Elderly comfortably off parents - tell me your successful gifts (or cunning ideas)

[Sadik]

Obviously before someone makes this point elderly people are all different and have different tastes. BUT the combination of older people often not wanting to accumulate more 'stuff', limitations around what they can do (making tickets to events / days out trickier) and maybe a preference for familiar food/drink items (ie not 'fancy' options) is a bit of a killer. Given that I figured maybe we could swap ideas around successful gifts that have actually hit the spot.

My really surprising hit last year for my elderly dad's birthday was a subscription to Spotify. He uses it all the time and (apart from the advantage of endless new music) it's much easier for him than managing CDs or LPs as he has limited sight.

Obviously that's solved birthdays ongoing (as I can renew it) but it has on the downside meant that I can't go for my usual default present of a couple of new CDs ... I can resort to Kindle books & a box of chocs but it's not very exciting

I find that my parents (dad in particular) is of that frugal generation so doesn't treat himself that often. Therefore I like to buy him a shirt from a designer he likes but seems too expensive, voucher for a restaurant he loves but would only go to for a treat, and then things in line with his interests but higher end - really decent tennis balls, expensive wine etc. i always say it just be boring but I know he actually enjoys it all

would an audible subscription work?

I thought this too! Or a Readly sub, if he has a tablet where he can increase font size?

Does he have an Alexa/Google smart speaker thingy?

I will probably go for something edible. Florentines from somewhere like Fortnum & Mason went down well a couple of years ago

A carefully chosen paperback
Expensive chocolate

I don't bother to try anything else these days, it just gets recycled

For dad (80) this year I’m going for Tarquinius Sloe Gin, a Rockfish Tinned fish gift set and some Maters Honey. All things I know he’ll eat / drink.
DM (81) Perfume, Silk scarf and a Seasalt Voucher

Do they like art / museums etc? I booked a private tour for MIL and her friends at the National Art Gallery (Scotland) and it went down well.

DM for Xmas gets her membership of the local Botanical Gardens renewed (and some smellies picked by her grandsons).

Other hits (from us and DSis) have been a homemade needle case, squirrel proof bird feeder and a hedgehog house.

My DPs genuinely like charity gifts, the one when you pay for a Christmas meal at Crisis was particularly welcomed.

I'm going to do my mum a 12month book subscription. But I'm going to DIY it. Our local charity shop does x10 books for £1 so I'm going to buy 12, wrap each individually with a sachet of different flavoured coffee and a packet of biscuits etc and write the months on them. This will work for her because she has lots of storage space

That's a great idea

I had some photos of my DM and hers sisters and her DM that that were taken about 50 years ago enlarged and framed. My DM absolutely treasures these photo. I also had some done of me and my sibling when we were toddlers.

For older, affluent parents who are still physically active - the one gift I got for mine which, annoyingly, was cancelled due to Covid was tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. At the time they were free but only released at specific intervals. Now, there’s a £5 charge and they’re released on the first working day of the month for the following month. Details here

Mine appreciate the thought rather than the cost when it comes to gifts and my mum is not a planner so loves it when others plan for her. Tickets to flower shows and so on have gone down well too.

@CatOfTheLand , that is such a lovely idea!

@DeborahVance thank you. And it'll only cost me about £10.

My parents don't go out, don't want new clothes, don't like new things, don't appreciate stuff, don't want food or drink (unless it's their specific favoured wine but they're alcoholics so… but tricky there) but my mum does read a lot and like flavoured coffees and sometimes a biscuit

Bought my dad some really posh flavoured gin. Thought it was a miss as he didn't open it for ages and ages. Well, the other week he rang me and he went on and on and on about this gin - loved it! Took him 18 months to open it though 😂

I bought an echo dot in the Amazon sale the other week so I'm gonna try that and a Spotify subscription as I'm going down their way in a couple of weeks and can get it all set up.

My MIL loved her LADY magazine subscription and a warm photo rug with photos of the great grandchildren on.

DH and I are both in our 70s now.
I love a special candle, my heated throw is a huge success, elder DD bought me a vintage Liberty scarf. Leather gloves I have many pairs but always willing to have another colour. Wireless headphones. Power pack for my phone.
Insulated cup for when I take my coffee to my favourite place looking over the beach,Himalayan bath salts. Little bottle of fizz to drink in the bath.
A new Christmas tree decoration.

DH. Arrrgh
iPhone buds
Really nice case cover for them.
Good quality cables.
Good chocolate ( no good getting me the good stuff …it’s like feeding strawberries to a donkey! )
Hiking socks.
Water bottle.

I find the trick is to find something he likes and up the quality.

This year i am getting him a height chart like a ruler and having the various heights of the 3 grandchildren added. Then I can paint the kitchen wall!

A bit similar Cat - Dad does like days out, but very little open here in winter (tourist area) and when I've tried something before it's ended up getting put off till Easter which makes it a bit of a rubbish Xmas gift. Indoor stuff like galleries / theatre doesn't really work for him due to his (lack of) eyesight.

With the audible suggestions above, he doesn't like audio books - and can actually still read OK with a large font on a Kindle fire tablet (he has glaucoma, so it's about extremely limited field of vision rather than zero sight)

I've started buying from www.thetinnedfishmarket.com and putting together a little luxury food parcel. Goes down very well.

Re Alexa / smart speaker, he has a (no doubt expensive ) Thing which streams to his hearing aids, talks to all his various bits of tech, and probably makes the tea if he asks it to

If someone did this for me I would love it too!

I am an old woman. I would appreciate the following as birthday or Christmas gifts:
a fold up walking pole,
a sun hat that rolls up,
a subscription to a stained glass making course,
tickets to see Bruce Springsteen,
tickets to see Patti Smith.
You did ask.

My sister made my Mum a memory box for her 80th. She bought one of those blocks of paper that people use to make shopping lists on, only a posher variety. She tore off 80 sheets and wrote out a memory on each sheet. She asked me for some of my best memories and asked my Aunty for some of Mum's childhood memories, also my Dad for some romantic memories. She bought a lovely box with roses on. Folded each memory up and placed onto box. My Mum loved it. It was so easily her favourite present. I had given her a nice garden bird feeder and water bath so she could see birds feeding through her patio windows but the memory box blew all her other gifts away. Probably the cheapest gift too. But took so much thought and love to make it.

Nixplay photo frame - basically a digital picture frame that all the children and grandchildren can send photos and short videos directly to from their phone. Means constant revolving photos of almost real time and current photos.

"I am an old woman. I would appreciate the following as birthday or Christmas gifts:"
To be fair, my dad would be very, very happy if I gave him Bruce Springsteen or Patti Smith tickets. But it's a bit challenging when dealing with an 88 year old who lives in rural Wales and who realistically needs a seated gig within probably a max of an hour's drive!