Father's Day gift for someone with dementia

[smilie]

I'm having a hard time coming up with something for my FIL for father's day. They do not live close to us so it would need to be something we can have delivered. He suffers from dementia and I'd like to find something that would occupy his mind. Any ideas on what we could get for him?

 

[Searc]

What about a fairly easy jigsaw puzzle? https://www.active-minds.org/us/jigsaw-puzzles/

Or an easy to read clock? https://dementia.livebetterwith.com/products/live-better-with-reminder-day-clock

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

An album of old family photographs.

 

[mjkacmom]

My dad loved word find books, literally spent at least 8 hours a day doing them for 4 years.

 

[Lehuaann]

What about a scrapbook filled with vintage photos/ephemera/memorabilia from his youth?

My DFIL celebrated his 90th birthday last year, but instead of a scrapbook, I created him a poster board using this downloadable mini-poster as the centerpiece https://www.etsy.com/listing/728624176/personalized-90th-birthday-1930?ref=shop_home_active_5&frs=1

We threw him a vintage style birthday: vintage props/flags, Dad’s Root Beer (he absolutely loved drinking it from a bottle), Cracker Jacks, old candies/games/toys/music (if you have a Cracker Barrel nearby, they are a great source for fun vintage-style gifts).

We also downloaded big-band music tracks. Not sure if your DFIL has an iPod/etc, but a retro style Bluetooth radio is another great gift.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Before my father's Alzheimers got really bad, he loved watching old John Wayne movies. Or looking at books with lots of photos about WWII (he was in the Marines in the South Pacific during the war).

 

[unrequited23]

Favorite childhood candies were always a hit with my Nana.

 

[hertamaniac]

Handheld games?

 

[smilie]

I love all of these!!! Thank you so much for the suggestions

 

[crjack]

My father's dementia is pretty advanced but music soothes him and makes him happy. Not sure of his listening options but we have playlists of songs my dad remembers from decades ago.

Anything that can help a caregiver is always a great gift.

 

[tcufrog]

I have a Christmas gift suggestion. Every year I make my dad a calendar filled with family photos from the year and labeled with anniversaries and family birthdays. He loves them and saves them all so he can look at the photos.

For Father's Day, I recommend a digital photo frame that can be uploaded remotely using a phone app if there is someone on site who can connect it to WIfi for him. My dad has dementia and he loves looking at the photos and videos that scroll through on his. He gets excited when he sees the new ones we've uploaded.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Illness is tough, my MIL loved a super soft blanket so maybe that would work.
I'm in a similar situation trying to find something for FIL fighting lung cancer so thinking something to make a chair or sofa more comfy but so far coming up blank. Feel like there should be accoutrements for sofas with so many people stuck indoors lately. Keep wondering what would improve endless sitting.

Considering shipping some kind of snack selection

 

[mjkacmom]

Illness is tough, my MIL loved a super soft blanket so maybe that would work.
I'm in a similar situation trying to find something for FIL fighting lung cancer so thinking something to make a chair or sofa more comfy but so far coming up blank. Feel like there should be accoutrements for sofas with so many people stuck indoors lately. Keep wondering what would improve endless sitting.

Considering shipping some kind of snack selection

We had to get my mom an electric recliner that would go forward enough so she could stand.

 

[ronandannette]

I'm having a hard time coming up with something for my FIL for father's day. They do not live close to us so it would need to be something we can have delivered. He suffers from dementia and I'd like to find something that would occupy his mind. Any ideas on what we could get for him?

Having been through this heartbreak with a parent, I'd suggest asking someone very close to him what exactly would be appropriate. Due to the degenerative nature of the illness, what he used to like and be able to enjoy may now no longer be of interest or within his abilities. It's tough to have to come to terms with but there's a point at which they just aren't themselves anymore. It would be best if you asked one of his current day-to-day companions for their input.

 

[tcufrog]

My dad now gets cold easily so I ordered a very soft blanket with a photo of the kids on it from the Wal Mart website. He loves it.

 

[smokeyblue]

At the suggestion of staff at the memory care wing, my aunt's family purchased a lifelike baby doll for her MIL. That may not be a draw for a man with dementia but they do have cats and dogs that interact by touch. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017JQQ01A/ref=dp_cerb_2 Seeing some of the photos and reviews for these "pets' is just heart-warming. I plan to buy one this Christmas and donate it to either the veterans home or the county medical facility.

 

[happily single]

I saw on Facebook someone created a pillowcase with a photo of his late wife. Maybe you could do a pillowcase with family members

 

[LiteBrite]

We stumbled on a book of old newspaper photos from the city where we live and gave it to my mom early in her dementia. She loved it.

 

[elphaba91]

The best gifts we gave my grandfather when he was suffering from short term memory loss and in care were an album of old photos (they were previously on slides and I converted them all) and a couple of very cheap paintings. He would frequently talk about the paintings and would often have different stories about where they came from (sometimes an auction house, sometimes he’d had them commissioned and the couple in one was him and his wife). He never remembered that we gave them to him, but they always brought him so much pleasure that we didn’t mind in the slightest.