What do you buy your parents for Christmas?

[emer95]

Just looking for some ideas. My parents are so hard to buy for. They're in their late 60s, and they don't have a ton of hobbies. My mom likes to garden, and my dad does fixer upper things around the house. They're both retired. They don't like to travel or anything like that. They're pretty content people and they don't like anything fancy. Those are great qualities, except when it comes time to give them a gift, ha ha!
When I ask them for ideas they say, "socks" or, "oh, save your money."

I'd love to get them something special. Any suggestions?

 

[blana]

We have an agreement with my dad (and my mom before she passed away). Instead of buying for them, we sponsor an angel tree child.

 

[pigletto]

My parents are pretty hard too. They have enough money to buy what they want, and they have 6 kids. My siblings and I struggle every year. And if you find something they want or need you guard the idea like it's a national secret lest one of the siblings steal the idea lol.

"Of the month" clubs are fun and really popular. My dad likes to cook so my sister and I go in on an olive oil of the month club shipment for dad. Could he buy his own oil and probably for a better price? Sure. But he loves trying all the new ones and getting a package once a month. My brother got my mom sock of the month club. She's known for her outrageous socks and it was the perfect gift for her.

Some other ideas.. I am having a sign made for the family cottage with our last name and the EST date. My sister found someone on Etsy to make a beautiful rack to hold all my dads fishing rods. We had family photos done in Ocotber (17 of us!) and we are having a few of them professionally framed for them.

 

[ronandannette]

They're all gone now, sadly. We almost always gave my elderly DMom clothes - she loved pretty outfits but practically never bought for herself. DH's DMom and Stepdad were easy too. They lived on a very small fixed income so we always gave them tickets to events or shows that were beyond their budget.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

I usually buy them a couple of movie vouchers and a gift card to a nice restaurant so they can have a date night. They rarely will spend the money to go out themselves so this way they don’t have to feel guilty about it.

 

[marthachick]

My late in-laws were on a small fixed income. One year we had them both mugs with our son’s (only grandchild) pictures on them. I bought some small packages of country ham and some fancy jellies and honey and other breakfast items. I called it ‘breakfast with DGS’. They seemed to enjoy it.

My parents aren’t wealthy but they buy most everything they want. They are hard to buy for. We buy them gift cards for their favorite restaurants pretty often.

 

[NAB]

We only have my FIL left . He too is on a fixed income and is always telling us how he has to really budget for his food. So the last few years we gave him gift cards from his grocery store on town. This year he found out he has to go gluten free so we will make up a basket of all types of food that gluten free and a gift card. He doesn't need any clothes or tools etc . This makes him very happy.

But yes parents are very hard to by for. My kids are always asking me what we want too. We need nothing....lol Candy is always good for my husband.

 

[OneOftheB's]

My dad is a big reader, so he gets books (loves anything dealing with WWll and aviation) and a newspaper subscription from me, as well as recent, framed pictures of my kiddos.

 

[mom2rb]

For my dad, I make a giant pan of baklava. He can buy whatever he wants, but he loves that I spend hours making it for him. My step-mom is tricky and her birthday is on December 27th, so super tricky. I bought her a new family ornament with all of our names on it. My brother had a baby, so she needs a new one. I have no clue what else to get her. I hope one of my brothers knows.

 

[piccolopat]

My dad is a big reader, so he gets books (loves anything dealing with WWll and aviation) and a newspaper subscription from me, as well as recent, framed pictures of my kiddos.

It sounds like your dad would enjoy a book called "Warbirds" written by my friend Jeff Slader.

 

[piccolopat]

We only have my mom left and tend to buy her clothes since she lost a lot of weight and kept wearing things that were too big for her. She also enjoys wine and dark chocolate, reading and puzzles. It's getting harder to find something new to get for her.

 

[amberpi]

Both of my folks are still living and a daily blessing in my life. If my dad wants something - he buys so I buy crazy stuff for him he'll enjoy but won't pay for, like crazy crazy. I buy my mother clothes, shoes, handbags, jewelry. I've spoiled them as much as I can since I've had the means to as a small payback for all they've done for me. I may or may not go overboard. Buying gifts for my loved ones is the best part of the whole stupid holiday season.

 

[tcufrog]

My parents are also on a tight income. I always make my dad a family calendar from Costco and get him restaurant gift cards. My mom sometimes has things he wants so I buy those for her.

 

[minnie1012]

I have done restaurant gift certificates, tickets to a hockey game for my Dad, tickets to a concert. I got my inlaws a gift certificate for a dinner cruise. Last year got my Mom something to hold her glasses, https://www.danforthpewter.com/product/pewter-rope-eyeglass-necklace/pewter-eyeglass-necklace (that wasn't her only gift lol)

I have also done food baskets like Harry and David, Gift Tree or Wolfermans.

 

[Wendy31]

Every year what to buy my parents & DH's parents is the hardest part of all my Christmas shopping!

We normally get them individual gifts & then a larger "together" gift.

They are at the point in their lives when they don't really "need" anything, & they don't really have a lot of hobbies. My dad likes to read, but I can only get him books so many times. Neither my mom or DH's mom likes manicures or pedicures.

In the past, when I've asked my parents what they want, I always get answers like "socks" from my dad. One year, my mom told me she needed a slip - like what one wears under a dress or skirt. She also likes slippers.

One Christmas, they said they needed a new coffee maker, so we got them that w/ some different coffees. The next year, Mom wanted a waffle maker, so we got them a waffle maker w/ some nice maple syrup & waffle mix.

DH's parents never give us any ideas when we ask.

We've done gift cards to Lowe's. We've done pictures of our kids in nice frames. We've done the "grandma" jewelry for our moms, but I usually save that sort of thing for Mother's Day.

One year, we did gift certificates for a nice restaurant in town & tickets to a play at our local theatre.

Another year, for my dad, we gave him a regional history book signed by the author.

DH's dad likes sweets, so, for his individual gift, we've given him some sugar-free chocolates.

Last year, as part of their gifts, we gave them "welcome mats" for their front porches, and the welcome mats were engraved w/ the names of everyone in the family. Both my mom & DH's mom said they were "too pretty" to walk on, & they both put them up somewhere never to be seen again. LOL!

We also had spent the week before Christmas in St. Augustine, FL, so we put together a gift basket w/ different things from St. Augustine - an ornament painted by a local artist & engraved w/ their names, local BBQ sauce, teas & spices from a local tea company, a local cookbook, coasters made from palm trees by a local craftsman, etc.

I have no idea what we're doing this year.

For their "together" gift, we may get them battery chargers for their vehicles - they're "smart" battery chargers which don't require jumper cables.

 

[MIGrandma]

My Dad was always super difficult to buy for. His birthday was in December too, so sometimes we would combine his birthday and Christmas gifts to get him something nicer.

My Mom was pretty easy to buy for, she liked and collected so many different things (Noah's Ark, snowmen, bunnies, etc.) so lots of times we'd buy her something for one of her collections. When she got older we started buying her a couple new snowman sweatshirts (Younkers always has cute ones) every Christmas. She wore sweatshirts year 'round, even if it was 90 degrees she would still be wearing a sweatshirt when she got older. She was always cold. She loved different, cute ones so always enjoyed getting new ones.

DH's parents, I would love to stop exchanging gifts. We buy them a restaurant gift card and they buy the same for us. They generally buy themselves anything they want/need and when we've given them actual gifts they don't seem to like them. We've given his Dad a shirt occasionally and that just seems like a cop-out, but he has no hobbies or collections we can add to so it's very hard. I've suggested that maybe his sisters/husbands all go in with us together and we give them something bigger, nicer, etc. But they don't seem interested in doing that. We did give a Father's Day gift this year that he loved though, DH hired a pilot and took his Dad up for an hour long airplane ride around the area we live in. His Dad used to be a pilot, and had his own plane, but sold it years ago and it had been a long time since he'd been up for a ride so he loved that.

 

[emer95]

Thanks everyone, these are great ideas that I wouldn't have thought of!

 

[aprilgail]

Typically I get Broadway theatre tickets-along with clothes, coat etc that they need.

 

[powellrj]

My dad is the only one of our parents left. He enjoys different newspapers so that is what everyone gets him. I think he gets 4 different newspapers now. He loves puzzles, but we got him so many, he has them stacked under his puzzle table, so we stopped those.

 

[leebee]

Both of DH's parents (divorced) are on fixed incomes, so we usually send a food gift. I know the money would go further if we sent them a gift card to their local markets, but instead we send things like a package from Omaha Steaks, or ship fresh, live lobster (one of the benefits of living in Maine). We know that nice steaks or lobsters are things they wouldn't (or can't) buy for themselves, so it's a treat, and we feel good knowing we are helping them stretch their food budgets. We try to avoid the "cheese-n-meat" or bakery gifts- if we are sending food, we'll send good, solid lean protein that will make several real meals.

My mom (who died in 2005) used to love condiments and such, but would never spend the money on herself to purchase these little treats (also a fixed income). We'd often make her gift baskets with things from Stonewall Kitchen, Trader Joe's, etc., so she'd have a variety of jams, jellies, dips, marinades, etc. She also was a fan of smoked seafood, so sometimes that'd find its way into the basket, too. (Can't help with a dad-idea, mine died in 1970, when I was 13, so I really have no suggestions here.)