When it comes to the holiday season, it can be quite a challenge to come up with good gift ideas for the senior adults in your life. For most seniors, they would prefer a gift that is practical and functional.
We have some suggestions for you this holiday season to make your senior loved one feel special.
Practical gifts:
- Non-slip socks – Socks with rubber grips on the bottom of them can help provide warmth in the winter and prevent falls.
- Pill organizer with alarm – Help your senior loved one be able to keep track of their medications with a pill organizer that has automatic alerts to set and easy-to-open compartments.
- Eyeglass holder – Gift them something that holds their eyeglasses in order to keep their spectacles safe.
- Throw blanket – Gift them with a soft throw blanket that can help them to be comfortable while they watch TV, read a book or relax. If they are someone who gets cold often, an electric heated blanket would be the perfect gift to help them stay warm.
- Amazon Echo – Voice-operated devices that connect to Wi-Fi internet can be extremely helpful for senior adults. These devices can play music, give the weather forecast, schedule alarms and even control the lights in the home with a simple voice command. Be sure to help them set this up if you give one.
- Shoe horn – Gift them an extended shoe horn to help them slip into their shoes without the need to bend over.
- Weighted blanket – Weighted blankets have been proven to reduce stress and anxiety levels. Senior adults with dementia would especially benefit from sleeping with a weighted blanket. You can purchase these specialized blankets in different weight increments.
- Compression socks – Compression socks can help improve circulation and also reduce swelling from health conditions like congestive heart failure.
Sentimental gifts:
- Wi-Fi digital photo frame – Digital frames that are connected to Wi-Fi internet can upload pictures directly to the frame. This is an extremely thoughtful gift for grandparents to be able to receive new photos of their loved ones in a convenient way.
- Recordable book – Have your children record reading a book for their grandparents. There are many publication companies who make books that you can record your voice over for each page. Imagine how much a grandparent would treasure being able to hear their grandchildren’s voice each day.
- Birthstone jewelry – There are a variety of jewelry designs for rings, bracelets and necklaces where you can customize birthstones of children and/or grandchildren to have constant reminders of those most special to them.
- Photo album that is customized – Various websites allow you to create and customize a photo album book that they can enjoy for many years. There are also pharmacies that you can order these books and pick them up at your convenience.
- Photo calendar – Your senior loved one would love keeping track of their days, months and appointments with a custom photo calendar book.
Unique gifts:
- Singe-serve coffee maker – Give your senior loved one the convenience of brewing a single cup of coffee in a matter of a few minutes.
- Subscription boxes – There are many companies across the country that will ship monthly or quarterly boxes throughout the year that your loved one will continually receive. These subscription boxes range from coffee of the month clubs, hobby subscription boxes, beauty products and more!
- Genealogy research – Gift a membership to an online service for genealogy research and help them discover their family tree’s branches.
- Charitable donation in their name – If your loved one has everything, there is always the idea of making a donation in their name to a charity that you know that they would support.
- Tablet – Your senior loved ones can enjoy photos, video chat and browsing the Internet with a tablet that is connected to Wi-Fi. Be sure to help them get it set up and familiar with how simple these devices work!
When it comes to choosing the perfect gift for your elderly family and friends, it does not have to be difficult. We hope this list helped you be inspired to show love to those who mean most to you in your life!