Last week, I wrote about the sick day rituals I remember my mom doing for me as a kid— cold compresses, chicken soup, warm baths, slathering Vicks VapoRub on my chest before bed and lots of snuggles to name a few. It made me appreciate Mazzy and Harlow’s sick days more, as something they will one day look back on nostalgically, as times when they got to be comforted and cared for by their mom, all day long.
I know I’m not your mom, but I thought for your next sick day, wouldn’t it be nice to have a care package prepared by me to help nurse that stuffed nose and congested noggin back to good health?
Today, I am giving away…
The Sick Day Swag Bag:
1) Vicks VapoRub
Vicks VapoRub is the sponsor of today’s swag bag and a sick day classic in our home; one that my mom used religiously on me at bedtime when I was young. It’s the #1 pediatrician recommended cough rub, which provides safe cough relief for kids age 2 and up and is clinically proven to reduce coughs. Your child’s cough relief means everyone (including you!) can sleep.
2) Super Comfy Pajamas
My favorite thing to do when I’m sick? Lay around in my pajamas all day. Now you can too! And these fleece pajamas, with footies and a hood, happen to be some of the comfiest I have ever owned.
3) Cozy Slippers
If you are traipsing back and forth from your bed to the kitchen to put on a cup of tea or reheat some chicken soup, there is nothing that throws off your pat to good health like a cold hard floor. I recommend keeping your feet warm by pairing your pajamas with some fluffy slippers.
4) A Warm Throw Blanket
If you feel well enough to make the big move from your bed to your couch, you need the perfect blanket to cuddle up under as you read a book or start your all day movie marathon. Don’t get settled until you’ve found a tissue box to rest on top.
5) Soothing Tea
My mom used to make me a warm glass of milk with a splash of decaf coffee, but now that I know milk is not the best thing for a scratchy throat, I recommend a soothing warm cup of tea. This swag bag includes a box of green tea with coconut and peppermint.
6) Snuggle Mug
You need something to drink that tea in, right? I recommend this “Snuggle Season” mug. There’s something about the shape that makes me feel like it would sit perfectly in the palm of your hands, warming you from the outside in and inside out.
7) Relaxing Coloring Book & Pencils
When you’re sick of TV and movies and the glare from your phone screen is starting to give you a headache, maybe this “Color Me Calm” adult coloring book would be the perfect way to relax, unwind and take a screen time break.
8) Comforting Soup
If you find yourself with an appetite, my sick day go-to is chicken noodle soup. Is it just folklore passed on by our grandmas that says chicken soup can cure a cold? Nope. It’s proven by science. Studies have shown that chicken soup can help you clear nasal congestion and has a mild anti-inflammatory effect that can help ease cold symptoms.
9) Cool Ice Pack
I remember my mom pressing what she called “cold compresses” on my forehead and the laugh we had when I said, “Mom? Isn’t a cold compress just a wet paper towel?” So instead, here’s a real icepack with some virtual hugs and kisses from yours truly.
10) Shielding Eye Mask
The more you sleep when you are sick, the quicker you will be on the mend. But catching some shut eye can be tough when you’re trying to snooze in the middle of the day. Instead of splurging on blackout shades, this cute cat eye mask can do the trick and help you snooze during daylight hours.
You can watch today’s Facebook Live where I announced all of these items here.
As always, the instructions to enter to win this month’s swag bag will be in my newsletter this Sunday night (Sorry, U.S. only!). If you are not already a subscriber, you can subscribe here.
While we’re on the topic of subscribing… have you subscribed to my YouTube channel yet? It’s getting good over there, I think.
Good luck and have a great weekend!
WINNER UPDATE:
Congratulations to Shira! Please email allie@mommyshorts.com
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This swag bag is sponsored by Vicks VapoRub, but all other contents of the bag were selected by yours truly.
Now that my kid’s daycare is close, I can take a sick day. I actually got to drop children off, go home, and take an actual nap! I feel like most of the mom’s will be like… “what’s a sick day?”
Vick’s vapor rub! Just the smell makes me feel better.
Oh my! That cozy blanket and tea are what I need now! I have a cough and cold I just can’t kick. Luckily, no one else in the family is feeling the same.
My mom used to make a snuggle bed on the couch with blankets and pillows, hand me the remote and a box of tissues, place the phone near me (when I was older and she had to go to work). I’d spent the day watching TV and napping until she got home. My grandmother lived with us as well and she would supply the meds and soup. I’d given anything for another sick day like that – now with a kid and a man in the house it seems I can never be sick in peace.
All the essentials! Self care is so important. Thanks for the giveaway. Cheers!
When I was in school my mom would tell me we could take a “sick day” and do something fun for my birthday. I’d get so excited planning our day. Then, every year like clock work, she would make me get my flu shot on the way to whatever fun thing we had planned, because “it was flu season and she didn’t want to take more time off of work”.
7 up and saltines for upset belly. chicken noodle soup for colds. We definitely got the Vick’s treatment for a “chest cold”!
My mom made me stay in bed when I stayed home from school. But at 2:00 I got to move to the couch and watch General Hospital!!
I remember the Vicks Vaporub for colds along with hot homemade chicken soup. For stomachaches, my mom gave me camomile or mint tea and ginger ale or 7up.
My grandmother raised me along with my dad. And as a child, when I was sick she make me tea and buttered toast with cinnamon. And my dad would have me put on very warm long sleeved thermals and pile on the Vick’s vapor rub. I had a Scooby Do tv and got to use in bed which I still have today, and my kids use!
i remember being sent to school only to be sent to the nurse’s office to go home
Whenever I was sick as a kid, my mom would drop everything she was doing just to lay in bed with me. She would always make me hot tea and soup. Such sweet memories!
My mom would give us ice cream when we were sick! She said it helped soothe a sore throat. We would usually snuggle on the couch in the afternoon, watching her soap operas and eating ice cream.
My parents would let me sleep on the couch when I was sick as a kid.
I distinctly remember my dad being the one who fussed over me when I was sick. He always gave me cold compresses for a fever, wrapped me up in a blanket and took my temperature 100 times to make sure my fever wasn’t going up too high.
When I was sick I got to watch TV all day on the couch which alone was magic! It was also critical that I ate oyster crackers and drank flat ginger ale to make sure I got better fast! To this day I can’t stand flat soda because I associate it with being sick!
Rest and Great Grandma’s Chicken Soup.
My mom would let be in bed all day and use either Vaporub or her mother’s own concoction of vaporub. I would love her bringing food to me…soup with crackers.
This all looks so comforting and amazing. 2 of my kids are sick now and I’m hoping I don’t catch it.
As a child, when I was sick, I was usually allowed to watch whatever TV shows I wanted. Usually we were restricted to PBS and a few other shows. But on sick days, it was 60s sitcoms like I dream of Jeannie and Bewitched. My mom also tended to me from the couch. It was so nice, but once I started to feel better, the special treatment ended.
I remember watching TV from the couch all day-my Mother giving me something warm to drink maybe soup or broth. she also used Vicks when I had a cold
Staying in my pj’s all day! Taking a nap in my parents bed was a treat when I was sick. The bed was big and cozy and felt special because it was different!!
Comforting soup, jammies, a soft blanket, and yes Vicks! These work wonders! I do these when my little ones are under the weather too. Love this!