Please throw your ideas at me!

[Momsitter]

I need inspiration!

My mum will be undergoing heavy surgery that will involve several weeks bed rest in hospital.
This is a woman who is a BIG reader and film/TV watcher, so forget about ordering shit loads of books/subscriptions, she will be sorting that herself.

I need ideas for some kind of activity I can send her that keeps her intrigued and entertained and gives her a bit of variety so it's not just books and screen. She's a very curious and smart person. Amy ideas?!

Jigsaws?
Crafts such as small needlepoint?
Adult colouring books/pencils
Journal/pens?
Membership to something like ancestry so she could start a family tree?

I was thinking of crafts but I need something really interesting as she hates anything twee. Colouring books are a great idea

What about the murder mystery sealed pack type things that she needs to solve?

I know they're meant for "parties" but if she was doing it alone it might keep her busy for a while?

Oh and tufting. Tufting looks so good! 😊

Just had to check on Pinterest what tufting was @bananabreadbatshit! Like a sort of refined rag rugging? I was going to suggest cross stitching, it's not at all twee! Can she knit? When I was off work I made a few sensory aprons, cushions and muffs for people living with dementia. Lots of ideas on Pinterest to get her creative juices flowing. Each item is likely to be unique. I liked the fact that I was able to use up all sorts of odds & ends: wool, old clothes, buttons, ribbons, string, zips etc and that the end products were of use to others.

Left field: VR headset

Crochet kit for a blanket? Can get will everything in you need, plus online videos/instructions.

I've recently taught myself and hooked!

Would she be interested in a modelling kit - you can get all sorts of things, animals, buildings, machines as well as the traditional planes/cars.

e.g
https://www.etsy.com/uk/market/dinosaur_model_kit

An escape room game. The exit ones are good and are for 1 to 4 players so you can play on your own.

I second an Ancestry subscription - it is very very easy to spend HOURS down the rabbit hole

Puzzle books?

Logic Problems are good if you like working things out (Puzzler publish the best ones)

Hanji - creating picture puzzles.

If she likes number based puzzles, then Killer Sudoku is good, a step up from normal sudoku in my opinion.

Kakuro is another number based one.

Wordle and Blossom - daily on-line word puzzles. If you like doing these too, then you can share your results with each other. Passes half an hour or so.

Lego? There are some great kits aimed at adults.

Sweary colouring books!

Adult colouring books

Teach yourself crochet/knitting etc

cross stitch packs

Painting by numbers kits have come a long way. You can even get them made from your own photos.

I second Logic puzzles and Sudoku (samurai sudoku - addictive), and Lego!

If you do get her some puzzle books, then for the best user experience, include a note pad, a few pencils, an eraser and, definitely, a pencil sharpener and a pot to put the shavings into, or a sharpener that has an in-built receptacle 😁.

Online learning content delivered by well known successful people: https://www.masterclass.com/plans?gift=true

haven’t tried it myself but it does look like it would be interesting

Would giant knitting be considered too twee? I always thought it looked awesome and the blankets they make look pretty cool.
Has she ever joined U3A? They have loads of different courses and clubs, many online. Philosophy, film, psychology, art, history, you name it!
You could encourage her to set up an online film or book club with friends or even strangers?