14 Great Gift Ideas for Elderly Parents and Friends

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Are you looking for some great gift ideas for elderly parents and friends? If the seniors in your life are anything like those in mine, getting them to drop hints about their gift wish list is not easy. Fishing for hints gets me more bites than even straight-up asking what they might like as gifts.

The normal responses are, “I already have everything I could want” or “please don’t make a big fuss over me.” Sound familiar, anyone?

Sure, it's sweet to know they don’t want me to feel obligated to get anything. However, the fact is that I want to “fuss” over them, and I know you do too! We want our senior loved ones to know how special they are and make their lives easier.

So, here are 14 gift ideas that our favorite seniors would surely love to receive!

Medical Alert System

Medical alert systems can be great tools to help elderly loved ones stay safe while remaining independent in their homes. There are several different options to choose from, from necklaces and watches to more permanent home devices.

The gift of a universal remote is ideal for elderly parents who have trouble juggling many remotes at once

As technology advances exponentially, so do the number of remotes and their buttons. Instead of getting your elder a basket to hold a half-dozen remotes, how about trading them all in for one?

So if you're looking for great gift ideas for elderly parents, consider getting them a universal remote. It's sure to make their life a little bit easier. There are universal remotes specifically made for the elderly with a minimal number of large, easy-to-read, color-coded buttons.

Want to go the extra mile? You could even offer to synch up all the devices yourself, you techy whippersnapper.

Massager

Massage therapy devices have come a long way from the hand-held relics they once were. Now, diverse options benefit various ailments by increasing blood circulation in the body and relaxing cramping.

Massaging mats can be laid on a mattress, while wearable massagers work the neck/shoulder or legs/feet and often have adjustable intensity and heat levels.

Medication Bottle Opener

Even though pill bottles claim to be child-proof, why do they feel so adult-proof sometimes? Imagine the struggle for those who suffer from arthritis to get some of those pill lids off.

The Remedic Multi-Opener makes opening any standard-sized medication lid effortless while also providing a magnifier and LED light to read the small print on medication labels easily. In other words, this gift will take the grunting and squinting out of the daily medicinal routine.

Pill organizers can help our elderly loved ones remember to take the meds they need each day

Wouldn’t one less thing to worry about be a gift? Pill organizers can help our elderly loved ones remember to take the meds they need each day.

The Remedic Pill Box and Glass serve as a convenient, gentle reminder to take daily meds. A magnifier makes the pills easy to identify, and the glass underneath allows your senior loved one to take the meds with the appropriate amount of water for every dose.

A digital frame is a great gift for elderly parents to display photos

If you're looking for great gift ideas for elderly parents, look no further than digital frames.

Digital frames will be the new treasure of your elderly loved one’s household. With just 10GB of cloud storage, over 2,000 photos can be uploaded to the digital photo frame from all your family member’s smartphones.

Each new upload will delight your loved one and let you feel closer to one another. The fun part is that they will never get tired of seeing family photos reappear.

Personalized Items

Countless companies are in the business of taking your favorite photographs and transferring them onto everyday items such as coffee mugs, keychains, and even blankets. You can also personalize the gifts according to the job they had. For example, if your grandad was in the military, you should look for military retirement gifts.

These useful mementos become daily hugs to your loved one every time they see it. Promise!

Grabber

Just admit it, grabbers are fun. A grabber takes the place of a step stool to reach the towels at the top of the linen closet or can reach dropped items under furniture.

Many of them are designed specifically for the elderly because they have easy-to-grip triggers for sore hands, are lightweight and expandable, and some can even fold into a purse. These are so handy around the house. You might even like to have one in your own!

Door Security

If you're looking for a great gift idea for elderly parents, look no further than the Remedic Telescopic Doorstopper. Without even bending over, your elderly loved ones can prop doors open for ease of getting through doorways, leaving space for walkers or wheelchairs.

The best part is that doors can also be secured closed, deterring intruders because it would block a door from being fully opened inward. In short, this isn’t just a gift of convenience; it is a gift of peace of mind.

A rolling stair climbing cart can help your aging loved ones easily traverse stairs

Flights of stairs, doorsteps, or curbs can be real obstacles for your aging loved ones if you get your senior citizen a rolling stair climbing cart, its ingenious three-sided wheels that can easily be pulled up steps.

Some are foldable and double as a walker with a seat for trips outside of the house. It will be as if you are giving your loved one a hand with every grocery load from the car or laundry load to the second floor.

If this is too hard for them, you may consider adding a stair lift. Don't worry if their staircase isn't straight. They make curved stair lifts nowadays just for this purpose.

Eyedrop Assist

Is there anything more awkward than forcing liquid into your eyes from a tiny bottle? If the bottle tip touches the skin or lashes, it becomes unsanitary. If you squeeze too hard or miss, expensive eyedrop liquid is wasted.

For these reasons, you might consider gifting the Remedic Eyedrop Guide Aid. It will fit most eyedrop bottles and safely position the tip at the ideal distance for administering eye drops.

Stand Assists

We are not always around to give our aging loved ones a boost, so instead, we can gift tools. Another great gift idea for elderly parents is a stand assist. Some stand assists secure under a sofa or bed, providing a short, sturdy railing for pulling yourself upward and on your feet.

In the bathroom, we can secure a stand assist on the edge of a bathtub to steady them while getting in and out. For toilets, some stand assists have simple-to-install bars attaching to the wall. Others can stand alone and require no installment at all.

Cleaning Service

Cleaning up is a real chore, but imagine doing it with aches, pains, and difficulty bending over or seeing properly, and it will soon seem nearly impossible!

If you have the time and ability to help out with household chores, this makes a great gift. You can show your elderly loved one how much you care with every dish washed and put away, every pass of the vacuum, and every counter wiped.

If you are too far away or unavailable, think about giving the gift of a trusted, verified, and bonded cleaning service. What you will be truly giving is a gift of freedom.

You can hire someone to mow your elderly friend or relative's lawn in order to lift a burden

Similarly, hiring someone to mow your elderly friend or relative’s lawn would lift a heavy burden. There are likely other yard chores that you might be able to pitch in and help with.

Get your kids involved too! This is also a great way to let your own children feel the reward of helping someone out of love.

Make meal preparation and grocery shopping easier for seniors

Meal preparation and shopping for groceries can become a huge hassle for many seniors, especially if they cannot drive or if memory issues make it unsafe for them to cook.

Did you know that groceries can be delivered to their house? Shopping lists can even be set to be automatically filled weekly or on-demand!

Even better, Silver Cuisine is a frozen meal company that can be customized based on senior citizens' dietary needs and tastes.

MealPro offers various frozen meal delivery plans while Fresh n’ Lean meals are fresh, never frozen, and can last in the fridge for up to a week. These are great choices for people concerned that their elderly loved ones aren’t eating well.

With the gift-prepared food deliveries, eating will become less of a chore and more of a pleasure. These options should take some of the guesswork out finding ways to make life a little easier for the seniors you care most about, but here is the real truth:

Above All The best gift is YOU!

One of the best gifts you can give to your elderly parents is your time, love, and attention. Sharing a meal or offering a hand is the ultimate way to show how much you care.

We aren’t always able to visit the seniors we love the way we would like to, but even phone calls, letters, emails, or cards are the most valuable gifts of love.

So, go on and “make a big fuss” over the elderly friends and family in your life. Love is worth it every time!

Final Thoughts on Great Gift Ideas for Elderly Parents

While it can be difficult to think of great gift ideas for elderly parents, we hope that the list we’ve put together will help make your shopping a little bit easier. These gifts are sure to please and show your parents or friends how much you care.