Holiday Gift Ideas for Someone Living with Memory Loss
Christmas is fast approaching, and shopping is in full force. Thinking of a great gift for a friend or family member can sometimes be a challenge, but when thinking of someone living with cognitive impairment, we often just go blank. Of course, gift giving is always related to something the person enjoys, but often we are not sure what gift might be overwhelming or useful.
Here are some gift ideas that many people would enjoy:
- Create a playlist of music the person loves using Spotify or another app. A headset might be more comfortable than earphones. A playlist of hymns is always enjoyed!
- Record a simple video on a tablet or phone that the person can watch. You can sing a holiday song or record just a fun story from younger years so they can watch throughout the year (and remember not to ask, “do you remember when we….”. Instead, just start out by saying, “I was thinking about (or I recall the time) the time we … and I wanted to share it with you.”
- The Bible, or Bible stories on audio.
- Echo, with the Alexa voice assistant, so they can ask for a song to play.
- Make a family/friends photo album with the names of each person for them to look through.
- Fidget blank with zippers, buttons, and ties.
- Weighted lap blanket. These are comforting and will also help the person to stay seated to rest.
- Banana Grams is a game you can find in the game department. These are tiles similar to scrabble, and you can place the lettered tiles on the table and let them spell words with you.
- Give a subscription to Reminisce Magazine, a monthly publication that can be fun and evoke great conversations and reminisce.
- Lotions to give a hand massage.
- For women, a purse (or one of the person’s purses) filled with costume jewelry, a wallet, tissues, and nail file….. This is great for her to sort through and help with boredom.
- For someone who has enjoyed fishing, buy a tackle box and fill it with floats, plastic worms, pictures of fish, or people fishing…another fun way to spend time sorting through the box.
Be creative, and you will discover many gifts your loved one will enjoy. Most importantly, giving your time to someone who is living with memory loss is the best gift ever. Call them on the phone, stop by for a visit (giving the family some time to Christmas shop) or give gifts the family can enjoy, such as a delivered meal.
For information on our Memory Ministry, Memory Café, or our Virtual Family and Friends Support Group, please contact Vicky at vpitner@firstumc.org.