How’s your holiday shopping coming along?  Do you have parents, in-laws and/or grandparents on your gift list and don’t know what to get them?  Buying gifts for seniors can be challenging.  Often they seem to have everything they need and many times they are in the process of downsizing to a smaller home.

Gifts for Seniors Should Be Thoughtful and Useful

Gifts for seniors can be non-typical gifts.  Instead of robes and sweaters, think of where they are in their life and what would be useful.  Following are some thoughtful holiday gifts for senior parents and grandparents.  If these gifts are well received, they can become an annual tradition.

Family Calendar

Make a calendar through Shutterfly or similar service.  Create a photo collage for each month with pictures of family members that have birthdays or anniversaries that month.  Fill in the dates of each birthday and anniversary so they don’t have to.

Greeting Cards

Need something to go along with the calendar?  Why not purchase birthday and anniversary cards for each family member to make it easy for your loved one to send them a greeting.  Add a roll of stamps and return address labels for an extra touch.

DVR Service, Netflix, etc.

Gone are the days of having to watch tv when the show is scheduled to be on.  Your loved ones will enjoy recording their favorite shows, movies or even the evening news to be watched at their leisure with a DVR service through their cable tv provider.  You can also pay for their subscription to Netflix or a similar service.

I love gifts like these that you can order for them and repeat the gift every year.

Kitchen Essentials for Arthritic Hands

For seniors who struggle with arthritis or limited hand strength, these three items will be the perfect gift.  I am not elderly but can attest to these being great tools for the kitchen.  My right hand has not fully recovered its strength since I broke my wrist 18 months ago.  I needed to find a way to open bottles, jars and cans.  I bought these three kitchen tools and loved them so much I also bought them for my mom and aunt who suffer from arthritis. (Amazon links are at the bottom of this post if you are interested in these products).

Bottle Opener

Since my accident, I have a difficult time opening bottles of water and similar type items.  I found this Oxo Good Grips Y-Shaped Bottle Opener and use it all the time.

Jar Opener

The seal on jars can be so tight, even under normal circumstances they can be difficult to open.  This Brix Jar Opener pops the top and makes it easy to open.

J-Hook Opener for Soda Cans and Milk Cartons

Tabs on a can of soda or a carton of milk can be a challenge to open.  This J-Hook Opener makes it easy to open anything with a tab.

Food Gifts

Go with companies you know for food gifts.  Otherwise, it can be a waste of money.

My grandmother loved filet mignon.  For many years I bought her top of the line steaks from Michaels Finer Meats & Seafood here in Columbus. Michael’s supplies the finer restaurants in town.  Each filet was individually vacuum packed.  They ship throughout the US and package the meat on dry ice.

Do you have a favorite winery in Napa?  We love Pine Ridge.  If your in-laws enjoy wine, select a wine of the month club as their gift.   You get the idea!

Keurig Coffee Maker

A Keurig Coffee Maker is ideal for a couple or individual.  It makes one cup at a time and is so easy to operate.  You can give boxes of their favorite Keurig Coffee Cups for other holidays such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Personal Emergency Response Device

An emergency response device such as Phillip’s Life Line is a wonderful gift to give your loved one who lives alone.  This device can detect falls and call for help.  Consider this a two-for-one gift.  It will help your loved one but it will also give you peace of mind!

The Gift of Time

There is no greater gift than spending time with your loved ones.  It’s the most well received and most enjoyed gift.

Do you have any suggestions to add to the list of thoughtful gifts for seniors?  Please share in the comments below.

Happy shopping.