You’re set to visit a friend or family member living with Alzheimer’s. But what do you bring as a gift? Check out 15 recommended ideas for presents that are useful, enjoyable, and can enhance their quality of life:
1) Visits: Make regular visits to the family that is caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease. Spend time with the person with dementia listening to music or another favorite activity. Help caregivers take a break by taking their loved one on a walk or spending an afternoon together,
2) Hugs: People with Alzheimer’s disease miss being touched. Be generous with hugs—include the caregiver too!
3) Music: Records, a playlist for their Alexa, music boxes, or CDs that are calming or remind you of a shared time together
4) Books and magazines: Pick ones with lots of colorful pictures and old familiar scenes.
5) Photo albums: Enlarged pictures of their early days and favorite places
6) Movies: Videos/CDs of older movies from the 1940’s through the 1980’s. Avoid violent films.
7) Food: Fresh fruit, cookies, ice cream, frozen meals, or home cooked meals that can be frozen and used later. (Ask the caregiver about any dietary restrictions.)
8) Clothes: Comfortable sweaters, “warm-up” or track suits, and jackets with Velcro fastening
9) Grooming products: Find out their favorite fragrances and gift skin lotion, hair products, or after shave.
10) Gift certificates: Gift cards for a hair cut, manicure, favorite restaurant, house cleaning service, food delivery, cleaners, or even a local playhouse or movie theater for the caregiver.
11) Respite: Offer respite to caregiver. Offer to come by for one evening every 2 weeks or a month or an afternoon a week.
12) Assist with errands: Offer to do grocery shopping, run to the post office, or even help unpack online shopping orders.
13) Night light: Pick one with a soft, warm glow.
14) Electric razor: Make a often-stressful personal task easier and safer.
15) Talking watch or clock with day display: Select one that is recommended for people with dementia, often one that speaks the day and time and/or includes the day of the week.
