I've thought & thought & thought and I just can't come up with a good gift for her. Help ... her birthday is today & I still don't have anything. My hubby's grandmother is currently residing in an assisted living facility. She has been down lately because she can't drive a car and she has lost many freedoms she once had. Although she denies it, she has been diagnosed with alzhiemers. She doesn't want to live with anyone ... but she can't live on her own either. In any case, she used to be a real entertainer in her younger years. Her husband was a Gulf Oil executive and she lived to throw parties for the business groups & entertain. In her early days, money was never an issue. She says her husband & friends are all gone. She was a real beauty who loved life ... now she says she's just waiting to die. I hate it because I don't know what to do to make her feel better. She likes to stay up late and sleep in very late. Unfortunately, most of the other residents are heading for bed by 8:30 pm and that's just when she's getting going. She used to do very beautiful cross-stitch patterens, but her hands won't allow for that anymore. She reads a great deal and watches TV. She loves Bridge, but the folks who play bridge where she currently lives play in the afternoon while she is sleeping. There are no late evening Bridge games. We visit regularly. She loves my kids dearly. My baby girl share's her name. She has always been a wonderful grandmother to my husband. She doted on him and spoiled him unbelievably while he was growing up. I would love to do something wonderful for her ... but this year I am just all out of ideas. Her actual birthday is today. We are taking her out to celebrate this evening because we didn't want the day to pass by unrecognized. However, there are some other family members who are currently out of town, so we will be having an actual birthday party for her this weekend when everyone can attend. On a side note ... she loves cake & icecream ... but not one without the other. That is one of the reasons she wants a car so bad. Often she'll start craving a sweet midnight snack and she want to be able to hop into her car and head for the market. We try to keep snacks in her fridge ... but being the entertainer she is, she often shares the goodies with others and runs out quickly. Is there a bakery or something similar that doesn't charge an arm & leg to make weekly deliveries in Cary ... or deliveries upon request (I know that no one will be making midnight deliveries). My Mom mentioned that she had heard of some sort of cake a week website on the internet that made weekly desert deliveries ... but I didn't find anything like that in this area. We bring her snacks to stock her fridge each time we visit ... so I don't even know that something like that would a decent gift ... I just can't think of anything. Help
Do they make a hand held bridge game she could play? I know it is not the same as having conversations during a real game, but it is better than no game.
Something as simple as a trip to the Dairy Queen would be a neat little outing for her. My Grandmother is pretty much the same way. Lives in an Assistant living community, and can no longer drive. On special occasions I go pick her up and we spend the day together. It really makes her day.........simple is good sometimes...........Good Luck!
Does she have a computer with internet service in her room? If so, you could let her try out playing bridge on pogo.com for free - if she likes it, a yearly membership is less than 40.00 -- can play with people all over the world morning, noon and night. Lots of other games too. As far as the cake and ice cream deal. . . you mentioned she has a fridge--- if her meals are provided and prepared for by the facility where she lives - leaving her fridge just for her 'snacking' - why not drop of a couple half gallons of ice cream each week along with a few pound cakes, that way she'll have items she can freeze until shortly before needing them (can even slice and separately wrap cake prior to freezing) If she entertains, she has goodies, if she doesn't, nothing goes to waste. With some interesting toppings/sauces in stock, she should be able to reward herself and her friends to many varieties of her favorite staples
You could use Amazon to get goodies delivered to her often. If you sign up for prime, everything ships 2-day UPS, and you have the option of overnight for just $3.99 more. The items may not be as fresh, but there is a still a very good selection. Does she have a computer? Online games are great for late nighters. I would just be sure to include software that enables you to limit which sites she goes to, as you don't want her to fall prey to someone with poor intentions or get her identity stolen. If you want to go the fresh baked goods route, start calling local bakeries and see if they will make weekly deliveries. In this economy, I'd be surprised to find that they wouldn't do it, especially knowing that they would have the business every week, and the owner could just do the drop-off on her way home at night or something.
I wish a computer was an option. She did have one at one time ... but she had trouble figuring it out. Heck, she calls regularly because she thinks her radio is broken ... but somehow she keeps accidentally turning it off. We thought the computer would be lots of fun for her, but it ended up just being a huge frustration and she got very upset because it seemed so easy for everyone else, but she kept forgetting how to use it. We tried teaching her ourselves, and tried computer classes for seniors but neither seemed to help. I think a computer could be a huge source of entertainment if she could just get the hang of it ... but she gave up on that one. If anyone knows of a good bakery that makes deliveries in Cary, all suggestions are welcome. We do try to keep her fridge stocked with snacks & goodies. She goes weekly to have her hair, nails, toes done. She doesn't care much for shopping at the mall but she does like dinner outings. Lunch dates are just too early in the day for her. I've been looking for a simple handheld bridge game with large print, I just haven't found one yet. Thanks for everyone's suggestions
puzzles My mom lived with us until she passed at age 78 and she, and we, enjoyed jigsaw puzzles. You can get large pieces to make it easier for her to see. This will help keep her mind in shape. Good luck.
My dad is in his 80's and we got him a digital frame. We all pooled our photos together and loaded them on the thing. All you do is plug it in and it scrolls through the photos all day long. He leaves it on all day long as it shows photos of all the grand and great grand kids...we even scanned some pictures of Mother and him in their younger days with old friends. He loves it! Kohls had some great deals on them yesterday. Good luck, I know how hard it is to try and find something different and creative for an oldster.
That is a GREAT idea! And so thoughtful too. I'm sure she would strike up many conversations with folks visiting her and asking about the pics.
I liked this idea very much also ... unfortunately, that's what I got her for Christmas I just got back from having cake & icecream with her. She had lots of fun and there was plenty of cake to share with the other residents. She enjoyed blowing out her candles with the help of my 2 yr old baby girl. We played with balloons and the kids ran around with those noisy party favors. The rest of the family will be back in town Sunday when we celebrate her birthday again. I'm hoping I will come up with a good gift by then ... I really appreciate everyone's suggestions!!
