5 Gift Ideas for Seniors In Assisted Living

For those of us with seniors who are close to us living in an assisted living situation, staying connected with them can be pretty hard. You and your loved ones put in the effort to visit them, you take time to talk to them and figure out how they’re doing every time you do see them, but their living situation often makes it harder to stay so consistently connected over time. As much as an assisted living situation makes a lot of important tasks for them easier and safer, as they have the help they need, it can be difficult for them to stay connected both socially and emotionally. Whether it’s loneliness or boredom or a bit of both, the nature of assisted living can be mentally challenging for any senior. 

So how exactly can you help them cope with this experience? Well, one way is to have them live at an assisted living facility for seniors that is renowned for offering a variety of exciting activities, beautiful and lucious grounds, and having a supportive staff that is dedicated to their quality of life, like Cedar Hill Health Care in Windsor is! Another way is bringing them thoughtful and engaging gifts that Not only remind them of their important connection with you, but also improve the activities and quality of their life. Keep reading to learn just a few ideas for thoughtful and engaging gifts that you can give to  provide for the seniors in your life, and how the environment and staff at Cedar Hill Healthcare can do the same. 

Providing a good gift to seniors who live in assisted living is no easy task, but a good place to start could be an item from their past. It could be a toy or doll they fondly remembered from their childhood, or it could be a replacement item for something they have used all their life, but is getting a little bit older, like a watch, or a pair of shoes. Whatever this gift maybe, you may have to do some inter-familial or inter friend research to get a scoop on the history of their life, and something from their past that would really make them jump for joy if they saw it again. Talk to their friends or their family members and use that to guide your decision on what you think they would miss most from their past, and how you can provide that to them with a great gift for your senior friend or family member.  

For seniors who are at an assisted living facility, it’s pretty easy to get a little lonely. Even with a community of other seniors living with you, making friends and getting to know people can be pretty hard, especially for those of us in our later years who are less committed to making new friends and more committed to cultivating current ones. But a fun social game that requires a number of people could be a great way to give your parent or grandparent an avenue of attracting other like-minded seniors who just want to make some friends and have fun as well. It could be a card game from the past, or a newer card game that requires a few people, it could be a trivia game on a DVD about a TV show from their era, the possibilities are really endless.  It’s important for you to think of how the game process will go, and to find the right game that fits their level of function, and their personal preferences, but a social game can truly be the gift that keeps on giving.

Part of the loneliness that many senior citizens in assisted living situations can feel is due to the isolation from their loved ones. But with modern technology and innovations, there are a wide variety of ways that you can stay connected with them. Getting a senior-aged person onboard with new technology is much easier said than done, but they will put in the effort to learn if they know it will keep them connected with you and their loved ones. Consider a very simple smartphone, or a tablet through which you can video call them to catch up. If getting them on board with the technology is a struggle, you can even get something they don’t have to mess around with, like an electronic picture frame that you and your loved ones can upload photos to, showing them how your life is going and keeping them connected with you, without requiring any diligence on their part. 

For seniors living in assisted living centers, oftentimes, understanding and utilizing all the bells and whistles of modern technology is very difficult, and many times, the benefits of using it rarely outweigh the cost of having to learn and remember how to use it. But for those senior citizens who are on board with trying to learn, video games can be a great way to keep their mind active. A variety of studies have shown that the engagement and brain stimulation that video games can provide can greatly benefit and improve the quality of life of seniors who reside in assisted living facilities. Finding them the right video game system, as well as the right type of video game will be up to you and their personal preferences, but with a wide selection out there, there is no doubt a video game for them that will keep them engaged, their mind active, and even potentially help them make some friends when they show it off! 

This one is a case-by-case situation, but for some senior citizens living in assisted living facilities, it can be a game-changer. Many senior citizens in assisted living facilities have difficulties coping with the boredom of day to day life in assisted living (not at Cedar Hill Healthcare though!). Providing them with something that they have to take care of and cultivate like a pet or a plant is a great way to give them something to do and some responsibility that isn’t so boring. Hamsters, fish, and small birds are great pets that require little maintenance,  and there are a wide variety of plants that can be cultivated, and are pretty fun to take care of as well!  This type of gift is not for every senior citizen; some people at this age need more help than others, and this type of responsibility might be too much for them to handle. But if you think they are capable of handling it, it can make their day-to-day life that much better.

Even for senior citizens who are residing in high-quality and supportive assisted living centers like Cedar Hill Healthcare in Windsor, the right gift can make their entire experience better.  Finding the right gift for your senior-aged loved one is easier said than done, but using the advice from this blog, hopefully you have a better idea of how you can provide and support them! That’s exactly what we try to do with every senior citizen in our care at Cedar Hill Healthcare; provide for and support them to give them an enjoyable period of life where they are taken care of. Contact us today and see how our team can start serving you or your loved one!

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