Seniors at Christmas

[happygirl]

I know a lot of people are very good about adopting a child/family at Christmas but please think about also adopting a senior, In our area there is such a need for people to help the eldery who won't have any family around to help them just to get the basics.

 

[Robinrs]

Awesome idea!

My son and I find elderly people to help all the time. How wonderful to help them during the holidays.

My former neighbor lost her Mom at 99 this year. She lived with her and this is her first Christmas without her... and she's in her 70s! They were like Dorothy and Sophia from the Golden Girls, Brooklyn accents and all!

You just reminded me to visit her for Christmas. It's NEVER easy to go thru your first Christmas without a loved one and she deserves the attention.

Thanks!!

 

[C.Ann]

You bring up a good point - especially at this time of year when people are focused on children who won't have any toys for Christmas.. Let's not forget the elderly as well - who are often all alone and quite lonely.. [/SIZE][/FONT][/B]

 

[happygirl]

If anyone is interested in doing this, You can go to your local Area on Aging. Or nursing homes are a great place to help out as well

 

[jme829]

One of the local malls ( Maplewood, in Minnesota) over the weekend had a salvation army angel tree set up with just senior gifts...What a nice idea. We grabbed 2 names.

 

[okeydokey]

That's a great idea, thanks for posting it!

 

[charming23]

Last year when my Dad was in a nursing home I volunteered and helped out at a party for them. We played games and passed out presents that people had donated. It was a ton of fun. I am hoping to volunteer again this year even though my dad is not around anymore.

 

[C.Ann]

Last year when my Dad was in a nursing home I volunteered and helped out at a party for them. We played games and passed out presents that people had donated. It was a ton of fun. I am hoping to volunteer again this year even though my dad is not around anymore.

Were those presents wrapped? Do you have any idea what kind of gifts they were? I know of a very small nursing home (less than 20 patients) and it would be fun if my DD, my DGD, and I could purchase some small gifts for those residents.. DD and DGD have had their flu shots, so it would be safe for them to deliver the gifts, but I'm not sure what type of things would work well in that kind of setting..

Any suggestions?

I'm off to bed now, but I'll try to check back tomorrow.. Suggestions on the types of gifts that are suitable would be appreciated from anyone reading this thread.. Thanks!

 

[charming23]

Were those presents wrapped? Do you have any idea what kind of gifts they were? I know of a very small nursing home (less than 20 patients) and it would be fun if my DD, my DGD, and I could purchase some small gifts for those residents.. DD and DGD have had their flu shots, so it would be safe for them to deliver the gifts, but I'm not sure what type of things would work well in that kind of setting..

Any suggestions?

I'm off to bed now, but I'll try to check back tomorrow.. Suggestions on the types of gifts that are suitable would be appreciated from anyone reading this thread.. Thanks!

They were mostly homemade items from the local PSR kids at some of the local churches. They made wreaths, decorated pots with plants, and homemade oranaments. They were just in gift bags.

I would suggest something small to maybe liven up their room for the holidays as most give up everything when they permanately move into a home.

Hope this helps.

 

[Katlyn]

Were those presents wrapped? Do you have any idea what kind of gifts they were? I know of a very small nursing home (less than 20 patients) and it would be fun if my DD, my DGD, and I could purchase some small gifts for those residents.. DD and DGD have had their flu shots, so it would be safe for them to deliver the gifts, but I'm not sure what type of things would work well in that kind of setting..

Any suggestions?

I'm off to bed now, but I'll try to check back tomorrow.. Suggestions on the types of gifts that are suitable would be appreciated from anyone reading this thread.. Thanks!

When we did this for the nursing home a few years ago the non slip socks were a big hit. Also fleece throws were requested. We were able to find a bunch of the throws for 5.00 each.

 

[Pixiedust34]

Were those presents wrapped? Do you have any idea what kind of gifts they were? I know of a very small nursing home (less than 20 patients) and it would be fun if my DD, my DGD, and I could purchase some small gifts for those residents.. DD and DGD have had their flu shots, so it would be safe for them to deliver the gifts, but I'm not sure what type of things would work well in that kind of setting..

Any suggestions?

I'm off to bed now, but I'll try to check back tomorrow.. Suggestions on the types of gifts that are suitable would be appreciated from anyone reading this thread.. Thanks!

One group I belonged to donated lap blankets (both hand knitted and store bought fleeces) to a nursing home and the gifts were appreciated. That's something that both men and women can use.

 

[barkley]

one great gift i've discovered for seniors in shared living situations is magazine subscriptions.

one year just for the heck of it my brother and i conspired to get my mom subscriptions to 'those awful gossip magazines' she always claimed to never read but pounced on at the beauty shop (national enquirer and people). she not only loved them but took to passing them around to the other seniors in the place she lives, who enjoy them AND enjoy talking about them with each other.

good non tabloids to send subscriptions to are reader's digest (esp. large print version), reminisce and reminisce extra.


one small gift that is often appreciated by seniors is a package with a variety of greeting cards. it's hard when someone can't get to a store but they like to send birthday or other holiday greetings.

if someone wanted to make items i think a small (binder paper sized) thing to hold photos would be great. they could take a peice of cardboard, put some batting on top and hot glue fabric over it. put intersecting ribbon on it and something so it could be hung on a wall. many seniors get lots of photos from family but have no way to display them. if a person did'nt want to make these they could buy small photo albums at the dollar store.

 

[golfgal]

We specifically picked adults off the angel tree at church. They requested hats, gloves and scarves.

I was very active in a toys for tots charity in our old town and believe it or not the most forgotten group are the teenagers-14-18 year olds. We were always scrambling to find things for those ages.

Lap blankets are a great idea--I would look for the small, fake down ones if you can find them. They are very warm but more importantly they are very LIGHTWEIGHT.

DVD's are also a HUGE hit at the nursing home. My mom had quite the collection of DVD's and VHS tapes and we donated them all to her nursing home when she died. Many of the residents were VERY grateful for those. She shared them with the other residents while she was alive so they were glad to be able to have access to them.

Personal items are also appreciated, socks, underwear, soap, shampoo, etc. If the residents are on Medicaid they only get about $90/month to buy all this stuff.

 

[golfgal]

one great gift i've discovered for seniors in shared living situations is magazine subscriptions.

one year just for the heck of it my brother and i conspired to get my mom subscriptions to 'those awful gossip magazines' she always claimed to never read but pounced on at the beauty shop (national enquirer and people). she not only loved them but took to passing them around to the other seniors in the place she lives, who enjoy them AND enjoy talking about them with each other.

good non tabloids to send subscriptions to are reader's digest (esp. large print version), reminisce and reminisce extra.


one small gift that is often appreciated by seniors is a package with a variety of greeting cards. it's hard when someone can't get to a store but they like to send birthday or other holiday greetings.

if someone wanted to make items i think a small (binder paper sized) thing to hold photos would be great. they could take a peice of cardboard, put some batting on top and hot glue fabric over it. put intersecting ribbon on it and something so it could be hung on a wall. many seniors get lots of photos from family but have no way to display them. if a person did'nt want to make these they could buy small photo albums at the dollar store.

Along with the greeting cards-a book of stamps . I agree with magazines-books are also good.

 

[C.Ann]

Thanks! These are all great suggestions!! It's kind of easy to think of things for the women, but the men are a liitle more difficult.. Lap robes sound like they might be a good idea..

 

[happygirl]

Gifts for the eldery men

Stationary and stamps
Puzzles
Crossword puzzles
Razors
New PJS
A new Wallet

If you don't want to have spend money, They would love for someone just to come in eat lunch and just visit with them. So many are so lonely.

Once there was there little old man I got to know at the nursing home, he loved to watch birds. He wasn't able to get outside to watch them or feed them. SO I got the nursing home permission and got him a bird feeder for outside his room. That made his day he could just sit all day and watch the birds

 

[C.Ann]

Gifts for the eldery men

Stationary and stamps
Puzzles
Crossword puzzles
Razors
New PJS
A new Wallet

If you don't want to have spend money, They would love for someone just to come in eat lunch and just visit with them. So many are so lonely.

Once there was there little old man I got to know at the nursing home, he loved to watch birds. He wasn't able to get outside to watch them or feed them. SO I got the nursing home permission and got him a bird feeder for outside his room. That made his day he could just sit all day and watch the birds

More great suggestions.. Thanks!