Discussions

Any nice or unique ideas for gifts for older people, grandparents/great grandparents? Ones who don't need anything and don't care for junk or clutter. I have 7 to buy for and I'm at a loss for ideas.

I'm in that generation and have told the kids if I can't eat or drink it, don't buy it.  
A gift card to their favorite coffee place, nice bottle of wine, baking.  
Just no more knicknacks please......

Practical. Ask them. But you can’t go wrong with gift certificate for cleaning, lawn mowing, window washing snow removal. Or my brother always gave gifts of food for my grandmother ie a nice ham, turkey or roast beef. It was always appreciated It’s true they have everything so usually just need practical stuff. Example I mentioned that I needed an new extension cord. I know not very exciting to give but was so appreciated by me.

I used to get my gramma a gift certificate for her hair salon.

Or a gift card for a service that they might enjoy but consider 'frivolous' and not spend money on it otherwise. Something like a massage, mani/ pedi, spa treatment, facial, tickets to a movie or dinner theater or concert, or admission to an art gallery or museum. Or a 'gift certificate' to do something with them!

Are they tea drinkers. I had the same problem with my aunt. Went and bought a bunch of different teas, a nice tea cup, a basket and doily from a thrift shop and made a big arrangement. I took all the pouches of tea out and organized them, but also cut the back of the label off the box and just stuck them in the cups, so they would know what they were drinking. Then wrapped it up in the nice saran type paper, a couple of bows...and she loved it.

We used to pay the cable, heat, and newspaper subs:cription every year. As a group the family chipped in...also used to be enough left over for a salon visit and M & M's gift card

I like to do up baskets for my grandma with a variety of items she likes: snacks, wine, crossword puzzles, tea, and scratch tickets. Especially because she just downsized from her house of over 60 years to an apartment, she definitely doesn't need a whole lot. I think the suggestions above are great. If you know they like to eat at a certain place or get their hair/nails done gift cards are wonderful. I think paying for someone to clear snow or do housework or something helpful that they may otherwise struggle with (dependent on abilities of course) could be wonderful.

What about handmade crafts? How old are your kids? Salt dough Christmas ornaments? Popsicle stuck Christmas tree or snowmen hat ornaments. Lots of ideas on Pinterest.

Everyone for the ideas! I like the basket and gift card ideas . I suck at coming up with craft ideas as my kids are pretty young and usually won't stick around to do more then 1 craft lol. We have 4 grandparents and 3 great grandparents to get gifts together for.

Another good suggestion is.. To take a few hours of your time and visit some of our seniors in care homes who have no family that visits them.

Not to be rude but a lot of seniors do not use the gift cards. I work with seniors and I can tell you that they will never get used by many people. Gift cards are new to a lot of these senior people. And the idea of using one is a lot like using a debit card, very foreign idea to some people. I like the idea of a homemade Gift basket of their favourite things especially homemade baking, homemade jams, pickles etc. but those premade gift baskets full of over scented products will never get used either. Good luck hope you find the perfect gift.

I have a 2 year old and we have made quite a few craft gifts. Again keeping it small and less knick-knacky: maybe a picture of your kids with a simple Christmas coloured popsicle stick frame and a magnet on the back for the fridge. Or a painted jar that you can fill with snacks. The Grandparents in our life love that kind of stuff but we try not to make it something that is a nuisance to store. My Grandma no longer puts up a tree but when she did we made her ornaments. Many elderly people have accumulated a lot of stuff over the years and no longer need more stuff. Keep it small and meaningful. Google and Pinterest are your friends!

To the WMCA always something over the year a Grandparent could attend. It could also be something you and your children could do with your grandparent.

Not sure how much time you have but I’ve done a collage of pictures of the kids, as they’ve grown and put into a nice frame. I know my mom loves getting updated versions of the kids and by putting them into a collage, with pictures of them growing up is pretty cool. Its something they can look at and enjoy for years to come!

Nothing like new pj’s, housecoat and a great book! Maybe a new duvet to brighten their room? Happy shopping!

A ticket to an event they might attend?  
 
A calendar with the photos of your family?

As my mother-in-law developed dementia she made herself a photo album of family members and would study it several times a day so she would not forget them. When my brother started to develop dementia I decided to make a photo album of memories for him. I put in a couple of pages for each family member and i:ncluded photos and information about them. I i:ncluded weddings and children, etc. and pages of his life. He couldn't tell me his history anymore so I copied what he put in the local history book. At first I wondered if this was the right thing to do but soon realized it was the best thing for him. No matter who visited at the PCH he would get out the album to show the photos. It was good for him to show his history even if he couldn't remember it.

If the like to watch curling on tv subscribe them to the Curling News. (It's a newspaper)  
 
It's about 35 bucks.