What would you buy your parents, last minute?

[Froppysue]

My dm & df are in their 70s, and I usually get them a voucher to their favourite restaurant with choccies/jammies. Unfortunately my dad is in the process of being diagnosed with throat cancer, and as of this week he can’t swallow any solid food, so obviously a restaurant voucher would be insensitive. I have a small window to pop to the shops tomorrow, what you you be beelining for if you were me? Thanks!

I had oesphageal cancer and could let chocolates melt in my mouth.
I could swallow but things would get stuck further down.
Have they got a stick blender ? Something simple to liquidise food?
Or something to make smoothies , with recipes and ingredients .
I know these are more practical than 🎄 but I doubt he's feeling up to caring.
Other suggestions , don't know how techy they are but a long charging cable or power bank , fast charge plug,
These ear buds are comfy and easy to pause , good for listening to radio or dramas.
And lastly , lovely soft socks with not too tight tops.
Oh ,a hat ? A beanie ?
Good luck,, I'm sure they're not thinking about Christmas.

Thank you, a scented diffuser sounds like a good idea, and you’ve just reminded me my mum loves doing jigsaws so will grab her one of those.
I’ve got them most subscriptions already as they utilise them a lot as they stay home mostly, didn’t realise you could get somebody to the house for a massage that’s a great idea!

Fab thank you, I’ll have a nosy and see what there is!

There’s a WHSmith where I’m going so I’ll pop in and see what I can find, thank you!

Thank you, I just got them a Christmas one last week typically.

A bouquet and a poinsettia.

Brilliant thanks, I’ll keep a look out today.

My dad had oesophageal cancer and found that alcohol was very uncomfortable to drink. I was going to suggest alcohol free versions of favourite drinks but no good if they don't drink in the first place!

What about a heated blanket? It's really hard.

Would they play a boardgame? My parents always used to talk about playing ludo when they were first married so we got them that.

Ooh I like that for me lol! My dad has every heated blanket and mattress cover you can imagine, they’re so awkward to buy for

Thank you, I think a diffuser is a great idea I’ll see if I can find a nice one today.

This is very sweet, thank you.

What about a soup maker. I have just ordered one for my 89 year old MIL.

You can get a 1 litre one. It is better for smooth soup though it says you can do chucky soup.
Morphy Richards Compact Soup Maker, Blend & Cook Smooth & Chunky Soup, Smoothies, Black & Stainless Steel, 1 Litre, 900 W, 501021 : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

Sorry it’s not letting me reply to any more posts! Thank you all for your suggestions, some very helpful ideas here! I think I’ll look out for some nice jumpers, jigsaw, books/magazines and diffusers today. A soup maker is a great idea but they’re limited for space in their kitchen so wouldn’t want to get that without speaking to them first.

@whatwouldyoudoifisangoutofkey thank you, sorry to hear you’ve had oesophageal cancer, I hope you’re keeping better now. Think my dad may be similar with the chocolates he says it’s further down things get stuck, I’ll still put the chocolates in for them both and he can decide if he wants to try them or not. It’s true they’re just not into Christmas, still in a bit of a state of shock I think.

Grizelda that looks great I didn’t know soup makers could be as compact as that, seems perfect!

Sorry to hear about your father 💐
Plants - eg indoor xmas cactus or hyacinth bulbs or an outdoor Plant?

My mum had oesophagael cancer, a soup makers a great idea from another op. I spent three months making her soup every couple of days.

Soup maker, blender, smoothie maker or ice cream maker seem like good choices.

Not for Christmas but replacement shakes eg Complan are better than Nesquik BTW. A scoop of ice cream makes them much tastier! You might also want to look at frozen puréed meals if he can manage things like mash from somewhere like Wiltshire Farm Foods that are piped to look (a bit) like food eg turkey purée in the shape of a drumstick, carrots in the shape of a carrot. Food that looks like food is a lot more palatable than a beige sludge.

Have a look at the gadgets/useful gifts thread for ideas for things that could make life easier at a difficult time.

Vouchers for a cleaning service or good meal deliveries for your mum eg Cook? Netflix or another subscription service?

What flight simulator does he play? The Microsoft one has a million add ons like planes, landscapes etc that you can buy. You could get him a voucher or wrap up a tiny toy plane with cash to buy the add ons.

Yes, I have one. It's about the size of a kettle.

Subscription to National Theatre Live. Theatre without leaving their living room.

Not a cheap option but if he likes a flight simulator does he have a VR headset? DH is 75 and has just upgraded his VR headset, I'm pretty sure you can get flight simulator on it.

Book of puzzles /crosswords
Jigsaw puzzle (Wentworth do wooden ones with unusual shapes that are really special but not sure on delivery now).
My DF (84) loves an A4 diary to keep track of appointments, family visits and he likes to track the weather in it.

Book them a cleaner
Or a gardener

@Froppysue thank you for this thread as I had forgotten to order my stepdad his present. Duely done now. As he is in Denmark it's easier as flower shops have amazing assortment of drinks and foods so he got a small hamper.

Something similar happened to one of my parents for their 60th birthday and they couldn't swallow anything...

I opted for...
A wind up music box (literally just played a song they like)
A tshirt with something on that they like

A jigsaw mat for your mum so she can pack away an unfinished puzzle if the table needs to be used.