Gift ideas for elderly woman please?

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My mum lives in a retirement complex and one of her neighbours is sort of an honorary granny to my DS. This woman is in her late 70s, a widow, and has no DC/GDC. I don't know her particularly well - she is somewhat guarded as several of the other residents are racist and exclude her - but she is very kind to my DS and I would like to get her a small gift 'from' him (he's 8m). She loves cuddles whenever we are there and she often knits him hats and clothing, and in return I send her occasional photo postcards which she tells me she loves.

Any ideas? I do know she was a cook, pre-retirement, and still loves cooking, particularly Caribbean food. I did think of some kind of photo gift of DS but don't really want to shove him in her face?

I'd look on the Lakeland website

There's loads of lovely cooking and baking staff, as well as gifty things like hampers

There might be something related to her knitting/sewing hobby as well.

Plant pot with bulbs ? Chocolates?

Can she easily get out and about? Often people in retirement places love the chance to just get out - could you take her for afternoon tea somewhere? Or just back to your house for coffee?

My grandma loved to be taken to the nearby Sainsbury's cafe and just 'people watch' .

I love notonthehighstreet.com for gifts too.

Just had a little look at their knitting and sewing page. Nice things like button boxes and knitting bags

Knitting needle case
Nice tin of biscuits
Mini hamper of tea, chocs, biscuits and other bits and bobs

A little basket of homemade - either by yourself, or from farmers market type stuff - jams, chutneys, tiny cake, biscuits.
Many older people tend to prefer stuff that can be used up, rather than stuff they have to find homes for.
The idea of a trip out - maybe for her and your DM together - lunch, etc, if you can stretch to that amount of time and money.

My grandma had a brutal de clutter when she moved into a retirement home. I was careful to not even get a nice tin of stuff, only packets, she was a bit OTT about though. I still got a plain tin returned to me when she died, it had a plastic lid that fitted, so must be kept! I used to get individual/small serving packs/jars of all sorts to make up a hamper from Harvey Nicks, Fortnam & Mason, etc in my previous pre children life . Often though very elderly people have their little treats, a NDN would always catch a bus to get her French stick from M&S every friday morning, maybe a voucher for her treat place?

Carluccios have some nice foodie gifts.

If she's a keen knitter then patterns, wool, gift voucher for local wool shop or magazine subscription for a craft book? Also she might really like something personal, maybe a mug with his footprint with tea or coffee. If she doesn't have gc she won't have any of this stuff. One yr we also put our kid's handprints on a terracotta pot and put in some bulbs

Thank you! Some great ideas. She is very mobile and goes out daily.

I had no idea you could get knitting stuff on NOTHS and I like the personalised knitting bags (love the boxes but they are out of budget). I think I'll get that and maybe make a card with DS for her, a reindeer footprint or something grandparent-y. Thanks again!