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

This company has some great products….really worth a browse.
Some really nice, well-designed things for use in home and garden.
grannygetsagrip.com/
grannygetsagrip.com/back-story/

‘The current over 65s were teenagers in the 1960s. Ageing has changed; activity holidays, dating apps and festivals have replaced cruises, romantic fiction and the fireside.

That said, no-one stays in the prime of life forever – there’s no beating the ageing process, and physical deterioration gets us all in the end.

We saw the need for a one-stop marketplace for the best products available – those designed to keep life comfortable and active. Granny Gets a Grip is an online shop for those of any age who need a level of physical support in and around the house. It is a source of well-designed, practical products that don’t look or feel like they belong in a pound shop or a traditional care home.

We have chosen the best from the mountains of products out there and excluded those that don’t fit the bill. If it’s an adjustable walking stick you need, we’ve done the leg work to save you from the bewildering array. If it’s a wedge cushion to help you sleep at night, we’ve covered them for you in our lovely range of fabrics.’

Do agree that magazine subscriptions are a great idea - ‘Slightly Foxed’ is a great one, and Slightly Foxed editions are lovely books. ‘Apollo’ magazine is a treat for those who love the arts. It’s worth looking at museum shops online for ideas too.
The monthly book gift mentioned is a wonderful idea. If you need help from a bookseller, Mr B’s in Bath does various reading gifts including a ‘book spa’

mrbsemporium.com/gifts/, and Heywood Hill has some great book ideas, and book bundles.
www.heywoodhill.com/shop
Heated throws (if in stock!), cashmere socks and hot water bottles are good ideas for anyone this winter, but particularly elderly relatives. The White Company have some lovely cashmere socks, and gifts like microwaveable hand warmers.
Lakeland also have some nice food gifts and gadgets.

A big hit for my ILs was a voucher (or rather several £10 ones, so that they could use them as and when rather than one purchase) for a local restaurant/bar/deli .

It's great to support a local business and it also gives them the option of buying nice things to eat and drink at home if they can't be bothered to go out and eat there.

For people who don't like giving vouchers or gift cards, think again. One of my elderly relative's favorite gifts from last year was a generous voucher to use at her hair salon.

Whiskey is always a hot with my Dad

I would buy my mum a subscription to have a bunch of flowers delivered each month, she could choose which ones she wanted and they always lasted weeks

@mrssmiling My mum is 76, a great-grandmother and has a blue badge and if I bought her anything from that website, she'd disown me! She can't walk more than 100m without pain and prefers to hold on to my Dad, especially on uneven surfaces. but she can still carry a G&T without spilling it

Apologies, only saw this now @Numbat2022 it was padded one from regatta. It wasn't too padded so that he can wear it while doing bits. We also got him a heated jacket from regatta - it's good but I'm not 100% sold on it. He always raves about the gilet but only has mentioned the jacket as a joke as in oh I better plug myself in. We were following a theme that year 🤣

RSPB membership has gone down well in the past. They send a gift book about garden wildlife. I think you get free entry to rspb reserves but obviously you don’t have to go, it’s basically a donation to a charity that does a lot of wider conservation and environmental work.

(Not the point of the thread but the junior membership is good with age appropriate magazine with seasonal information and activities.)

my relatibve has Parkinson’s and a lovely rescue cat. DD picked out a red torch thing that her could jiggle around the room.

heated throws went down well. And a set of really good thermals.
bespoke hampers and theatre vouchers. Carefully chosen books like signed copies when I can find something. One year we bought John Cooper Clark poems for a big fan.

when I remember buying for my Kate nan I sometimes got small Lucy glasses case, hand cream but what she liked best was seeing the kids and them singing or playing her a Christmas tune. Not always practical I know. They often sang a sing they’d learnt at school. She did like M&S biscuits too.

Late bab
luxury glasses case

We ask my. PIL and they often come up with a practial gift, something which needs replacing.

Otherwise we did books, hats and scarves, tickets for a theatre/opera performance.

My mum definitely falls under "I don't like spending money on myself" troope. So we buy more luxerious versions of things she either needs on a regular basis like handcream or shower gel or replacements like scarves, gloves. She also always gets a book and chocolates.

Alexa thing, great for disabled and elderly, especially if combined with light switches etc

Oh god we got my parents an Alexa. It was a nightmare. They couldn't cope so
It's used as a speaker when there's someone there who knows how to link it to their CD player.....

Photo book
poncho shawl
personlised paint by nimber
digotal photo album loaded with family photos
flower subscriptions
seed box subscriptions
cleaner
cake box brownie letterbox subscription
heat pad
blanket made of kids t-shirts
crochet kit
wheelbarrow planner
hairdresser voucher
gardener
water fountain
bed tray
pregnancy pillow
best gran lives here sign for the garden
a rose bush
luxury nighties or pjs
m&s goidies
a voucher for day out
recliner chair

Car valet

After reading this thread I thought about what my mum and MIL would really want. They are both still just mobile enough and we’ve invited them on an overnight trip to see DC’s university orchestra Christmas concert. They are very excited.

Im not sure they’ll be fit enough next year so we doing it while we can.

My childhood neighbour (and de facto grandmother 😆) loved anything personalised. The gift she loved most was a gin glass engraved with her name and a decorative design.

My grandfather was very well off but incredibly frugal, so we would buy him luxurious versions of stuff he would get anyway. Nice whiskey, stem ginger, socks, jumpers etc. We'd then have to persuade him to enjoy them instead of hoarding them for best 😆 I remember he had this gilet with a huge cigarette burn in the back that made it look like he'd been shot. We bought him a brand new one that was almost identical in style but more luxurious and no gunshot. He would only wear it for special days so continued looking like he'd survived assassination until the end of his life 😆

I spent foreveerrrr on the computer combining many family faces to make a huge personal jigsaw for my In-laws last year. They loved it. much oh look there's so n so exclamation of the picture on the box.... they have never made it mind you!!
they always get a photo calendar,
One year I superimposed their faces on famous old photos - the royals, James Bond etc etc, and they loved that too.
they have everything they want so it has to be something fun/silly instead.

oh and cream tea by post was hit too!

Yes, do it while they can. All our elders (in their 80s) went massively and abruptly downhill over lockdown, and by the time things were possible again, they were mostly just not up to it.

@Whistlesandbell , I once did similar for my DM. Took a very old, very small B&W photo of my GM, my GGM, and my aunt (DM’s elder sister as a toddler) to the sort of shop where they could play with such things - this was before being able to do it all on computers.

My DM had never got on with her elder sister, but she adored her mother and GM, so I had it enlarged, had the sister cut out 😈, and put the enlargements of her DM and GM in a lovely frame - dark blue velvet with twin oval spaces.

I wasn’t there when she opened it, but my DF told me he’d never seen her so pleased with anything.

@CatOfTheLand that's an amazing idea!

There are some great ideas on this thread. I excelled myself last year - I am youngest of three daughters and therefore am parent to their youngest grandchildren who they often play board games, dominoes or card games with. We like dobble, although my dad (83) says it's too fast. But I bought a personalised one, where all of the symbols were actually photos of all the family, some hilarious ones, some hideous ones, so funny. Had to find 55 different photos I think, and upload them to a website that sells it. But my mum thought it was the best present they got, she never stopped laughing all day, and took it to other houses to play and show them

@thelionthewitchtheaudacityofTHISbitch
I had exactly the same experience with my dad who passed away aged 90 before last Christmas.
Lost interest in everything,not eating much or drinking a glass of wine, it's part of the end of life I guess.
We bought him a dark red snuggly blanket to match the flowers in his curtains and he loved that too ❤

What a thoughtful gift. I’d love that.

As a joint present we got my MIL an Apple Watch as she loves walking etc. she loves it!

I once did a Xmas Hamper for my in laws, I made a small Christmas cake as they always went home with half of the one I’d made for us. Mince pies. Nice cheese, a bottle of Port, A tin of salmon, tinned ham, tinned fruit and a tin of Carnation milk ( this combination was a big hit) chocolates, posh biscuits (Cadbury’s luxury choc version) and other little fillers tailored to them, they were delighted.

One year I found for Mil, a pair of special slippers an a voucher towards a pair of special shoes, she had big feet with bunions and always struggled with foot wear. I cried once when I saw her wear sandals in winter. I contacted a friend who deals with feet, she helped me find somewhere that sold these shoes. Mil,was over the moon.