Great Birthday and Christmas Gifts for Seniors

Selecting the perfect gift for Christmas or a birthday can be challenging even when you know the person very well. Picking the perfect Christmas present for your granny, grampa, or favorite auntie wasn't hard when we were kids. A small box of chocolates, a drawer sachet, or a new linen hankie was a stretch for my meager budget, though, even with some help from our mother.

Granny always swore that Grampa would love a new linen hankie, and sure enough, every Christmas when he opened that familiar slim box, he would exclaim that here was exactly what he had been hoping we would buy for him. He was just like my dad with the faithfully-recurring gift of a new tie or black socks - things of which Dad never seemed to tire either.

Money was tight when we were kids. We didn't have the luxuries many took for granted, but we never went without good food or warm clothes. When it came to replacing socks, men's handkerchiefs, undergarments, and other sundries, my mother made a virtue of supplying the necessities in the form of a thoughtful gift.

Also they were all items that we could "chip in", carefully counting out a portion from our small hoard of Christmas money for the honor of our names going on the "From:" section of the gift tag. We would be sure to excitedly point out our participation in each gift, and glowingly accept the grave thanks from each recipient.

Now that we are all grown, the Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary gift search has taken a new turn. Even when money is tight, we have the resources to buy a nice present - but what do they need?

My parents are now seniors, and have already acquired most of the household appliances and gadgets they will ever want or need.

Our next-door neighbor's grown children all chipped in and bought their elderly parents a new flat screen TV last year. It was certainly well-appreciated during hockey season, football season, baseball season. One of the sons confided that he hadn't a clue what to buy them next year though.

My parents love to travel. Dad's health doesn't permit a lot now, and travel for seniors can be expensive. If I ever won the lottery, though, I would send my folks on short cruises. I'd let them pick their own destinations and go anywhere, anytime.

Until I do win the lottery, though, (I know, I know, I can hear a bunch of you muttering, "Get in line!") I'll have to be a bit more creative. I was reading an article on Hub Pages by TickleMeCute that sparked a memory of one of the most well-received Birthday gifts I ever concocted.

It gave me an idea for a truly unusual Christmas for my folks, the third of the Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary gift suggestions you'll find here.

Creating a Scrap Book:

We have done several versions of this wonderful, and thoughtful present. Suitable for any occasion, I enjoyed the first "Christmas Book" the most.

The "Christmas Book" was created from an ordinary scrap book with plain paper pages. Created for a very special Great-grandmother, it is a treasured family heirloom and has pride of place beside her family Bible and clan history.

Each child and grandchild created a page, trimming it with fancy papers in cut-out shapes and letters; filling it with funny sayings and favorite memories of time spent with Mom, Grandma, and Great-Grandma.

The grand-children's pages were decorated with drawings, stickers, paper lace, beautiful ribbons, and lots of glitter pen.

Each album pocket was stuffed with cards and photos, each with names and dates inscribed on the back to assist with remembering when viewed again at a later time.

I'd made a "Birthday Book" some years before, on the occasion of this same ladie's 85th birthday.

For that book, knowing she is fond of scarlet roses, I chose a dark red, silk bound scrap book and laid in as many rose stickers and rose colored "add-ons" I could find. I used several shades of contrasting solid and print papers, all in fresh rosy shades of rose-pinks, yellows, creams, dark burgundies, and greens.

That particular year, she was celebrating her birthday in in three different locations, traveling to the Yukon, to Toronto, and then back home, to spend time with all of her far-flung family.

I was able to gather photos from each family and every social occasion on her trip. I think she must have celebrated her natal day for a full month that year.

I had already created the pages with colorful borders, rose cut-outs, and flower stickers, so when the pictures arrived, it was a simple matter to fit them in. A number of the pages had funny stories that were sent to me along with the pictures.

She was thrilled to receive the book of memories, but I had to repossess it briefly to make a few more pages for some of the photos she had taken on her trip.

The third book, "A Christmas Poem", is a slim volume that will soon reside with my folks as a souvenir of a very happy Christmas they spent with us. It chronicles a Christmas Visit at our house, and features family photos taken during their visit which have been arranged according to my rather free revision of the famous poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas", with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore.

One of the things my folks requested some years ago was a moratorium on knick-knacks. When their grandchildren were little, they loved to receive little "gifty" things that the kids had made or purchased out of their very own allowance because they "knew Grandma loves cats", or "Grampa was a sailor so he'll love that lighthouse wind-chime!"

They loved every single thing, but they are not "collectors", and, as is the case with many other seniors, space is at a premium, so now the grandchildren have to be a bit more creative.As well, our family is far flung, with kids on the West Coast, the North, and out east in Ontario. That can mean spending quite a bit on postage to send even a smallish parcel.

For this reason, we love gift cards - not just for our folks, but for friends as well. If you know of a favorite restaurant or cafe, that could be an excellent gift for a senior. My folks still love to go out for a nice lunch, or dinner every once in a while, and we try to buy a gift card to one of their favorite spots for at least one special occasion each year.

Another favorite of a few years ago was a "dinner-and-a-movie" gift card. We gave one of those to our minister and his wife one Christmas, and they loved it. If your loved ones are beginning to, or are already experiencing mobility problems, why not arrange "take-away-and-a-movie"? You can pick up the meal from their favorite take-out restaurant, pick up a movie rental of their choice, and make a great family night of it.

We have also bought department store gift cards. Our family loves to shop the sales, and gift cards are a great way to do just that. If you know of something they might need or would appreciate, consider a gift card so they can pick out their own. Arranging a day to take Grandma or Auntie to the sales, and enjoy a leisurely lunch would be a fabulous way to spend more "girl-time" together.

Many of our loved ones have boxes full of old photos and Super-8 reels, probably from every trip and vacation they have ever taken. There are any number of companies that specialize in making DVD photo compilations, setting old photos and movies to music, and re-recording them onto DVDs. I have seen some brilliant presentations - lovely collages of old photo stills and movie clips.

We put together a similar kind of presentation, using slides and photos that we had converted to digital medium, for a very special 90th birthday celebration. Then we made a CD of the birthday presentation, and exported it to the memory chip that came with the digital photo frame - one of the many lovely gifts she received. I know she spent many hours watching that parade of photos from her girlhood and from the many trips she had enjoyed throughout her "traveling years".

A membership to the local library or seniors' rec center makes a great gift. It affords the opportunity to stay active in both mind and body. Perhaps, instead of just giving a membership to a seniors' center near your loved ones, you could take the extra step and include transportation to and from their favorite activity. As well, I know several ladies who take yoga and hobby classes with their moms as a way of keeping active together.

If Grampa or Uncle is fine going to the library on his own, swing by on your way home and take the books back for his. That make his next visit more pleasant as he won't be weighed down with books, at least on his way there.

My grandparents would always say, when asked what they would like for Christmas, or their Birthday, "We don't need anything, dear..." - not particularly edifying, but true. It is my contention that most other seniors feel the same way about whatever gifts we could buy them.

What they really need from us is our time, our consideration, our companionship.

One of the most thoughtful and caring gifts I have ever seen was a "coupon book". It was taped to the top of a beautifully wrapped box of chocolate cherries (her Grannie's favorite sweet). Each "coupon" in the hand-lettered booklet gave the gift of time and some simple service lovingly offered.

One coupon was for a trip to the grocery store, courtesy of Mom, of course, and offered "free cart-pushing and grocery carry-out". One coupon was redeemable for "One free lawn-mowing each week during Summer Holidays".

Another proudly proclaimed it could be turned in for a "free games night as Grandma's house" along with an offer to help select the snacks, while yet another promised "an afternoon with your best helper for baking Christmas cookies".

The favorite of all though, and cashed in on the spot, was for "Unlimited Free Hugs and Kisses".

One more thing that we can consider to give them is an easy to use cell phone with PERS features. This can be very helpful to them—both in their communication and in their safety—so they’ll surely appreciate it.