Finding gift ideas for seniors who have everything is a challenge, but if you think outside the box, it’s easier than you realize. Here are some tips for coming up with thoughtful and creative gifts that your senior loved ones will appreciate this year.
How to Come up With the Perfect Gift for a Senior
• Be sensitive to your loved one’s individual needs and capabilities. If they’re mobility-challenged, a ski weekend isn’t likely to go over well.
• Be practical. If they have no need to wear a tie, don’t buy them one.
• Be thoughtful. Remember a time when they said they’d love to try X, Y or Z.
• Think creatively. A gift doesn’t always have to be purchased at the store.
• Give experiences. They may have everything, but they haven’t done everything.
• Know what their luxuries are. Something they’d never buy for themselves, like lobsters for dinner or a fancy writing pen.
Here are some holiday gift ideas for seniors by category:
Thoughtful Gift Ideas
• DVD collections of old movies they love or their favorite genres
• Games and puzzles to keep their mind sharp
• Help around the house with housekeeping, cooking, lawn care or errand-running
• Independent-living aids to help them maintain their independence
• E-readers or tablets for reading and connecting to the Internet
• Personalized gift basket filled with their favorite things like teas, chocolates or soaps
• Hobby-related items like golf balls, yarn, paint or supplies
• Netflix or Amazon Prime subscriptions for movie watching
• Gift card or gift certificates to their favorite shop or department store
• A donation to their favorite charity made in their name
• Gift card for hair stylist or barber
• Magazine subscriptions to publications they’d enjoy
• Gift certificate to a restaurant that celebrates their heritage
Creative Gift Ideas
• Framed family photo or digital photo frame with family pictures preloaded
• Handmade items like quilts, throws and scarves
• Homemade goodies like candy, cookies and bread
• DVDs with old home movies or slideshows transferred to them
• Keepsake scrapbook with pictures and mementos from children and grandchildren
• Audio or video of grandkids reading a favorite book
• Home-cooked meals, soup or casseroles pre-portioned and frozen
• Bill payment for a year, e.g., a cellphone or cable bill
• A monthly flower bouquet or fruit basket delivery
• Wine-, Cheese- or Dessert-of-the-Month Club membership
• Calendar with pictures of the grandkids
Experience Gift Ideas
• A class they would be interested in, such as computer coding, dancing or yoga
• Tickets for movies, plays, the symphony, opera or another kind of production they would enjoy
• Gift certificate for a massage or spa day
• Tickets to a sporting event
• Tickets for a weekend getaway or cruise excursion
• Train or plane ticket to visit a relative or friend far away
• An annual membership to a zoo, aquarium or museum in their area
• Trip to a local botanical garden
• Coupon book for a year of monthly luncheon dates with the kids or grandkids
• Tickets to a concert
Gift Ideas That Involve Spending Time With Grandkids
• Buy a foreign-language app or computer program for the senior and grandkids to learn a foreign language together.
• Buy a favorite board game or jigsaw puzzle for fun family nights.
• Select a brightly colored kite that they can fly together.
• Bring ingredients for a favorite recipe to make together.
• Take everybody fishing or help them learn a hobby together.
• Have the kids start a collection with a grandparent (rocks, shells, coins).
• Bring an empty scrapbook or photo album into which kids and grandparents can organize loose photos.
With a little forethought and imagination, you can come up with personalized, thoughtful and creative gift ideas for seniors that will be not only appreciated, but also cherished all year long.
