<p>I’ve known old people for whom the greatest presents were on-going phone calls and visits from the former little-kids who they were associated with decades ago - those who would sit and reminisce about the bygone days.</p>
<p>My mother-in-law is 86, has macular degeneration and is losing her sight. While she still has it, old photographs are so enjoyable. She has an ipad and looks at them all the time, and can stretch them to look at details. You could set up an online photo book or sharing site, and invite people to share old photos, etc., and you could all enjoy them.</p>
<p>Agree a photo book would be great. They have them at Costco, snapfish and so many other places. How about a large print subscription to reader’s digest? Audiobooks? Agree with consumables as well.</p>
<p>Your being there will be a big thrill! I suggest a lovely card with a heartfelt note. Then perhaps a gift card or small gift.</p>
<p>Maybe a letter about the impact she had on you growing up, and how she’s touched your life?</p>
<p>^ Oooh, good idea!</p>
<p>How about a request for a future date in say two months when you eill come to town and spend quality time with her over a weekend? That would likely be very treasured.</p>
<p>Chedva, I was thinking along the same lines…how about a collection of stories of the good old days when you were growing up? Recollections, reflections, just good old memories! “Remember that time when…” Could be a word document in an album, or your handwriting in a really nice journal?</p>
<p>My mother is nearly 90, she doesn’t need anything, she has been giving things away the past few years. Because of downsizing, even her old framed photos are mostly in boxes. One year one of my kids had an old photo of Mom & Dad as newlyweds restored and enlarged, & framed. Mom cried when she saw it and has it hanging up.</p>
<p>Mostly her gifts are treats, one luxury that she gets once a year is truffles from:</p>
<p>[The</a> Truffle Shop - Nevada City, California, chocolate truffles, sandwiches and baked goodies!](<a href=“http://www.thetruffleshop.com/index.html]The”>http://www.thetruffleshop.com/index.html)</p>
<p>pricey, but quite lovely.</p>
<p>Another great gift, since she does not drive and no longer lives in a place with a lot of friends, is a date out. One of the grandkids took her out for a walk around a cute downtown area and for lunch, it was a nice chance to get out and see something new and talk to someone new.</p>
<p>Another great gift was tickets to a concert of a performer she loves</p>
<p>We gave my Father-in-Law a i-pod shuffle, filled with his favorite tunes/era. He loved it.</p>
<p>As an alternative to a photo book, consider a photo calendar. I made one for my mother years ago and she still uses it, especially after I told her how to print monthly calendar pages for annual updates. I mostly used pictures of the grandkids, some with with her and with my dad. They grow up as you go through the year, although I did montages of Passover pictures for March, Thanksgiving for November, and Chanukah for December.</p>
<p>My grandparents are both definitely moving away from wanting anything material. Things they do want:
-Food. My grandfather (also Sicilian) loves going out to eat (maybe you could take her to a nice restaurant which would allow the two of you a quieter opportunity to catch up?) and loves authentic Italian food. My mom stops at the deli and gets him Italian sausage and cheese. My grandmother right now is into trendy health foods that she sees featured on TV and I like to get her things like chocolate covered cacao nibs to try.
-They both have computers (these grandparents are not married to each other by the way) but neither of them is totally comfortable using it.
-They both like to read but I’d definitely get large print.
-My grandmother always wants things like face creams so I usually get her something fancy for birthdays and holidays.
-My grandfather has tended to pick out experiential gifts recently. He’s about to turn 95 and he wants to take a day trip to NYC where he grew up and drive around. Last year, he took a helicopter ride with my mom and aunt.</p>
<p>An 90+ member of my church got a tiara from a granddaughter for her birthday, and she loved it! They bought it from a Prom supply company and it came in an engraved box</p>
<p>My 91yo has a combination of cataracts (so no reading material), a fading memory (so nothing complicated), diabetes and a loss of taste (so no food) and arthritis (so nothing fiddly, or that requires much energy). </p>
<p>However, what has gone down well in recent years is
- coffee-table picture book of monkeys, which are her favourite animals. There are some great photographic books out there of various subjects, none of which require concentration or 20/20 vision
- season pass to the zoo, which is around the corner from her (she has a mobility scooter, and can take anyone else in for free as a carer, so she can just go for coffee and pop into see the gorillas on the way, as you do)
- trip to a concert - she got to choose the concert from a substantial variety available locally, and we’re taking her (this wasn’t a present, but it could have been)
- magazine subscription to something that you think might interest her - these are great because they provide some interest throughout the year and you can ‘recycle’ the idea for next birthday</p>
<p>But rather strangely, out of all the things she got for Christmas this year, one of her favourites seems to have been the $5 napkin holder I got her from Ikea!</p>