Get well soon gift for someone recovering at home: something cheerful for the room, and why not for the hospitalGet well soon gift for someone recovering at home: something cheerful for the room, and why not for the hospital

Not for the hospital room

Please read this first. Hospitals do not allow open flames, and a candle has no place on a ward, in an ICU or beside oxygen. If your friend or relative is still admitted, send fruit, a book, a phone charger with a long cable, or simply visit. Many hospitals restrict flowers too, so check with the ward.

This page is for the next stage: someone recovering at home, after a surgery, a fracture, dengue, a long fever or a hospital stay, spending days in one room and getting bored of the ceiling.

Something cheerful to look at

For recovery, the best candle is one that is lovely unlit. Someone on painkillers or sleeping through the afternoon should not be lighting candles. A bright object on the bedside shelf or the windowsill does the job without a flame.

Raajkosh hand-pours soy wax candles in Jalandhar. These look cheerful as decor:

The Floral Candle Duo with the Blossom Candle is Rs 948, plus Rs 79 shipping. The Floral Candle Duo with the Sunflower Tealights is Rs 1,098 and ships free (free shipping starts at Rs 999).

A word on scent while someone is unwell

We make one scented candle, Vanilla Reverie. We would not send it as a get well gift to someone with asthma, a chest infection, nausea from medicines or chemotherapy, or anyone who has just had surgery, because strong smells can bother a person who is unwell. Our other pieces have no fragrance stated, which is the safer choice here. If they are fully up and about and love vanilla, that is different.

When a family member lights it

If the person recovering would like a candle lit in the evening, let a family member or carer light it and stay in the room: a stable, heat-proof surface, well away from the bed, blankets, medicines and any oxygen equipment, never unattended, and keep each burn to 3 to 4 hours. If there is any oxygen concentrator at home, do not light candles in that room at all.

For him, for her

• For her: the Floral Candle Duo, flowers that last the whole recovery.
• For him: many men would rather have a book, a puzzle or a cricket subscription to watch from bed. If a candle, the Lotus Candle for the house mandir, given to his mother or wife, is a quiet way of saying the family is in your prayers.

The note, kept light

People who are ill get tired of sympathy. A light line is kinder:

• "For the windowsill, until you are back on your feet."
• "Flowers that will still be here when you are better."
• "Get well soon. The office is very boring without you."

Getting it to the person looking after them

We deliver across India, dispatching in 24 to 48 hours and delivering 2 to 7 days after dispatch; we never promise a date. Put the phone number of whoever is at home looking after them. Prepaid only (UPI, card, net banking or wallet); there is no cash on delivery, so nobody is asked to pay at the door. Shop orders can be returned on a request within 24 hours of delivery, and damage reported within 24 hours is replaced or refunded.

For something that must reach today, a local fruit shop or bakery will serve you better than any courier.