Holiday Gift Guide for Seniors

Are you looking for a unique gift for your older loved ones this holiday season? We’ve got you covered! We have rounded up a list of useful, thoughtful, entertaining, and cozy gift ideas for the senior adults in your life. From independent to those who have greater care needs, you are sure to find something for all on your list.

Gifts That Make Life Easier

Depending on your loved one and their needs or wants, there are so many great gifts that can help make their lives easier or more comfortable.

• Make their wheelchair or walker more comfortable
  • A walker caddy or tote is a convenient and stylish way to carry items when using a walker.
  • A wheelchair cup holder is a great way to help your loved one stay hydrated while on the go.
• Illuminate their lives
  • There are currently many smart lamps and lights on the market. A motion activated LED light would be great to light up areas where a lamp is inaccessible to prevent falls.
  • Wake up lights simulate a natural sunrise and are a great way to help older adults wake up more naturally.
• Everyday comfort gifts that will make life much easier
  • An electric or automatic touch can opener is perfect for anyone since they don’t require any hand strength or a strong grip.
  • An electric toothbrush can improve dental health and also helps eliminate strain on arms, wrists, and hands.
  • A rechargeable wet/dry electric shaver is a great gift to help the senior in your life get a comfortable and safe shave anywhere.

Senior Clothing & Footwear Gifts

• Adaptive Clothing
  For those with special needs such as arthritis, limited mobility, or incontinence, specialized, adaptive clothing can make life easier.
  • There are several companies who specialize in adaptive clothing that can help seniors with dressing problems, that includes items with special modifications like snap buttons, velcro flies, elastic waists, zippers, rear closures, and more.
  • Adaptive shoes are also great for those with special foot care needs
• House Slippers and Compression Socks
  • Non slip, foam slippers are a great gift to keep your loved ones warm, cozy, and safe to walk around their home. These days there are many options to choose from.
  • Compression socks are perfect for those with health conditions that cause leg and foot swelling and help by improving circulation. Many brands now offer different levels of compression, styles, and designs such as with zippers or open toes.

Cozy Gifts for Relaxation

When it’s cold outside, everyone loves to be warm and snuggly. Giving the gift of relaxation is like giving the gift of a warm embrace.

• A weighted blanket or lap pad makes a great gift for people with dementia, anxiety, trouble sleeping, or anyone who might just want to feel more relaxed.
• A heated blanket is another cozy gift option to keep your loved one warm and relaxed this holiday season.
• Another cozy gift idea is a foot massager or back massager. There are many options on the market right now that are sure to relieve a tired, achy body.

Entertaining Gifts

With many people still spending a lot of time at home, entertaining gifts are a great way to keep the senior adults in your life occupied.

• There are many ways to gift music. Purchasing your loved one’s favorite songs or album either digitally, on record, CD, or cassette is a great way to bring back old classic into their life. A boom box with a cassette or record player is also a great idea so that your loved one can play the music they already have, there are newer models that sometimes have multiple player options and even have AM/FM radio.
• Coloring books are a great entertaining gift idea. There are so many options, from super simple to very intricate. An adult coloring book can keep them entertained for hours, with beautiful, sometimes frame-worthy images.
• Puzzles, games, and cards are fun gifts that are great activities to exercise the brain. Perfect for all ages.

Keepsake Gifts

Photo gifts are a great way to give something that can be passed on from generation to generation and keep memories alive.

• There are several websites that can help you create custom photo albums or calendars for the older adults in your life, this make a perfect gift for people with Alzheimer’s or dementia. You can even add text to the photos that they’ll love to read and reminisce over.
• Creating a photo puzzle with a picture of your loved one’s family, friends, or even a special place can give them hours of entertainment that they can enjoy over and over again.
• Digital photo frames are a great way for families to share photos in real time. There are many options to choose from these days and most will now let others add photos through email or with an app on the phone that will show up in the digital photo frame. This is a great gift for family or friends who live far away.

Technology Gifts

Everyone uses technology now more than ever to stay connected with one another. Tech gifts can not only help us stay connected but also help keep seniors safer when their loved ones aren’t able to be around.

• Amazon has multiple “Alexa” voice assistance with voice calling smart home hubs. Some have a video screen with smart display and some are smart speakers. They can make voice calls, play music, give weather reports, read the news, answer questions, tell jokes, read audiobooks, check sports scores, and more. They even have a “drop in” feature that can help people who can’t actively answer a call.
• A phone made for senior citizens would be the perfect gift for the older adults in your life, they have larger buttons, louder speakers, bigger buttons, and have additional safety and health features.
• A medical alert device has built-in fall detection sensors, many can go anywhere, and can have help come to your loved one at the push of a button.

Mobility Gifts

Many seniors need some kind of mobility assistance, so giving a form of mobility gift would be greatly appreciated.

• There are many options for add-on for walkers and wheelchairs that can help with mobility and safety. Walker ski glides are an option that can help a walker move more smoothly across the floor,
• Portable grab bars for the car or tension mounted stability poles for the bathroom are great ways to add non-permanent modifications to your loved one’s home to help with getting around more safely.

Experience Gifts

Since many older adults already have a lot of material goods, they really appreciate a gift of experience.

• Give a restaurant gift certificate to share a wonderful meal with your loved one, or you can take them out for a special meal together.
• Personal service gift certificates are a great experience gift idea, like a massage, medicure, pedicure, or hairstyling. Some spas even have special geriatric service.