12 Holiday Gift Ideas for the Beloved Senior in Your Life

12 Holiday Gift Ideas for the Beloved Senior in Your Life

Kimberly Perkins-Akers | Amada Senior Care

Our goal at Amada Senior Care is to enrich seniors’ lives and ensure our clients are safe, healthy and happy at home. Just in time for the 12 Days of Christmas, we have a dozen gift ideas aimed at achieving that goal. Keep these suggestions in mind for gifting your senior loved one on other holidays, a birthday or anniversary… or just because. 

The Gift of Your Time 

Really, this is what every senior loved one wants – just your presence rather than a present. How about treating her or him to a special family time occasion, a “day of beauty” with a haircut or hairstyling, manicure or pedicure, mustache trim or hot shave, lunch outing, church visit or a movie?

Quality time tops the gift list every time! 

Jitterbug Smart 2 

Version 2.0 of the popular, no-contract Jitterbug smartphone designed for seniors offers the same large screen and big buttons. Now it’s easier to use and boasts an improved menu. Options to make a call, text, take photos, access pictures and email are organized in a simple list. Plus, the phone can be used as a personal health and safety tool with services like a daily check-in call, fall detection and apps including brain games, medication reminders, health tips and fitness tracker.  

MaxiAids Talking Watches and Pendants 

If your senior loved one is blind or visually impaired, consider a talking watch or pendant that announces the time and date on the hour or at the press of a button. Many models by MaxiAids and similar mobility companies can be set to give an alert or vibration for medication reminders and wake-up or bedtime calls. Big faces and bold numbers make for easy viewing. 

Slippers, Sleepwear and Linens 

These never go out of style and offer the gift of comfort to a senior loved one. Consider a weighted blanket or lap pad made by Calming Comfort, SensaCalm or a similar company that is designed to ease age-related insomnia, restless leg syndrome, anxiety and depression.

There’s evidence showing that a weighted blanket or lap pad offers a non-drug option for managing symptoms of Alzheimer’s or dementia such as disturbed sleep, agitation and anxiety. Do-it-yourself types can find lots of online tutorials for how to make a weighted blanket or lap pad. 

Stylish Compression Socks or Stockings 

Turn old school into new cool by having your senior loved one ditch the plain black and beige stockings for today’s fashionably stylish compression socks fit for a cat walk. Compression socks by Vim & Vigr, SB Sox, Zensah Tech and other brands are the hardest-working garments in a senior’s wardrobe. They help keep legs from feeling tired and achy. They ease the swelling that can trigger deep vein thrombosis. They help treat spider and varicose veins. They give veins a helpful boost by pushing blood back to the heart. These benefits combined with today’s bright colors (hot pink, neon green, vivid aqua, etc.) and graphic designs (skulls, hearts, butterflies, etc.) make compression socks the healthy style choice for all ages. Note: Check with your senior loved one’s doctor to make sure that he or she can use compression socks safely.

Low-Impact Exercise Equipment 

The Healthy Seniors Chair Exercise Program kit comes with low and medium-resistance exercise bands that the senior can use at her or his own pace while sitting in a chair to build strength and improve flexibility and stability. The Portable Pedal Exerciser by Vive is a compact folding pedal exerciser to strengthen the legs and arms. It might also increase circulation while improving stamina, focus and concentration.  

Mobility Assistance Tools 

Lots of great devices are coming to market that literally give seniors a hand. Pull Me Up by Rising Improvements is a simple oval ring that lets you give your senior loved one an assist from a sitting to standing position. It’s like an instant grab bar that prevents injuries from arm pulling. The Able Life Auto Cane creates a grab bar handle for a senior (or someone recovering from an injury) to get in and out of a vehicle. The Brenium Multifunctional Bottle Can Opener lets seniors with weak hand strength or rheumatoid arthritis twist off caps, pull tabs and remove seals easy-peasy. 

Monthly Giftbox Subscription 

Ensure your beloved senior will smile often over three, six, nine or 12 months upon receiving a monthly subscription box for flowers, wine, coffee, food, spiritual inspiration, books, magazines or favorite treats. GrandBox specializes in kits (curated according to the senior’s profile) that arrive before important dates like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Filled with treats, puzzles and health-and-wellness products, CheerCrates are ideal for a loved one living in a retirement or assisted living community. Seniors with particular dietary restrictions can enjoy Love with Food, which sends an assortment of all-natural and organic food. 

Food Delivery Service 

More and more meal delivery companies are specializing in convenient and affordable programs that meet the tastes and needs of older adults. Companies like Magic Kitchen, Healthy Chef Creations and Personal Chef to Go deliver meals that are naturally low in sodium, fats and sugar and made with fresh, organic ingredients. Meals on Wheels, the largest provider of senior meals with 5,000 nutrition programs around the country, offers catered menus and dietary food options in some states. 

Fitness Tracker 

What we love most about gifting a fitness tracker to a senior is that it encourages fitness goals such as steps per day and stairs climbed, and promotes healthy choices to avoid the sedentary lifestyle associated with things like obesity, diabetes and hypertension. One of the fitness trackers we like best for seniors is the watch-style, user-friendly Fitbit Blaze for its large and bright display, touchscreen, built-in heart rate monitor and sleep tracker, reminders to move, exercise tracker, digital workout coach and five-day battery life. 

Medication Reminder 

Everything is going digital, why not medication reminders? One of the highest-reviewed apps is the Pill Reminder and Medication Tracker by Medisafe. It helps seniors stay safe and in control of their medications by getting reminders about taking the correct dose at the correct time and lets them track their progress. A family member or caregiver can use the app to help manage the senior’s medication to ensure she or he is taking medications as prescribed. Notifications can be set up to alert a family member or caregiver. Among the many useful features is a drug-to-drug interaction checker, a progress report email-able to a doctor’s office ahead of an appointment, prescription renewal alert and a health tracker for blood pressure, weight and glucose. 

TV Ears 

This is a hearing-aid device pitched by senior celebrity spokesperson Pat Boone with the slightly corny selling point, “TV Ears saved our marriage.” But you know, sometimes corny works! The wireless headset gets rave reviews online with posters reporting that it does help seniors who suffer from hearing loss and have difficulty watching television programs with low-volume sound. The device is easy to set up, as it links directly to the TV set and lets the headset-wearing senior listen to a program at regular volume remotely. TV Ears features voice-clarifying circuitry and background-noise-reducing foam ear tips.

Sponsor of the SPOTLIGHT Senior Services & Living Options Guide

Visit us online or call us today and say "I saw you in SPOTLIGHT!"

Kimberly Perkins-Akers  |  Owner and Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)® 

Serving Chandler-Mesa-Gilbert-Phoenix-Scottsdale-Tempe

P: 480.999.5250  |  C: 480.999.5254 | F: 480.999.5251   E: Kimberly.P@AmadaSeniorCare.com |Web: www.AmadaPhoenix.com
1660 S. Alma School Rd. #223 ▪ Mesa, AZ  85210 

Home Instead Senior Care ~ How to Pull Off Sunday Dinners as a Family

Easy Ways to Pull Off Sunday Dinners as a Family

June 2, 2015

Sunday dinner used to be a time when the entire family—and sometimes the extended family—gathered to talk, to laugh and to share the family lore and the day-to-day details of each others’ lives. Sometimes the “little things” about dining together—the emotional connection and casual conversation—are more important than the meal itself.

Why Intergenerational Dining?

The hectic pace of life today may make it feel impossible to bring the family together for dinner. But sharing meals together can benefit all generations within a family. Children get to hear their family’s oral history directly from the older generations, and seniors enjoy the companionship, which may lead to real health benefits, such as improved nutrition.

Home Instead, Inc., franchisor of the Home Instead Senior Care® network, recently conducted research among North Americans with seniors living nearby. The Sunday Dinner Pledge survey revealed:

• 61% believe their senior relatives eat better when they dine with other family members
• 92% feel eating with multigenerational family members is a good way to reconnect
• 87% believe sharing sit-down meals with senior relatives help their loved one deal with loneliness

Start with a Simple Commitment

As a busy caregiver, you might be thinking, “where am I going to find time to plan a big family dinner?” If you feel this way, you’re not alone.

While nearly 90 percent of respondents to the Sunday Dinner Pledge survey said they would like to share sit-down dinners with their senior loved ones once a month, about half of them said conflicting schedules and lack of time prevented them from doing this. Can you relate?

Consider this: when you prioritize something in your life, you tend to find the time to get it done. And that can include regular meals with your senior loved one.

To help make family mealtime a priority in your life, sign the Sunday Dinner PledgeSM . When you do, you not only will feel committed to making family dinners happen regularly, but the Home Instead Senior Care Foundation® will donate $1 for each pledge (up to a total of $20,000 in the U.S.) to the Meals on Wheels America program.

Create an Easy Menu Plan

To make it more feasible to plan and cook an intergenerational meal on a regular basis, start by choosing an easy menu plan. This may include favorite family recipes that can be made ahead of time, or new recipes with a limited ingredient list.

If you need recipe ideas that will please all of your family members, try theSunday Dinner Planner. In three quick steps, you can choose a main ingredient, review a selection of recipes and add one to your planner. Then you can get the planner emailed to you for printing and reference.

Use Activities to Foster Interactions

Once you get into the Sunday dinner routine, you may find conversation doesn’t flow as easily as it did in the beginning. Everyone runs out of interesting family news from time to time. When this happens, you can refer to this list of conversation starters for the dinner table, or plan an after-dinner activity to engage the whole family.

The Sunday Dinner Planner includes suggestions like family movie night and hobbies. You can add these to your planner in the same way you added recipes.

Involve Senior Loved Ones in Meal Planning

And speaking of activities, be sure to include your senior loved ones in the planning and meal preparations as much as possible. They may enjoy the renewed sense of purpose they get from participating as much as the meal itself.

In advance of the meal, consult your senior family member about food preferences. Does she have a particular recipe she’d like you to cook? Would she like to assemble and bring a dish of her own? When you empower your senior loved one to contribute, you give her a real sense of satisfaction.

Dine Together on Sunday—or Any Day

By taking the Sunday Dinner Pledge, you’re committing to sharing a monthly meal with your senior loved ones. You don’t have to do it on Sundays. Pick a day that works well for your schedule.

No matter which day you choose to dine with your senior family member, your whole family will benefit from this sociable interaction.

After all, who better to describe the distinctive smell of trout cooking over a smoky campfire than Grandpa himself?

For more family meal planning resources, check out the Sunday Dinner Pledgeprogram on CaregiverStress.com.

Holiday & Family

Holidays and Family

By AMBER | Published: DECEMBER 4, 2014

I hope this “most wonderful time of the year” finds you happy and healthy!  Here we are in the middle of the holidays and 2015 is right around the corner!  Where does the time go?!  It seems to go by faster and faster each year.

This year was definitely a transitional year for my family.  Some big changes and big decisions were made with regards to my father-in-law.  My husband is the oldest of seven and also has two step-siblings.  So, needless to say, getting nine people, ten including my father-in-law, to agree on anything is a challenge.

My father-in-law’s decline started with my mother-in-law’s passing about two and a half years ago.  They had been married for nearly 30 years and they had planned for him to die first.  My mother-in-law was the healthy one, the active one, and everyone was sure she would live to 100.  Unfortunately, God had another plan for her.

She took care of my father-in-law and kept him somewhat active and social.  When she was gone, he sat in his chair.  He was depressed, especially around holidays.  We all tried to get him out, family came to visit in intervals, but he just didn’t seem to have the will to live.  Well, let me be really honest, he SAID he didn’t want to live.  He didn’t take care of himself, didn’t care to see anyone and wasn’t eating properly to keep up his strength.  He ended up in the hospital.

He had been there before, but this time, he was really weak and everyone decided the best thing for him was to go into an assisted living community.  He was not thrilled about it, but interestingly enough, he understood that he had put himself in that situation and realized that he really couldn’t live by himself.  And we would later find out, he really didn’t want to take care of himself.

He had options to stay in Colorado, or go back to Maryland where he is from.  His daughter and son live in Maryland, and so does his sister.  Amazingly enough, everyone agreed that Maryland was where he should go.  He was a little reluctant, but we gave him the option to come back if he really didn’t like it.  He was there for two months and decided to stay.  We have been back to visit and he is doing much better.

He has had some ups and downs, but for the most part he is doing as good as can be expected.  He is fortunate enough to have a decent retirement income, and he also was able to take advantage of his VA Aid and Attendance benefits.  Which, every veteran should sign up for any and all benefits they have earned.

A lot of the older generation don’t think they need it or don’t want the “help”, but anyone who knows me knows I am a huge proponent of Veterans using the benefits that they earned and deserve.  They served our country and gave of themselves as did their family.  They EARNED it and DESERVE every single benefit they are eligible for.  So please, please take advantage of those benefits.  Getting off my soapbox now….

I share this experience because I know our family is not alone in this experience.  I went through this with my dad a few years ago and my mom and I have already talked about her wishes when she is no longer able to live alone.

As the holidays are here and some of us are spending more time with family we haven’t seen in a while.  This is a good time to not only visit and enjoy time with your aging loved ones, be observant and look for the little, and big, signs there may be a problem developing.

If you do notice a situation that you feel needs to be discussed.  Choose the appropriate time and broach the subject in a non-threatening way.  There are some great resources under our resources tab on ParentYourParents.com.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.  Enjoy and embrace your loved one’s this holiday season, have have a Happy and Blessed New Year.

ParentYourParents.com ~ Helping You Help Your Aging Parents