Great gifts for people with dementia?

S

SeniorSally

New Member
My two oldest sisters (twins) both have dementia. One is in a nursing home and the other one still lives with her husband in their home. Gifts for the sister who still lives with her husband is easy. Neither of them can cook anymore so we will provide several Door Dash meals for them. The sister in the nursing home is harder since all of her meals are provided. I know that some people with dementia enjoy baby dolls but this sister was never very interested in babies so I don’t think she’d care for a doll. Previously we’ve bought her clothes, puzzles and fidget boards. We’ve taken candy and she”ll eat until she makes herself sick. Any suggestions?
 
When my dad started living in a nursing home (dementia) one of my sisters gave him a stuffed dog and he loved it. Even as he got worse he was rarely seen without the stuffed dog. Before he had dementia he always had a couple of dogs to keep him company so we think that is a reason why he liked the stuffed dog.
 
I wouldn’t overthink it.

Comfortable clothing may still be a good option with an eye towards the needs of your sister and her caregivers.

My mother enjoyed fuzzy dressing gowns with an easy on/off full length zip front also snap front brunch coats.

When my mother got to be uber old she didn’t enjoy things that disrupted her simple daily routine. That was tougher on family and friends than it was on her.

The important thing is to accept her and never give up. 🤗
 
Last year I gave my friend with dementia an MP3 player that I put her favorite music on. I gave her a charger so she could charge it and showed her husband how to do it. Now when he is watching sports (which she hates) she can listen to music. If you do this it has to have her favorite music on it. It has been proven that music that is listened to through ear buds helps them. Especially music they listened to in their past.
 
papa tiger said:
You got to be kidding me! My best friend went thru it with his long loved from college days wife. Total hell, stay out of it.
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People need all their family and friends when they’re going through such a difficult time. One of my best friends got dementia and many of their friends deserted them but my husband and I didn’t. The husband was battling cancer and we took them on 2 driving trips to California because she wanted to see where she grew up and where they got engaged. Obviously it was a lot harder because of her dementia.

The husband had to go live with his son because he was dying and I became her guardian and put her in a memory care facility. To find a decent place that she could afford it was a hour away. My husband and I went once a week and stayed all day until she died 18 months later. That’s what people do when they love someone!!
 
There are some very good ideas in these comments. Both music and aromas are strong memory triggers so gifts involving their favorites in either category could at least trigger pleasant thoughts & feelings.

In particular if she ever played an instrument. For some being able to play it is a comfort. When i drove bus for the Laramie Senior Center we had one client who was rarely oriented to place and time. We had to escort to/from bus to building and back or she'd wander off, thinking she was elsewhere/when. But at lunch most days after she ate she would go to the piano and play. The other clients enjoyed and she seemed at peace and happy.

I'd even consider asking staff at the residence (the ones who interact with her more often if they've noticed her 'perking up' in response to certain music or TV shows. If there is a tv show she particularly responds well to you might be able to get a DVD collection of episodes. Katalupe's suggestion of a preprogrammed MP3 player with her favorite music struck me as very good.
 
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When my friend's mother was dealing with dementia, she enjoyed jigsaw puzzles... would your sister like something like that? I'd think that it shouldn't be one of the larger with mega hundreds of pieces because it could get frustrating, but maybe with fewer pieces but still for adults. She also loved her weighted blanket, so that may be an idea. Or a pretty, soft sweater?
 
Thanks for so many great ideas!

We had thought about a baby doll and dismissed that idea because she was never super crazy about babies but I hadn’t thought about a stuffed pet. She did use to have a black cat that she was devoted to so that could definitely be an idea.

They do puzzles at the home—she’s one of the few who can still see well enough to work one. She has lots of pictures already. I like the weighed blanket idea and hand lotion ideas. We have to make sure everything is labeled because if someone sees something they want they just take it. They don’t mean to steal but it’s part of the disease.

Please keep the ideas coming. I bet almost all of us care about someone with dementia.
 
You could do a very small photo album, maybe 10 - 16 pages, one person per page. It may jog memories.
 
Something with familiar music, perhaps. I help with a group from church visiting a nursing home and it is amazing how much music some with severe dementia remember. They love the hymns and music more than anything.
 
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