If you have a friend or family member who’s a nursing home or rehab resident, or just a homebound senior, it can be nice to bring them gifts every now and then, whether for a birthday, holiday, Christmas, or just because. Here are some inexpensive gift ideas for senior citizens from our members that tend toward the “fun” side, and some that are both fun and practical.
When my inlaws were in a nursing home we would bring them the usual equipment and things like that, but every now and then you want to give someone something that’s special, not just useful. It’s hard to be in a nursing home, and getting a gift that’s a little more personalized, or even a little frivolous, can be a nice thing.
Remember that there are a lot of different types of nursing home as far as the level of care goes, and they all have different rules about what the residents can have in their rooms. If you have a relative who’s in assisted living that’s pretty independent, they might have a regular apartment that they can furnish however they want. But if they’re in a locked memory unit, there will be different rules for safety reasons. Keep that in mind when you’re buying gifts.
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Handmade soap and lip balm set.
This gift set from Botany Barn 
is a nice choice for something that’s both useful and indulgent. It has a bar of handmade soap and lip balm, and will be something that a nursing home resident will love.
Dog-themed handmade soap.
The Sudsy Goat Soapery makes cute handmade soap with dog portraits on the bars. This would be a cute and useful small gift for a n elderly person who loves their pet.
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Toiletry bags.
Timeless Kreations makes pretty toiletry bags that could be used for multiple purposes. These would be a handy bag for makeup, but a nursing home resident could also use it to keep medications or anything else that they want to keep track of in it. Storage containers are items that nursing home residents need, so they might as well be nice-looking and not institutional.
Printed patchwork toiletry bag.
One of the problems that we ran into with our relatives being in a nursing home and assisted living was that things tended to disappear from their rooms. This customizable toiletry bag is good for identifying the owner, so it’s less likely to get lost. Add your choice of name to it in our Zazzle shop.
Printable games.
Greengate Images has a wide range of printable games, puzzles, and word searches that you can print out as many times as you’d like to once you purchase them. You should be able to find something that your loved one would be able to do to keep themselves mentally active.
Make sure that when you bring this kind of thing to a nursing home resident that you’re tailoring the game to the ability level of the recipient. Make sure that vision or memory issues won’t make the games too frustrating to finish!
Reusable heating pads.
If your friends or family member has access to a microwave in their nursing home, a reusable therapeutic heating pad by Natural Body Comfort would be a nice gift. You can get one that’s used for a specific body part, like this knee wrap, or one that’s rectangular that can be used as a general warmth source. It’s a nice warm gift for an elderly person that can be reused.
To see a list of curated, unique, and original gifts on Etsy, click here.
Flower arrangements.
All Seasons House Decor makes pretty artificial flower arrangements that will brighten up a nursing home room and won’t need to be watered. Nursing home room decor is important to create a more homey feel for the resident and their visitors.
Fun wall art.
Brighten up a nursing home room with some fun wall art. Novelwares creates unique wall art made from wood, and you can combine multiple pieces to make a full arrangement.
For some ideas for Mother’s Day gifts, click here.
Custom return address labels.
If your person likes to write letters to friends to stay connected, custom return address labels are a nice gift. We have a lot of designs in our shop that would be nice for someone who enjoys writing and receiving letters from friends.
Lap quilts.
Tahoe Quilts makes unique lap quilts that would be both useful and a pretty addition to brighten up a nursing home room.
Fingerless mittens.
My mother-in-law had trouble with her hands being cold all the time, and I know that a lot of older people also do. These fingerless gloves by Vaida Petreikis will help by keeping the pulse points in the wrist warm, which can help warm up the entire hand.
Custom throw pillows.
Krista Custom Shop has personalized pillow covers that would make a nice gift and would also be useful in a nursing home room. The grandkids’ names on it make it more special, and there are other designs to choose from as well.
Fleece blankets.
Pretty fleece blankets in sizes from lap to full-sized, all from the Artisan Shopper Designs store on Zazzle. These are great for someone who’s in a wheelchair because they can be used as a small lap blanket, and they’re machine washable.
An easy-to-use phone.
Get a phone on Amazon that has pictures in addition to numbers so that they can press a photo and dial with one touch. It’s easier to use than a regular phone, so calling family members won’t be as frustrating,
An adjustable walker with a seat.
We got my MIL a walker that had a seat, and it was a lifesaver at times when she got tired and needed to sit down. These are also sturdy enough that you can hand a little shopping bag on the front if you need to, but this kind of walker is really, really good for elderly people.
Wooden quilt puzzle.
Sanders Woodworking creates some simple wooden puzzles that will help maintain manual dexterity, and that are easy to solve so they won’t be frustrating.
Simple arts and crafts.
If your friend or family member enjoyed crafting before moving into a nursing home, there’s no reason why they wouldn’t still like doing a project. Markets of Sunshine sell slow stitch kits so that you can make small projects at your own pace. This would be a cute project for a nursing home resident to work on.
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Bible study printables.
If your family member would be interested in doing some Bible study, the Bible Study Collective has printable material that you could print out and bring to them. This would be a meaningful way to spend time with your elderly relative, too.
Custom welcome mat.
If they have a separate apartment, a custom welcome mat will help to make the nursing home feel less institutional and more honey-like. Get one in our Zazzle shop that you can customize with your own names.
A music subscription or player.
Get a subscription to a streaming service and pair it with a device that will play the music with minimal tech required so that your friend or relative can listen to their choice of music. Make sure that they know how to use the device, or write down the steps to take to get to the music they like so that they have an instruction list in case they forget how to use it!
This simple player doesn’t require a service, you download the music to put into it: Music player for the elderly on Amazon (affiliate link)
Nightlights.
Me Plus Thee creates personalized nightlights, which can be handy in a nursing home environment. It’s good to have names on things that might be taken out of the room since it will help the staff track things down.
For a gift guide for new grandparents, click here.
Writing journals.
Ila and Alice makes junk journals and postcards for journaling and writing. You’re sure to find something interesting on her website, and whoever receives one of her handmade junk journals will think that it’s fun to look at even if you don’t write in it!
Custom portraits of pets.
If your family member had a favorite pet, a custom needle-felted portrait would be a nice addition to their room at the nursing home. Mariela Felts makes these by hand using needle felting, so they have a soft texture to them.
For more unique pet owner gifts, click here.
Custom throw pillows.
This customizable pillow can have three photos and names, and you can edit the title to be for a Great Grandmother or a Grandmother. This is a nice keepsake that’s also useful. You can personalize yours on Zazzle here: Great Grandma photo template gift.
For more gifts for people who like to sew, click here.
A useful tray.
Having a small tray to put things on and to corral small items is a good idea for seniors who need to keep track of things. This cute strawberry tray can also be personalized in the Artisan Shopper Zazzle shop, so you can add a name or a message on the surface before it’s printed and sent to you.
Custom name blanket with butterflies.
This butterfly blanket with a customizable name comes in several sizes and types of fabric, and it would make a nice gift for someone who’s in a temporary rehab setting since the name will prevent it from being “misplaced”.
Birthstone bracelets.
Birthstone jewelry from Shokh Jewelry is a nice reminder of family members. Add stones for each grandchild, or for whichever family members you want to include.
Adult bib that looks like a stylish scarf.
This scarf is actually an adult bib that looks like a fashion accessory, not a bib. It’s created to help maintain the dignity of the wearer while still protecting their clothing at mealtimes.
Personalized mug.
A personalized mug that you can add the grandkids’ photos to is something useful and sentimental that they’ll definitely like. My FIL got one of these for Christmas and kept it on his side table where he could see it all the time.
A new calendar.
This customizable calendar is available in our shop, and features a different flower photo for each month. You can add your own photos or leave them as-is, and you can get it customized with the year and any interior choices you want when you check out.
A pretty handmade card.
Celebrate in style with this custom foiled 100th birthday card from Heartfelt by Donna Jean. Personalize it with their name, making it a memorable keepsake. With luxurious foiling and textured embossing, this card is sure to be a perfect choice for this milestone celebration!
eBooks.
If you have a relative in assisted living who’s able to use an ereader or an audiobook device (you can help get them set up with a simple one) they might appreciate an audiobook subscription. Make sure that they’re able to figure out the system first, though, because it can be more frustrating than satisfying if they can’t!
Click here to buy gift memberships to Audible on Amazon for 1 month,3 months, 6 months, or 1 year. (affiliate link)
Custom pet blanket.
A personalized pet portrait blanket makes the perfect gift for all pet lovers. It can also be a cozy, comforting, and much appreciated gift for your loved ones that reside in a nursing home.
There are a lot of options for gifts that would be nice for a nursing home resident that are less practical and more on the fun side. I hope that this list gives you some ideas.
And of course, the best gift that you can give someone is to spend time with them. That’s the thing that most nursing home residents want more than anything else, so make sure to visit them as much as you can!