I'm really stuck on what to get my serious gf's grandmother for christmas. She's 90 years old and pretty much has to be inside all day.

any ideas? I mean we've gotten her pictures of us the last 2 holidays and I want to do something different

12/8/2009 11:21:20 AM

it might take some work but you could get a bunch of family photos and maybe even scan in some old ones and load it onto a digital photo frame

or you could go visit (depending on where she lives) and take her out for lunch. i find that my grandparents are getting rid of a lot of shit and don't really want stuff, they'd prefer if i drove out there and spent a day or two hanging out with them, learning more about my family history and asking them questions about their life.

also, this is kind of random but i got my grandparents road id last year http://www.roadid.com
its mostly for athletes but i got them the set up with the online account. they both have a zillion allergies and have had tons of procedures so having all their medical information handy online via an 800 number or website gives them some peace of mind. they're both active and if something were to happen to one of them while they were out, their road id, which they both wear on their wrist all the time, gives emergency personnel all the critical information needed to care for them, including insurance and emergency contact info via the 800 and website.

they love it, and i auto renew it for them every year ($10). it gives them huge peace of mind and their docs and nurses are in agreement that its a great idea.

12/8/2009 11:31:15 AM

the road id is a good one


but, what she really wants is a new vibrator.

12/8/2009 11:33:34 AM

Knitting equipment and supplies.

12/8/2009 12:59:04 PM

12/8/2009 1:03:21 PM

old people usually dont want anything, just visiting her would probably mean more than anything you could send her

12/8/2009 1:06:34 PM

A housecoat.
Seriously.

12/8/2009 1:56:14 PM

can't go wrong with a snuggie.

12/8/2009 2:16:28 PM

oh wait this is the lounge.

[Edited on December 8, 2009 at 5:55 PM. Reason : .]

12/8/2009 5:54:06 PM

You get your gf's grandmother a gift? I don't even give my own grandmother a gift at Christmas

She probably would just appreciate you guys going to visit and hang out more than anything. Bring some homemade cookies to seal the deal.

12/8/2009 9:39:10 PM

yea she's really special to me. She doesnt even speak much english, but she is so nice to me.

thanks for the ideas. I may go to the store and get her some of her favorite imported snacks and a gift certificate to the place where they take her to get her hair styled.

12/9/2009 9:20:33 AM

If she's really special, get her a 2 in 1 vibrator!!!

12/9/2009 9:21:48 AM

i have the same problem. both my grandma and grandpa have cancer, and my grandpa just had a stroke a couple months ago. she is down 1 kidney. he doesn't have any weakness or loss of use on one side of the body or anything, but the stroke affected his personality. he also has some dementia. you never know what you're gonna get, some days he's super happy and friendly, some days he sleeps all day.

papa doesn't need or want anything, but i'm still buying him something. i really have no clue what to get. we just took his keys away and the dmv took his license, and we just snuck(the internet says this should be sneaked, but that sounds awful) all the guns out to disable them. i have NO idea what to get him.

as far as grandmommy, she loves thick fuzzy socks, so i got her 2 pairs at belk. everybody always does flowers or birdfeeders or pictures but she gets them every year. she has a digital picture frame. she has a photo album i made through iphoto last year. tons of frames with pictures too.

i want to get something meaningful since this may be their last christmas.

[Edited on December 9, 2009 at 9:51 AM. Reason : ]

12/9/2009 9:51:11 AM

Quote :

"all the guns out to disable them"

what did you do with them? got any for sale?

12/9/2009 9:56:44 AM

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11008303

But seriously, just hang out with her, or your girlfriend can go with her to get a manicure or get they hurr did. That's probably all she wants.

12/9/2009 1:03:52 PM

^^removed the firing pins.

none for sale. he'll probably pass them along to my brother (LOVES to hunt) and husband Fumbler (he's the one who took the pins out). there's still 1 sawed off shotgun we haven't found yet.

[Edited on December 9, 2009 at 1:15 PM. Reason : ]

12/9/2009 1:14:14 PM

^x4 lol @ sneaked/snuck debate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBplQmbqNmg

I'm getting my grandmother a giftbag with a book and some burt's bees stuff that I found on slickdeals. Not sure what to get my grandfather.

12/9/2009 1:58:39 PM

booze. old people like it. some won't admit it.

12/9/2009 8:53:09 PM

Something high in fiber.

12/9/2009 11:52:43 PM

Quote :

"gives emergency personnel all the critical information needed to care for them, including insurance and emergency contact info via the 800 and website."

good idea.
unfortunately, i don't really have the time to call an 800 number or whip out my iphone and go to a website.

[/off_topic]

12/10/2009 3:14:23 AM

The last Christmas I had with my grandmother if I'm remembering it all right I got her maybe a decorative sweatshirt, a dish (she had always collected & displayed dishes as a hobby), and a small side gift of me holding my cat in front of the Christmas tree in my apartment that she had never been able to visit. She wasn't in the best of health, but that was the most lit up I ever saw her in a long time was when she got the picture frame (shaped like a dish) with me, my cat, my christmas tree, and my apartment in it.

She was the best at hide and seek as a kid, and with her & my granddad's garden was a great cook her whole life & made some awesome homemade pasta sauces, and she was one of the most loving people I ever knew. I miss her, especially around christmas. The only people I really do gift exchange with is my family, which is pretty small, and she was always one of the few people that I'd always be on the look out for a good gift idea at this time of year.

12/10/2009 3:42:01 AM

^

i think i'm going to get her a woodwick candle b/c they're really awesome and she likes candles...but i do like the idea of spending time w/ her. she'd love that more than anything. i think i'm going to make little certificates for like 3 free lunches out somewhere.

12/10/2009 11:03:36 AM

Get her a quilt.
It's like a reverse Christmas gift.
It'll blow her mind.

12/10/2009 11:14:17 AM

Quote :

"good idea. unfortunately, i don't really have the time to call an 800 number or whip out my iphone and go to a website. "

hm well i would hope that if you encountered someone who was incapacitated and you couldn't get in touch with someone you would take advantage of the opportunity to find out who you could contact, what this person might be allergic to and any serious medical conditions they have, depending on the seriousness of the injury of course.

but i am interested in what you have to say since it would be someone in your position that would actually have the opportunity to use something like the road id to help someone

12/10/2009 1:03:41 PM

ok, skip the candle, i'm going straight for the lunch certificates.

also for papa, apparently he just likes anything that's shiny and moves, so i'm going to get him a wind chime. it seems the tackier it is, the more he likes it. i won't make grandmommy tolerate anything too awful though.

12/11/2009 10:18:33 AM

At the flea market at Lake Gaston this chick sells AOL CDs with foam fins and bobble eyes glued on them to look like some kind of stupid ass fish. That's the kind of tacky you just can't make up.

12/11/2009 10:22:02 AM