe you have a friend that is more than just a little sick. Maybe they are going to be in the hospital for a while or need to stay in bed. This would be a great gift for anyone during a more extended time of sickness. Make sure that you spend time with them and encourage them, and they will be reminded of your encouragement every time they lay their head on their very own pillowcase or grab a tissue from their matching tissue box. Other ideas for their basket would include a hospital gown, journal, or a novel that will keep their interest (if you read it too, it’ll give you both something to talk about!).

Whatever you do, make sure that your friends and family are taken care of when they are feeling under the weather! Spend time with them if you can, and certainly send them this little kit that they will enjoy now and can use later! I would love to see your finished projects or hear about the reaction from your friends and family when they received this kit! Please tell me all about it in the comments below!

This post can be found on Made By You Mondays, and the DIY Collective Link Party along with lots of other great projects! Check it out: