In This Issue:

1. Special Needs Medical Conditions
2. Holiday Gifts of Love
3. Helpful Gifts for Special Needs
4. Gift Basket Container Ideas
5. Holiday Fun Ideas With a Frail Elder Mom
6. Tips for the Holidays

Thoughtful Holiday Safety Gift Ideas for Everyone 

If you have someone you love and care about, think about giving holiday gifts that promote safety, health or well being. The November Safe Aging newsletter is about holiday ideas for people with special needs. We have included articles called, "Special Needs Medical Conditions", "Holiday Gifts of Love", "Helpful Gifts for Special Needs", "Gift Basket Container Ideas", and popular reprints called and "Holiday Fun Ideas With a Frail Elder Mom" and "Tips for the Holidays" by Dr. Deborah Gavin Dreschnack. We wish everyone a healthy, happy and safe holiday season!

1. Special Needs Medical Conditions  

Any medical condition that has an affect on balance, strength, range of motion, coordination, sensation and communication can cause special needs. Each person with special needs is different. The best gift giving will consider the personal needs of the intended receiver. Here are some examples of medical conditions that can cause special needs. 

• Aging

• AIDS

• Arthritis

• Anxiety

• Communication conditions

• Diabetes

• Depression

• Epilepsy

• Foot conditions

• Hearing Loss

• Heart Conditions

• Hypertension

• Joint Pain

• Kidney or Lung Conditions

• Obesity

• Paralysis

• Parkinson's Disease

• Stroke (CVA)

• Swallowing conditions

• Visual loss

If you have a friend or a loved one with any special needs conditions, here are some tips for holiday gift giving.

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2. Holiday Gifts of Love  

Here are some holiday gift ideas that tell the receiver you care.

Safety and Emergency Planning: Create a gift basket filled with emergency and safety supplies. Here are some things to include: 

• Carbon monoxide detector

• Fire extinguisher (one each for the kitchen and bedroom)

• First aid kit

• Smoke detectors (one for each bedroom and kitchen)

• Night lights (Prevent night time stumbling in the dark)

• Safety rails for bathroom, hallway, and entrance ways of home

• Battery operated TV (don't forget the batteries)

• Emergency escape ladders

• Anti slip tub mat or non-slip safety strips

• Offer to check the home for home safety hazards and remove them such as pathway obstacles, slippery or torn rugs, uneven surfaces.

• Offer to provide and change the batteries for smoke detectors twice a year.

• Offer to write a list of emergency numbers. For a form, click here.

MedicTag: This is a life saving gadget that organizes and stores personal emergency information in a small computer flash disk. MedicTag is a terrific gift for anyone, and especially useful for people with special needs.

Personal Services Gifts: Give the gift of love by offering your personal service such as:

• Providing a home cooked meal throughout the year, once a month, once a week, on holidays, etc.

• Offering transportation to church, doctor’s appointments, supermarket, library, a concert, the movies, shopping for clothes, etc.

• Washing the car, tub or shower.

• Vacuuming the carpets.

• Cleaning or rearrange cabinets to make things easier to reach or lift.

• Take a trip to the beauty salon for a manicure and/or pedicure.

• Offer to style hair at home for the homebound.

• If you sing or play a musical instrument, share your talent with your loved one.

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3. Helpful Gifts for Special Needs  

For limited reach, look at anything that can extend the ability to reach, or reduce the need to reach such as

• a reacher ( to reach higher than the shoulder or lower than the knees)

• a long handled shoe horn (to reduce the need to bend and reach

• a long handled sponge (to make washing in the tub or shower easier)

For people with limited strength, look for things that can reduce gripping, holding, lifting or carrying. For coordination challenges, look to reduce the need for accuracy.

• Large handle coffee mugs (Reduces need for finger strength. Use plastic if holding things causes pain).

• Soap on a rope (make it yourself with the intended recipients favorites soaps).

• Soap mitts (eliminates need to hold soap, reduces need to bend).

• Lightweight dishware, glass ware or bowls can be very thoughtful.

• Jewelry with magnetic clasps (reduces need for finger strength or coordination).

Offer to

• carry out the trash, vacuum, wash the floors, windows, tub

• carry groceries

• do household chores

• replace door knobs with levers (reduces need for strength)

• replace ceramic containers with plastic; replace larger containers with smaller ones to reduce the weight of the load.

• Look to see if wheels can replace anything that needs to be carried, such as laundry, groceries or trash.

For people with limited vision 

• Offer to read the newspaper, books, letters or mail.

• Anything with excellent color contrast such as black on white, white on black (easier to distinguish shapes or outlines).

• Large faced clock

• Large print books

• Magnifiers for reading

• Telephone with large numbers

Miscellaneous Ideas 

• Moisturizing lotions (good for dry skin and smells good)

• Powders for the skin (reduces sweating and friction and smells good)

• Scented soaps (smells good)

• Frame a special photograph of the intended gift receiver and the gift giver.

• Do an audio taped message from yourself and other family members of special thoughts, memories or stories.

• Write a letter expressing the special things you cherish about the person.

Gifts for Health 

Give a special gift that promotes health and wellness such as: 

• Cover the cost of deductibles for the dentist, doctor or podiatrist.

• Go to a community preventive health screening event together.

• For people who have diabetes, give testing strips.

• For people with arthritis, look for larger grip items such as large handle potato peeler, sharp knives, utensils, pens. (Larger handles reduce the need for a tight grip. Tight grips can cause joint and soft tissue damage).

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4. Gift Basket Container Ideas 

If you are planning to make a gift basket consider using functional containers that can be easily used in or around the home. Here are some ideas: 

• Laundry cart on wheels

• Plastic lightweight garbage can on wheels (Can be used for storage, too!)

• Plastic containers on wheels (used for storage)

• Basket to hold hand towels, newspapers, magazines

• Container to hold important papers such as legal papers, insurance documents, health information, etc.

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5. Holiday Fun With a Frail Elder Mom

1. If mom is able to go out, why not take a drive to see Christmas lights? Usually, newspapers everywhere have a listing of holiday lights.
    

2. Another fun idea is to go to a mall. People watching can be great fun in a holiday environment filled with festive decorations, wonderful music and people on a mission. Decorations can be on a grand scale, and the visual stimulation can be quite memorable.
    

3. While at the mall, find a nice coffee shop and share the moment with each other.
    

4. How about taking Mom to see a Christmas show at a local theater?
    

5. Check the papers to see if there will be any Christmas choral shows in the local churches.

Less Stimulating Activities Outside of the Nursing Home 

1. Take a day trip to see the countryside. Enjoy the fresh smelling air. Look for wildlife such as birds and animals.
    

2. If you live in balmy ocean states, take a drive to see the ocean. Even if you can’t walk on the sand, you can enjoy the beauty.
    

3. If this isn’t possible, find a pretty lakefront restaurant, have a meal or a snack together and enjoy the scenery.

Holiday Fun Together In the Nursing Home 

1. If Mom is unable to leave her room in the nursing home, but is just physically limited, bring the fun to her.
    

2. Wrap some Christmas gifts together. If she can’t help, wrap the gifts while talking about them. Share with her the contents, and tell her the story behind the gifts you are preparing.
    

3. Bring a CD player, and play some holiday songs.
    

4. Sing some Christmas songs together.
    

5. Have a bedroom picnic. Bring a thermos jug of hot cocoa, some special sandwiches, candies or cookies that meet her dietary guidelines. Don’t forget the pretty paper napkins and paper plates.

Fun With Memory Difficulties 

If Mom is having some memory difficulties,  

1. Ask her to look at family photo albums and tell you the stories behind each photograph.
    

2. Talk about the people in the picture.
    

3. Ask Mom to explain what she remembers when the picture was taken.
    

4. Ask Mom to tell you something you don’t know about yourself as a baby.
    

5. Ask her about her friends in grade school or high school or college, and get details so you can remember this day.

If Mom is having serious cognitive difficulties and can safely swallow 

1. Bring in some luscious sweet smelling hot chocolate, or coffee with whipped cream and a cherry on top.
    

2. Add a few homemade cookies with strong flavors or smells (such as peppermint, chocolate, lemon or orange).
    

3. Bring in some cookies that she might have made when you were a child. Eat them together.
    

4. If Mom can’t talk, share the time with her by holding her hand, kissing her forehead, hugging her.

Savor the moment, you will find holiday fun in everything you do with Mom.

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6. Tips for the Holidays by Deborah Gavin-Dreschnack, PhD. 

The holidays are just around the corner now, which means lots of preparation, celebration, and recuperation! Why not make it easier and safer this year? There are several ways you can reduce stress, take care of yourself and more fully enjoy this wonderful time of year. 

Think about each person on your list. Consider his/her particular interests and needs. Don’t wait until the last minute to shop for holiday gifts! Here are a few ideas! 

Children and grandchildren might enjoy a story written by you just for them. Consider documenting your most memorable Thanksgiving, your funniest Christmas story, or what the holidays mean to you. Personalize the story for each child.

For the friend who “has it all”, give a gift of yourself by sending a beautiful hand-written invitation for a special dinner that you make after the holidays when you and the recipient can relax and enjoy time together. Roll up the invitation and put a tassel on the end.

Gift certificates to movies or restaurants are always welcome, and you can wrap them in unique ways (e.g., movie certificates in a box of popcorn, Chinese food certificates in a bright oriental box with chopsticks tucked through the bow, etc).

Be creative and have fun. If you do venture out to shop, wear comfortable walking shoes and take frequent breaks. Find places to sit, watch shoppers, have a cup of coffee or glass of juice, and really observe the holiday decorations and good cheer.

Rather than lug lots of bags around, plan to park close to a side entrance and take your items to the car before they accumulate. Your arms and legs and back will thank you! 

When you decide to wrap your gifts, be sure to choose a comfortable place with room to roll out your holiday wrapping paper. Sit where you can reach everything without bending and stretching. Invite someone over for a “wrap party” and see how much more fun it is. 

When attending holiday parties, be sure you know what you are drinking and eating. Often, punch is laced with liquor, and it is important to know the effects of your medication(s) if you choose to partake. 

This article was previously published in the SAFE Aging newsletter, November, 2004 and was written by Dr. Deborah Gavin Dreschnack. Dr. Gavin Dreschnack is a gerontologist working at the James A. Haley Veteran's Administration Patient Safety Center in Tampa, Florida.

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