Senior Citizen Gift Ideas - from one who knows!...

Senior Citizen Gift Ideas - from one who knows!

Gift ideas for senior citizens - perfect for Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day or Birthday gifts!

Original publication date: June 2011 Over the past 4 1/2 years that I've had my now 95 year old mother living with me and I've become a full time caregiver, I've scratched my head many times to come up with gift ideas for a senior citizen. And, every time Valentine's Day, a birthday, Mother's Day, or Christmas comes around, I've always been cognizant of picking just the "right" gift for my favorite elderly loved one. And, if I do say so myself, I'm getting pretty good at it.

One of the challenges of buying gifts for senior citizens is to figure out what they don't already have but still need or, at least, can use. In my Mom's case, she's got all the creature comforts - including 8 creatures (6 dogs, one confused cat and one even more confused bird). So, finding things to delight her on Christmas, Valentine's Day, birthdays, Mother's Day, or any other day of the year was difficult.

The below items seem to fit the bill fairly well. And, they have my mom's arthritic thumbs up in rating! What you'll find on this article are more fun items to give as Valentine's Day gifts, Christmas gifts or any other reason to show your appreciation to your loved one.

If your elderly loved one needs a bit of help getting around or just living life (life gets hard to live when one is 95...) here's another of my articles that may have some good practical gifts - You'll find daily living aids, eating aids and those kinds of things on that article.

Practical gifts for very elderly senior citizens - Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, or Birthday Note: That cool clock zebra wood watches in the picture above is a Day Clock and is available on Amazon.com. To see additional Day clocks, search the term in this article. You'll go right there!

Update Feb 20, 2012: My darling Mom died February 15, in my home, in my arms - just as I had hoped. The void left behind is palpable, but she taught me that the show must go on so on I go. I'm thankful to have the best friends in the world to boost me up and get me through the coming years.

To see picture of my gorgeous mama, please click Pictures of Gertie - life with a 95 year old.

Update May 21, 2012: I just started a companion article to this one - Gifts for the senior citizen cook.

Go give it a read too!

And, finally, if there's a senior citizen caregiver in your life, how about showing him or her a bit of love - Good gifts for caregivers.

Updated 7MAY13 - Here are links to a few of my newer articles: Gifts for an elderly woman I know all about gifts for an elderly woman as I cared for my elderly mom, Gertie, for the last 5 years of her life. I used to kid mom that every day was Mot...

Gifts for an elderly father My Dad died in 2007 at 89 years of age so I got pretty good in finding gifts for an elderly father for Father's Day or any other day of the year. Father's Da...

This article has been so popular that I've started a new website based off of it - you will see a big arrow link to GoodGiftsForSeniorCitizens.com below. If you go there, you'll see some great pictures of my adorable folks.

Update: Oct 2013: Here's my latest article. There's some wonderful gift basket ideas here: Gift Sets For Senior Citizens As one who used to struggle to find just the right present for my elderly mother and father, I spent a lot of time perusing the internet in my quest. Sometimes, finding the perfect gift for a senior citizen can take a long, long time. That's why I cre...

Day clocks Now, here's a great and unique way to help the elderly center on which day of the week it is. These day clocks will do just that. I know I would have loved to have had one of these unique clocks when I was caring for my Mom - there were days I didn't shower until 3 pm...

Day clocks have become such a large seller for gifts for senior citizens that I have a whole selection of them on my website. Click this link to see them in action: Day Clocks. That link will take you to my own website: Good Gifts For Senior Citizens where you will find an amazing number of gifts you've probably never thought of.

These great clocks come in wood and metal varieties.

The Presto A10 Printing Mailbox I totally love this idea! A lot of elderly people do not want to mess with a computer and, in fact, due to the frustration factor, perhaps that's a good idea. But, now, there's a way for them to get email without having a computer!

Enter the Presto A10 Printing Mailbox! This thing is amazing! Just plug the cord into a telephone jack (they must have telephone service....), plug into an electrical socket, turn it on and, voila! The thing springs to life and automatically prints any emails sent to the person. Totally brilliant!

In order to use the Presto A10 Printing Mailbox, there is a service fee but it's not much. Last year, it was $99 for a year. Isn't it worth it to be able to share emails, recipes, pictures, and anything else you want to send by email?

Give future generations the gift of memoriesSenior Citizen Memory Books Sometimes, the elderly will, upon being asked to record their memories, say 'nothing special happened' or 'I'm not a writer.' That's where these books come in. Each one is full of questions like 'what was a typical meal when you were growing up?' or 'What was your favorite subject in school?'

You favorite elderly person will have no trouble leaving their legacy behind for generations to come.

What better gift can anyone ask for?

How to make a memory book Here's another article you may like about how to make a memory book. That picture on the left is a book my cousin wrote about our Bubbie (grandmother).

The HurryCane All Terrain Cane This sporty black can has 3 separate points of contact on the bottom so it's steadier on uneven surfaces. Reviewers like that it will stand up on its own except on carpeted areas - it seems to fall over then but just have your senior loved one lean it against a chair or table and they'll be good to go.

You'll find more information about the HurryCane in my accompanying article: The HurryCane - for those who need a little help along the way.

On the side of practical, how about a new walker?

I've recently taken more of an interest in my mom's walker, since it threw her and she fell. That's right, the back part of the walker got caught on an area rug and over she went. Thankfully, she was fine but, man, it only took one time for zebra wood watch me to reassess her walker and her safety.

The below are some new articles I've written that might help you identify a new walker for your loved one.

Make life much easier for a senior citizen driver or passenger with car swivel seats I know that at even my relatively young (?) age, I sometimes have difficultly getting into the car seat.

But, those woes are no longer with the advent of car swivel seats as shown in the first link on the left below. These swivel seats twist and turn to allow drivers or passengers easier access to a car's seat.

Also shown is The Stander's Handycane which fits right into the car door to allow a passenger or driver to have leverage in getting into or out of a car seat. And, finally, there's the Carcaddie which goes over the frame of the car door to give even more leverage but only to those who can lift themselves up. Why not give this three-pack of items as a great Christmas present to a senior citizen friend?

You'll find other items, like swivel car seats on my own website at: Adaptive Car Items.

For the Senior Cook, Give A Gift Of Safety With Cool Touch Oven Rack Guards Burns hurt, no matter who suffers them but, when it comes to the elderly, burns can be much more serious. Burn blisters burst and allow an entry way for bacteria into the system. Any way you look at it, a burn to an elderly person is serious.

These oven guards snap right onto the front rack of the oven to protect arms when reaching into the oven. I think every single elderly home should have a set.

Photo Phones and Phone Amplifiers I wish I'd thought of this! A photo phone allows a senior citizen to see a picture of a loved one on the speed dial instead of just seeing a number. Even those with Alzheimer's may be able to recognize a

face over a number. This is my favorite gift for a senior citizen ever. In fact, with Christmas coming up, you can load up pictures of your family in Christmas attire to cheer your elderly loved one each time they make a call to your loving family. Note: don't wait for the elderly to call you - call them and frequently! Little things like hearing your voice and being thought of make a world of difference to an elderly person.

Can you hear me NOW? This photo phone amplifies to 40 dB, is hearing aid compatible, and has one button emergency calling.

Large button TV remote - a great gift for a senior citizen!Let's see them lose THIS one!

Now, we're talkin'! A large button TV remote would be an excellent Mother's Day or Father's Day gift for that favorite senior citizen! How many times have you scurried around on all fours looking for the remote control your senior citizen friend has dropped...again? Well, look no more my friend.

There's no way they can lose this large button remote control. The below remote control is ranked at 4.5 stars out of a possible 5 stars on Amazon.com. Reviewers love the simplicity of this thing; I'll bet your senior citizen friend will love it too.

Remind a senior citizen of some good TV shows from the past I was just at my cabin in WV last weekend where I have no TV service but, what I do have is a TV and a DVR. Mom and I used to love to put on DVDs of the old days of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and laugh and laugh at his antics from the 1960s to the 1990s. The below are all fun DVD sets that I'll bet your elderly friend would love. And, to see my and my Mom's review of some good movies for seniors, please visit my blog: Good Movies for Senior Citizens where Mom rated movies in "arthritic fingers up." Since she's died, I've taken over the ratings but with her firmly in my mind!

Here's some other senior citizen articles I've written that you might like Medication Reminder Alarm Clock I fell in love with this voice activated reminder alarm clock, especially since my Mom doesn't always know what time of day it is and may forget to take her pills, feed the dogs, etc (of course, I'm here to do all of that for her but, if your senior citizen friend doesn't have full time caregivers, this voice activated reminder alarm clock is the next best thing...).

Protect your loved one from falls at night with the use of a night light Night lights have always been in my life - from when I was young and afraid of the Boogey Monster (he does) exist...to the days when I had them around the house to light my Mom's way at night. The

night lights of old were so boring but not anymore. Here's some of the prettiest and functional night lights on the market.

And, here's another article featuring even more beautiful night lights just perfect for elderly men and women: Beautiful night lights for the elderly.

Gifts for the senior citizen cook Life becomes more difficult as we age - it's a fact. But, just because your favorite senior citizen is aging doesn't mean that he or she doesn't still like t...

Good Gifts For Caregivers I had a friend who cared for his ill father for 12 years. We were (and are still) very close friends. I never knew what he was going through with the respons...

Gifts for menopausal women First off, let me introduce myself and don't even think about interrupting; I am a 54 year old woman who is starting into menopause. How the heck did I get s...