Gifts For The Elderly – When my husband’s mother entered a nursing home, I realized that bringing care packages and gifts was a great way to help an elderly woman adjust to a place she didn’t want to be! Whether your loved one is in a care facility or an assisted living facility, there are some products you can bring that will bring comfort and a sense of home.
When mom (my mother-in-law for the last 16 years) had to go to the nursing home for a visit, I realized that we needed to like her so that she would be comfortable and better to come home. I know I would hate to be stuck there!
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That being said, most of the ideas I came up with were for food…soda, cookies, and candy. Well, it didn’t work out so well, so we had to really stretch to figure out the things that would make him happy and that made sense for someone with a fairly limited life!
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Well, let’s get this out of the way first… sending goodies has nothing to do with going to see them, even if they just come quickly. I usually go back to see mom for about an hour most days, which considering she is 15 minutes away, means an hour and a half out of my day, but it makes such a difference to her!
Mom’s roommate had very few visitors and it was heartbreaking to call people, asking them to come. As much as you can, come and say hello! Even if it’s only for a few minutes.
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This is what I consider a personal gift of happiness! It comes from the heart and reminds your loved ones that they are more than the four walls of this nursing home and that there are people who love them and think of them often.
The first night mom moved in it was pretty hideous… there was a lady screaming in the next bed, mom was crying and we were scrambling to see what we could do to get her into a different room. After the chaos died down, but before Mom got to her room, my husband sent two quick videos of the kid saying, “You got that gram.” It was such a small thing, but it really made her feel loved and connected.
One thing I can always count on to make a mom smile is to take a photo of her puppy with me. Just seeing his cute face reminds her that she worked hard at PT and OT strong enough to come home with him!
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This is one that I know works because we used it when we adopted our kids before they moved in and took pictures of the room and house. If your mother or grandmother has dementia or Alzheimer’s and has trouble remembering where they live, have a book full of photos of the house, bedroom, yard, room, functionally anywhere they can recognize.
This will also work with people, have pictures of their grandchildren and their names. Sometimes mom forgets Joesiah’s name and calls him Johnny, but she remembers him playing sports because she has pictures of him playing lacrosse.
I’ve read a lot about how having a stuffed animal helps dementia and Alzheimer’s sufferers find joy. Remember Mom is better now that we have cleared up the UTI (urinary tract infection), but as the disease progresses we will definitely get her Pete The Repeating Parrot suggested in the article or something like this. Hamster (Mom is more of a fuzzy creature than a birdwoman!)
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It’s more than the personal hygiene products that residences sometimes provide, but having something special can be a real treat!
I don’t know if it’s a rule or not, but I found that the room at my mom’s house is super dry and gets a little flaky! I have a hand lotion from Bath and Body Works that has a great seasonal scent!
We gave mom some super stylish and colorful nail files that added a pop of color to her little swing around the bedside table! They are probably the cheapest thing we have gotten, but they have gotten the most use!
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In the nursing home where my mother is, they only bathe/wash their hair twice a week. When you look in the mirror and see that your hair looks bad, you feel bad, so a quick hair wash is a real mood booster!
No shampoo rinseā¦I didn’t even know that existed! It’s a bit messy, but it does a really good job with very little effort. Functionally, it’s a liquid that you put on your hair and then towel dry. Her hair was cleaner and smelled great.
Shampoo Shower Cap … These little darlings are so cold … We had them in the hospital before we got to the nursing home! Here’s a shower cap that you put on, leave it on, then scrub it with the cap and BAM…cleanse your hair!
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Having a boring beige room is not a good way to feel better about life…sighs. We did two great things that made mommy’s room more cheerful and fun!
I know it’s fun to have cut flowers in your room, but it’s not very practical if mom can’t take care of them and the nurse isn’t very attentive. This is the arrangement we had in her room in the house that we moved to an assisted living facility.
We started this in the hospital and continued when she moved to a nursing home. The cute blanket has two purposes… The first is to keep them warm when it’s cold and the second is that the nurse always comments!
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We only bring him who is already at home, but if he does not have a loved one yet!
I can’t even imagine how boring it is to sit in bed day after day. With that in mind, it’s a good idea to find something fun to do!
My mom likes to play solitaire on her nightstand and this deck is easy to spot because they have big numbers and suits. Check out the card in large print!
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This is a fun idea that I see that we haven’t gotten to yet, but it looks like an Alzheimer’s activity apron would go a long way in helping moms stay busy!
I heard a lot about bringing art supplies, but I thought it would be a bit scary to keep them in order and how mom will drag them out and put them back? It would be perfect if she fell and broke her hip while we were trying to improve her … NOT!
Mom loves to read, so we brought her a stack of books that stayed on the side table until I discovered that with her short-term memory loss, reading wasn’t fun anymore. She could not follow the story and got very frustrated with the letters, even if the book was printed in large.
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But the magazine is great! You can go through it, look at the pictures and see all kinds of interesting colors and interesting events!
More than magazines, mom’s oversized iPad has been a lifesaver in keeping her entertained. He then accidentally disconnects from Wifi, but if it works he has access to the world!
We weren’t too worried about people taking it, although that could happen, but it was a locked facility so we felt as safe as in a hospital!
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Here are some things we’ve discovered over time since he’s been there that have really helped him get better when he’s on his own at the nursing home!
One of the reasons a mother falls is that her blood pressure drops when she sits or stands. So they have compression socks … super trendy white ones like the one pictured above. Come to find out there are actually cute compression socks!
Sometimes it’s hard to see the little things when you have big eyes! Having a handheld magnifier helps mom see the details when she wants to get closer and read her magazine!
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This is something I never thought of before Mom complained that her roommate liked to go to bed earlier than her! Having a small flashlight that he can use to read his magazine or see him around gives him a badass feeling and he walks away!
I started to think that maybe the mother is complaining about herself
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