We would like to give some thoughtful gifts to some senior relatives this year, instead of plain old gift cards. Do you have any suggestions?
My parents are housebound seniors. My mother loves to read and I often get her large print books. She donates them to her center’s library when she’s done. I tried once getting her an electronic gift certificate and realized later when I visited her she didn’t know how to use it. One of my siblings got her an e-reader and she doesn’t know how to use that either. So I stay away from anything too high tech and get her real books.
I’ve also purchased my parents food items that can last quite a while. They have some meals at their center (they live in a senior community) but have other meals in their apartment. I’ve purchased things like soup mixes.
One thing I’ve done is some catered and delivered meals from restaurants or personal chefs.
I’ve worked in senior care for many years and was blessed with long-lived grandparents. Imo, cash and gift cards are thoughtful gifts for truly homebound elders, though I understand wanting to give something more personal. The seniors I know do not want more stuff, so monetary gifts are appreciated.
Consumables are a great idea too, and so are entertainment items, as @college_query suggests. If the senior can get out occasionally, the gift of an experience you share with them is nice - lunch out and a movie or play, a short car trip to a museum, a ball game, etc.
We gave my Mom a birthday card calendar/organizer with birthdays of a her grandchildren and great grandchildren, addresses and a full set of birthday cards and holiday cards with stamps. She loved it.
Make sure your gift to the elder doesn’t make more work for their caregiver (particularly if it’s a family member). That’s why gift cards aren’t necessarily a good idea, because you might be burdening the caregiver. Gifts of food are great, as is the idea of cards, calendar and stamps. And I love the idea of taking the elder out for an outing or lunch. And don’t require the caregiver to go along (unless it’s a paid caregiver who does that sort of thing).
I came up with the best gift ever for my mother this Christmas. I’m flying out for the weekend to take her to see my daughter perform in The Messiah. Usually I do food items.
For my grandmother who was in her late 80’s at the time. I made a pan of lasagna. When done I cut it and put it into individual storage containers and froze it. It was a perfect gift for her because she was house bound, living alone, couldn’t cook for herself beyond reheating and was really tired of meals on wheels every day.
If you know what kinds of soaps the people like/dislike, some nice soaps (maybe fancy ones) would probably be appreciated. Seniors tend to favor bar soaps over the liquid kinds that are becoming popular these days.
I used to get my mom the Roger & Gallet soaps that are so beautifully wrapped, and she really liked them.
A variety of pretty commemorative postage stamps is another good idea.
My mother really enjoyed the bulb of the month club gift. She could watch the bulbs grow and flowers unfold. Fruit of the month is another good gift and it’s consumable.
Notecards, stamps, return address labels are appreciated. Also an assortment of greeting cards: birthday, get well, sympathy, etc.
My D’s adopted “Nana” loves photos of her “grandkids”. Anything photo related is appreciated-you can make those photo books pretty cheaply on any one of several sites, as they’re always offering coupons. You can choose size, length, theme, etc. Nana never gets tired of looking at them.
I second aseamom’s suggestion. I have made a family tree with pictures (great if memory is failing) a birthday scrapbook with pictures of everyone’s kids, etc. Even a new 5 x 7 picture can be great, although sometimes it’s best to replace an existing one rather than adding to clutter
I think my mom kept the US Postal service employed… stamps were always a must and received with a big smile. She also liked to get warm slippers, a new robe, and food that she normally wouldn’t buy for herself.
How about a gift card to her hairdresser (if you know who that is).
We did photo items, mugs, magnets, blankets, etc and also some of the Costco food items- dried fruit, tower of treats, etc., were well received
I got my mom subscriptions to some magazines she enjoyed flipping through. I also framed pictures for her of the grandkids. She was an irish lady through and through so I’d give her a bottle of whiskey too. I also bought her birthday cards for the grandkids, addressed them, stamped them and put a sticky on when to mail them. She just had to sign and usually put in a little cash for them.
What she always wanted though were visitors or phone calls. Send her a card in the mail once a month for her to display.
I got my dad new feather pillows and lounge-type pants/slippers one year and he appreciated that. Another year I got him a membership to a massage place. He loved that one. He was able to get there once a month though, which may be an issue.
I want to get him an updated flatscreen television. I’d have to have someone install it etc. as there is no way he could do anything himself.
Another thing I got him was all new undershirts, socks, and underwear. I special ordered the socks to have the non-slip bottoms. At first he was like “What the heck did you buy these for?” But then a few weeks later he told me it suddenly occurred to him how thoughtful it was and he wears them every day now. (He had already broken a hip before the socks and none of us wanted to go there again.)
One year I installed grab bars in his shower and he got really mad about it. He wasn’t ready to be thought of as a person needing them. You have to be careful in that transition phase.
Then I also sent him some “adult bibs” and he liked that. I don’t understand why he would like one and not the other but there you go.
He also likes word search and puzzle books. So whatever your senior does to pass the time, keep them supplied.
Any gift cards to restaurants should be enough to cover the caretaker/friend/driver too (and let them know in the card: “This is for you and XXX to enjoy lunch on me.”)
One time for my grandmother, I wrote her a long, long, chatty letter, on beautiful stationery, just writing about anything and everything. Me, H, Kids, memories, etc. etc. etc. She really did love it…
Great ideas! Keep them coming. All of us including CC parents and students can benefit from these ideas, in short or long term.
As a caregiver (daughter), I second the idea of the giver taking out the person for a day- or for the weekend. That is honestly the best gift anyone could give either of us.