Gift ideas for grandparents aged 70 years and older
Gift-giving at Christmas-time seems to revolve around children, teenagers and young people – but those aged 70 and over can often feel a bit left-out, even miffed that you haven’t made an effort for them…
Some people at 70 are fit as a fiddle and still exercise daily, while others are sicker, bedridden or more frail and require assisted care. Here’s about 80 fun gift ideas for you to make Christmas or their birthday, or any time you see them, special.
Books
Those who are still battling how to turn on a laptop, let alone email or go online shopping, may appreciate Abby Stoke’s step-by-step computer handbook Is This Thing On? for complete technophobes, while die-hard softies may love the romantic novel, One Last Dance in which a 89-year-old and 79-year-old fall in love. Give Granddad a ripping heroic biography of a WWII soldier who overcame horrendous injuries to become a star baseball player in The Corporal Was a Pitcher.
Others may laugh out loud at Genevieve: Small Dog, Big Life “written” by a papillon or the tales behind the scenes at the North Pole in Xanta Claus, be amused by the fun 41 Uses For A Grandma and be fascinated by the facts in Strange But True America. Have they always dreamed of being an author? Everything You Need To Know To Write and Market Your Book could be a winner.
Personalised gifts
Create a personalised book containing images of their favourite photos with captions to match. They won’t be able to put it down! Check out how you can do it with photo books by Freeze Frame, Blurb, and Life’s Sweet. Spring for your (grand)parents being interviewed at home on video by Save Their Story or Family Heirloom Books or over the phone for a personal biography by Priceless Legacy, or let them read and record a CD of their grandchild’s favourite book with Cherished Voices. Others may enjoy tracking down their family tree through a 12-month gift certificate to One Great Family geneology website.
Those with grandchildren may love reading all about them in a beautiful BabyStars report. Create personalised calendars by Tukaiz, blow up a favourite photo of theirs on canvas, or if you know them reaaaaally well, let them star in a raunchy novel. Have they always wished they went (back) to university? Create a fun varsity t-shirt from YourName University or arrange to send personalised paper newsletters from Sunnygram. Is Grandpa a golf nut? Have his name “spelt” out in golf ball type for his study from Letters That Wow. Others may enjoy receiving a photo of their grandchildren encased in glass for their necklace.
General gifts
Watch their eyes light up with fragrant Diptych limited edition holiday candles and swoon over yummy Lake Champlain chocolates, Chef Joe’s Cookies, or all the goodies in Gourmet Gift Baskets. A couple of fun stocking fillers are Grandparent Talk and ideal for Yorkshire terrier-lovers, Schmitty’s Healthy Do’s and Don’ts 2010 calendar. Glamorous grandmas may appreciate customised rhinestone t-shirts,while the crafty types may enjoy DIY purse kits from BagSmith. They could also appreciate a kit that lets them write their favouite inspirations from much-loved books.
Oldies hate missing out on weddings and christenings. Why not consider a connected digital photo frame from Ceiva which shows revolving photos in real time sent from anywhere in the world? You can never have too many pockets but they might also appreciate some on a cosy scarf from Kangaroo Girls. If your Nanna loves to bake cakes, she might love the CakeVase which lets you put fresh flowers on top of any cake she’s decorated or if she’s a knitter, here’s the Swiss Army tool of knitting kits! Gardeners might appreciate the Bee Lover’s Garden calendar.
Gifts to make life easier
Let them cheat(!) at bridge or poker night with large print playing cards, keep their hands free while they do their crafts and hobbies or hold their book comfortably with the Book Buddy resting pillow and straps. Make it easier for them to dress with fashionable, modified, open-back or open-side clothing by Comfort’n'Care Clothing, Cooper Martin, or belts they can do up with one-hand from Myself Belts. Help them keep their hat or cap on with Capsurz. If they’re bedridden, consider giving them FunctionAll bedlinen which has ergonomically placed pockets for them to store their personal necessities without needing to call the nurse.
Do they feel the cold? Give them a heating blanket (which goes over them in bed or on their favourite armchair),or, one of the most novel gifts I’ve ever seen, a Heat By Design photo frame which heats the room by a few extra degrees! If you’re newbie at being a carer, you may benefit from checking out eldercare at I Care Village. If money is no object, you might consider springing for a customised ”hot rod” motorised scooter! Do they tend to misplace their belongings? Give them self-sticking, non-iron labels for clothing and accessories. Let them reach anything with a PikStick telescopic reacher, or safely hold and carry things with Handi-Straps.
Gifts to make them feel healthy
If they tend to suffer from aches and muscle tension, they may appreciate the whimsical, animal-shaped heat packs from Corn Bag Critters, or the health benefits of Matcha green tea, or loose Rooisbos tea. They can walk more comfortably with shearling orthotics, indulge in chocolate that’s good for them with a Winetime bar, or limber up with a Body Bar Flex. Let them inhale rose or lavender essential oils in their own heart-shaped aromatherapy pendant and get fit again with a Functional Fitness DVD they can do in their chair. Better yet, get them back in top shape with a resistance chair.
Gifts for their safety
Do they live alone? Give them a wide-screen Peephole viewer for the front door or a guiding light for their mailbox. They can track their medications, appointments and tests in a personal healthcare journal or follow the instructions in the Talking First Aid Kit. If they can tend to wander off, they might appreciate an EmFinders EmSeeQ wristwatch with GPS capability. A clever gift that looks like a heart pendant is a USB device that can contain all their latest medical info while you can help them stop confusing conditioner for shampoo with these spandex bandages from Shower Spex. Give them a special RxTote bag to carry all their medical essentials.
Charity gifts
Many older people don’t want to receive more “stuff” so they could appreciate your thoughtfulness if you give them a Givt charity gift card, Kiva gift certificates to help support budding entreprenuers in developing countries with micro-finance, donate to the charity of their choice with Charity Checks, or donate to Save the Children.
Gifts for fun and games
Golfing enthusiasts may find it easier to improve their handicap with a heavy golf putter. Others could enjoy listening to an iPod (once you transfer their favorite albums across) and an iPod travel case when they’re on the move. They love to know what’s going on. Ever thought of giving them a two-way radio or a police scanner? Others could enjoy playing The Art of Conversation board game with their grandkids. Some grandmas might love the almost-nude pin-up calendar of the gents from Atlantic Shores retirement community! If they’d like a book they can enjoy with their grandkids, the geography puzzle book, Knock, Knock, Where am I? could be the ticket.
Tags: birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, DIY gifts, gift certificates, grandparents, personalised gifts
Your ideas for the personalized gifts are great. I put my mother’s memories into a book using Blurb. It’s called My Flint Hills Childhood: Growing Up in 1930s Kansas.
She loves it, so now I’m working on one for my dad. Mom’s book has been a big hit with all of the family and she has even had two book signing events.
If you live a long way from grandparents, as many people do these days, why not send a FARM-Africa e-card to wish them a Merry Christmas?
E-cards are a fast, easy and fun alternative to traditional cards, and what’s more, by sending an e-card you are making a donation to FARM-Africa, a specialist, non-governmental organisation that works with marginalised farmers and herders in Africa.
Here is the website: http://www.farmafrica.org.uk/ecards
Merry Christmas!
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