Gift ideas

Heather Kramer

Good Afternoon everyone! New here to AlzConnected, but sadly not new to the diagnosis.

My mom will be 55 years old in March 2022- so she is definitely a younger soul to this diagnosis, however, I know she is not the only one. 

Long story short- She worked for the same company for 34 years until last month. They refused to make reasonable accommodations for her and after several different events taking place, we decided it was best for her to go on FMLA while we filed her Disability paperwork. This all happened much sooner than we anticipated, especially since my mom is still fully capable of completing her job. However, we wanted to make sure she was able to use her disability benefits through her employer since she had invested into that all these years. That being said, she is currently keeping busy at home the last few weeks- Doing all of that spring cleaning, etc that she has been wanting to do for so long. 

My question is though- I know that one of the most important things is to keep her brain busy, entertained and challenged. SO--- Does anyone have any ideas for Christmas Gifts?         I am looking for all sorts of ideas- I don't necessarily want her sitting on the couch all day long with a reading book, game book, or electronic game, but I do still want recommendations for those items as well.  I also want things that will keep her active, etc.      I have pondered the idea of us getting her a few air tags for things like her keys, etc, but really want to hear what you all have for recommendations.   

Thank you!!!!

Tfreedz

Hi Heather,

This isn’t really a gift idea but something to help keep your mom active...If you are able to stream YouTube on her TV or laptop there are several walk at home videos that are really great especially this time of year. I particularly like Leslie Sansone walking videos on YouTube, seems like it would be boring to walk in place but she makes it fun. I also saw a community rec center has walking times for seniors in our area, maybe she would like something like that if you went with her or transported her. We bought my mom a diamond art project off amazon but realized it looks too tedious and small for her to work with. I did get her adult activity, coloring books, and jigsaw puzzles for some quiet time. Also just splurged on a miniature Ms. Packman machine off QVC which used to be her favorite game when she was younger. Hope these suggestions help!

JJ401

Air tag or a Tile. DH has a Tile attached to his keys. Without it we’d still be looking. We went away for a few days, and before we left, he hid the keys inside a sock. I never would have thought to look there.

jfkoc

The "quick little bunny" coupon book is always popular here. you put together coupons for things like making dinner, shopping, zoo visit, manicure etc.

RobinFR

Hi and welcome!  Our neurologist suggested brain games like crosswords easy soduko 

Does your mom have a tablet to play those?  Amazon has giant easy adult activity books 

As someone else mentioned online exercise like easy dance on tv/ YouTube   We also got a hand me down cubi pedaling (seated) exerciser 

I tried air tags and I have yet to find one set of keys.  The beep is so light that if she put them in a drawer it’s not loud enough to find.  I will try tile next as I use those and it’s louder 

FYI  Although my mom no longer trades or does her finances officially  we will put on those channels and she is absorbed watching the stock ticker and listening to the dialogue.    

Hope these thoughts are useful.  This forum is a godsend for information and compassion 

Good luck!

aannaa

I bought to my mom a cat XD

sophirolr

For example, my mother likes to spend time with her friends over a cup of tea and dessert. I decided to give her a chick fil gift card . Before doing this, I read more about it  on https://giftcards-market.com/downloads/chick-fil-a-gift-card/ , there I saw chick fil a gift card balance checker as well. So my mother was very happy with the gift, but I told her that I won it and not bought it.

May flowers

She may already have this, but When my FIL was at the mild to moderate stage, we got him an iPad and taught him how to use it. We set up the front page with icons that linked to things that would interest him - his favorite newspapers, music he liked, books to read/audiobooks, puzzles (magic puzzle is great)  and solitaire. He got very into ancestry when he retired and did that well into his early dementia days. 

(The downside is at some point you would have to block online banking/shopping sites and set up parental controls for porn sites and such. Finances can become problematic before you know it! That was one of the first things we recognized my FIL was struggling with memory.)

Does she have a yard? Gardening and maybe even raising some chickens might be a fun hobby for her. 

Is she artsy? Candle making, soapmaking, painting (paint by numbers), knitting/crocheting

I just realized this is an older thread but might be helpful anyway lol

posyleu

Thanks for the idea about an iPad! My old friend is in his moderate stage now, and I think it will entertain him a lot. It’s hard to see him like this, but I want to be near him and support him anyway.

jfkoc

Seeds....crayons....watercolors......puzzle...book for organizing family recipes...scrapbook for photos...

Ed1937

Here is one that might be appreciated. At $150.00 it's a little pricey, but maybe worth it. You might be able to find it cheaper on another site. Maybe. https://www.amazon.com/One-Touch-Audiobooks-Quality-Sound-Nostalgic-Technical/dp/B07L9D5GBL?th=1  

loveskitties

My father loved the digital frame.  We were able to connect it to their WiFi and family was able to update pics and videos from afar.

In the early stages, he knew who was who and enjoyed seeing them.

In late stages, he actually felt they were interacting with him.