11.30.10
Christmas Gift Ideas for Seniors in Assisted Living
What do you get the elderly person who apparently doesn’t need or want anything extra cluttering up their lives? Ever find yourself wondering how many years in a row you’ve given Uncle Joe a new tie? Or whether or not Grandma really enjoys the fruit box you send her every year? There are a few things that your senior loved ones will most assuredly love no matter how eclectic or sparsely they like to live, whether they live in elderly care housing or at home.
1. Pictures, pictures, pictures
You can’t go wrong with pictures of the grandkids, right? But what about wall space, and exchanging old pictures and new pictures out of the frames, or remembering to print them out before the kids have grown another six inches? Answer? Digital picture frames. These awesome inventions come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and prices. Perfect for everyone on your list. They even come in a key ring size for Uncle Joe who likes technology almost as well as he likes the grandkids, but doesn’t sit at home watching the pictures change. Most come with slide show settings for a constantly changing picture or you can choose your favorite to display all day or week if you want. My aunt was so thrilled to receive a digital picture frame, that she decided to take up photography herself, inspiring a new, healthy hobby.
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If technology isn’t their thing, but you have ideas of putting your own creativity and photography on display, you can design, order and send out your own calendar, scrapbook, mugs, mouspads, teeshirts, you name it. What Grandpa wouldn’t love to see his granddaughter’s smiling face every morning while he drinks his mug of coffee? Our parents and grandparents and their friends raved about the calendars we created and sent out.
2. Visual communication to build family ties
The hardest thing for most elderly loved ones to face is to be away from family and grandchildren in particular. If your loved ones own a computer, an easy but appreciated gift might be skype, online visual and audio conversations. They’ll need a computer, web cam, skype account, and of course, internet access. Even the most technology-wary senior may cave when it comes to seeing far-away grandchildren!
3. Build them a library they can take anywhere
One of the hottest gift items of the season may be the Kindle, an electronic book device This could be a great gift especially for elderly people confind to an assisted living home where book storage is limited. A big advantage of the Kindle for elderly people is wireless 3G internet downloading for instant access to a practically endless supply of books. Plus, you can enlarge the print as much as you want with the simple push of a button. My 61 year old father said he will never read a regular book again because of that feature!
Want to make Christmas really special for Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and other elderly loved ones this year? Make personalized gifts, help them stay connected to family and friends, or for the avid reader, provide a library of books in one small package. You’ll love the look on their faces when they open gifts this year!
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