Around the holidays, many people celebrate by gathering together to eat delicious foods, visit, and give one another gifts. Plenty of guides offer help whether you’re looking to provide a present for a child, a teen, or even a co-worker. But what about seniors?
Older individuals enjoy receiving a festive holiday gift, too. Not sure what to give your older loved one this season? Read on.
A Heated Blanket
Due to poor circulation, many seniors feel chilly, even in well-heated areas. Provide the gift of warmth by giving your loved one a heated blanket. Most of these blankets plug into the wall and provide comfortable, soothing heat to make the senior feel well-loved and cared for. Heat has been shown to promote circulation and ease the aches and pains of arthritis or old age.
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Seniors can use upgraded technology to stay in touch with friends and family.
Upgraded Technology
Does your older loved one have an out-of-date cellphone? Newer models may be better suited to arthritic fingers and poor eyesight. Consider swapping out their phone with one that has a larger screen and more oversized buttons to make it easier to make calls, send texts, and even view Instagram if your loved one is so inclined. Knowing the senior can call for help or keep in touch with friends and family, you’ll have peace of mind. Plus, the latest smartphones all include cameras allowing seniors to chat with people they may not see often. This is a festive way to bring your senior back in touch with people who don’t live close by and can’t come to visit.
Also, consider gifting a senior a tablet to help them keep track of online bills and access the Internet. These small devices can easily be stowed away in a purse for travel and don’t take up a lot of space in an assisted living apartment. Plus, most healthcare providers use patient portals to share information about prescriptions, send reminders about appointment times, and contact patients. Giving your loved one a tablet this season may help brighten their life (including a Netflix subscription!) and make contacting the doctor’s office much easier.
Pictures of loved ones
Because many seniors aren’t tech-savvy, they don’t see all the important updates family and friends post on Facebook and other social media sites. Create personalized photo gifts to fill them in on new babies, weddings, and even a few teen selfies.
“Give your older loved one photos to cherish all year.”
You can get together with your family to create a picture album highlighting the last year or select favorite shots and have them made into coffee mugs, t-shirts, or tote bags. You’ll be giving something functional as well as a memory. Grandparents love to share pictures of their loved ones with other residents in assisted living retirement communities!
Games
You may not realize that seniors love to receive games as gifts. Many older individuals enjoy cards, word finds, Scrabble, and Sudoku. Thinking games involving words and memory can help maintain your senior loved one’s brain function. Who doesn’t enjoy a few rounds of Uno, Hungry Hungry Hippos, or checkers to pass the time? When choosing a game to gift to a senior, consider their dexterity. Operation might not be a great choice if the older individual doesn’t have great control over their fine motor skills, for example. Multi-player games are great because you can involve the whole family, creating memories that will last much longer than the holiday season.
