<p>Just like the title says. My Dad is 80 and has simple needs and wants. I’d love to get him something slightly creative that he would enjoy. He loves to read (can’t afford the kindle) but someone else is giving him an Amazon gift and he’s a big library attendee. I’m stumped. Any ideas?</p>
<p>One of those little lights that clips onto the book for nighttime reading?</p>
<p>Maybe he’d enjoy going to an arts experience with you. Many people who don’t need anything material appreciate an opportunity to do something with someone they love.</p>
<p>Digital photo frame, pre-loaded ;)</p>
<p>DVD set- maybe a history channel or bbc production. My FIL loved I Claudius. My father liked one of those foot spas.</p>
<p>Does he like audio books? A subscription to audible.com, if he has a computer, or something similar if he doesn’t. </p>
<p>How about a “book of the month club”, where every month you give him a choice of several books that you’ve picked out as things you think he’d love. He chooses one, and you send on the copy. New, used, anything would be fine. You could have a theme for each month.</p>
<p>Make a donation to the library in his honor. You’d know if he’d want something with a plaque saying it was in his honor, or not. </p>
<p>Would netflix be of interest? Netflix + the Roku (box that allows you to stream content to your tv) is another possibility.</p>
<p>Organize his old family photos. Get old family movies put on DVD, scan old slides.</p>
<p>Interview him about his favorite books and what he’s read through the years. Write it up and do a nice self-published version for the family.</p>
<p>I would recommend the Levenger catalog, which is basically p**n for readers 
but it doesn’t sound as if that’s to his taste.</p>
<p>I’m embarrassed to admit that although I got my Dad the digital photo frame last year, I promised to load it and ummm, now can’t find it. It’s got to be here somewhere…</p>
<p>I considered DVD’s but they have netflix. I found an interesting magazine - [AmericanHeritage.com</a> / American Heritage Magazine, Spring 2009](<a href=“http://www.americanheritage.com/magazine/]AmericanHeritage.com”>http://www.americanheritage.com/magazine/) Anyone try it?</p>
<p>How about paying for the netflix renewal</p>
<p>I keep an eye out all year for books for my dad. If he lives in a city with access to large booksellers (Borders, B&N, etc.), you can give them with gift receipts. Here are a few titles I have given him in the past he has liked:</p>
<p>Big Red: Three Months on Board a Trident Nuclear Submarine (Waller)</p>
<p>The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise & Scandalous Fall of Enron (McLean/Elkind)</p>
<p>Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions (Mezrich)</p>
<p>Failure is Not An Option (Kranz, about Apollo missions)</p>
<p>109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos (Conant)</p>
<p>The Making of the Atomic Bomb (Rhodes)</p>
<p>I think people need less and less as they get older. Even at my age, I really don’t need or want another “thing” in my life. If you live close by, what about a gift of “monthly dinner with you”?(Just you and him).</p>
<p>Does he like jigsaw puzzles? My mom keeps one going on a card table all the time.</p>
<p>My H got his dad a DVD, Andre Rieu “Christmas in Vienna.” He loves classical music, and loves all the “educational” TV shows and such, so hopefully he will like this, even though it is subtitled. H was actually looking for a some oldtime TV specials - like Dean Martin or Carol Burnett, but couldn’t find anything just right. We also got him some bread mixes, because he loves his bread machine. (And H got him some computer software, that he will load for him when we visit.)</p>
<p>Some years back we got him an ice tea maker, which he uses constantly.</p>
<p>H’s parents definitely don’t need anything, and tend to buy what they want when they want it. And yet, since we don’t get to be with them on Christmas, we like for them to have something to open. Our gifts are hit or miss, but they really seem to like getting them.</p>
<p>The Christmas before my dad died, I got him a zipper cardigan. He wore it constantly, and after he died, I noticed my mom had taken to wearing it a lot.</p>
<p>kathiep, my dad is 87, a history buff and a big reader. For last year’s Christmas gift, my sister and brother took him to a play (with a historical backdrop–“Fiorello”); he enjoyed that very much. I made him a batch of homemade fudge and a pan of bread pudding, both old family recipes that he loves, but couldn’t possibly prepare himself. If you decide to go the subscription route, American Heritage is a great choice.</p>
<p>I have two GREAT ideas for you.
- A Bucky brand warming pillow. It has a nice, soft chenille cover and you put it in the microwave for a few minutes and put it on whatever hurts (back, knee, etc.). My H uses his every single day. He has the oblong kind, but there is also a smaller C-shaped one like the shape people use on airplanes. The covers are washable.
- Therapedic Memory Touch pillow from Bed Bath and Beyond. This is C-shaped and made of memory foam. I LOVE LOVE LOVE mine, my H has one also (requested after he saw mine), and I bought them for several people for Christmas. It’s really nice when you are watching TV or reading in bed, and I sleep with mine every night. It also has a gel insert you can freeze or heat–$19.99.</p>
<p>I have an 87 year old father who loves to read. This year I got him a Barnes & Noble gift card (he’s never gotten a gift card so I think he’ll get a “kick” out of picking up books and not having to pay for them.) I also got him a college sweatshirt from S1’s college. My dad is notorious for “sportting” clothing from his alma mater. I also had two of his favorite records which have never been released digitally made into digital for him.</p>
<p>National Endowment for the Humanities has a very interesting bi-monthly magazine, with interviews and articles that I have found are somewhat “out of the ordinary.” </p>
<p>The NEH provides lots of support to libraries, so…might tie into more than one of your father’s interests.</p>
<p>He could read it on line or at the library…but might be nice to have his own subscription. (Usually has some very nice artwork in it…)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities.html[/url]”>http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities.html</a></p>
<p>[U.S</a>. Government Bookstore: News Releases](<a href=“http://bookstore.gpo.gov/actions/GetPublication.do?stocknumber=736-002-00000-1]U.S”>http://bookstore.gpo.gov/actions/GetPublication.do?stocknumber=736-002-00000-1)</p>
<p>My FIL is in his 90s. He’s getting bourbon and golf balls. Yes, he still plays golf! And enjoys the bourbon, too.</p>
<p>Wow, such good ideas! I wish I had asked sooner. I especially like the bucky pillow one bookiemom. Is there a place to get one besides their website?</p>
<p>You guys are great! One problem I have with getting him books is that he is such a voracious reader that it’s hard to know what he’s read and what he hasn’t.</p>
<p>I’ve made a note for the pillows for my father’s birthday next month. Too late for Christmas this year.</p>
<p>Last year, we got my F a “beer of the month club”. Different beers shipped to them every month. You could also do a “wine of the month”. Sorry, I don’t have the company but my H googled it last year.</p>
<p>How is he doing physically? Recent gifts my 89-year-old FIL, who loves to read, enjoys:</p>
<p>Improved reading light, such as the Ott lamps available at some craft stores (table lamps or pole).</p>
<p>Lightweight, high-power magnifying glass to enlarge text as he moves it along.
The best one we bought from a local agency that serves the blind. They have many other technologies but he preferred the simpler ones. Take him along to try out the many vision-enhancing devices.</p>
<p>Long-handled shoe-horn, so he doesn’t have to reach down (has bad knees).</p>
<p>Comfortable upholstered rocker/recliner chair to put his feet up while he reads. He’d never had one before.</p>
<p>This is not about reading, but my aunt and uncle (married 70 years this year) love the potted amaryllis bulbs. They grow and bloom quickly and then they can be planted --or tossed out.</p>