Gift baskets are a great means to ensure that your elderly loved one has what they need and more in a very special way.
But what do you put in the basket and how do you know what is appropriate and what is not?
The fact is that you can place anything in a basket to gift to an elderly person. However, not everything is suitable or of use to the person that the gift basket is intended for.
Some Great Gift Basket Ideas for Seniors
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These artisan scones are backed and shipped the same day for fresh flavor and taste. Plus each is unique because they are hand scooped too. Each scone is individually packaged so that fresh flavor can be maintained as long as possible.
You have lots of flavor choices and flavors are changed from time to time for some variety. There are gluten-free options as well as cookies and bars too.
Choose the subscription option for monthly or quarterly deliveries of assorted scone boxes right to your loved one’s home.
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Gift Baskets for Holidays, Birthdays, Baby, Special Occasion
$25.99
Giftbasket.com
People with limited mobility often find it hard to pick up both essentials and luxury items. With a beautiful gift basket, like the ones sold at GiftBasket.com, you can treat someone to all kinds of amazing goodies. There are fresh fruit baskets, spa baskets, and many more options to choose from.
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This cool gift box features 2 lbs of candy that was popular in your selected decade packed into a gift box. Decade options include the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and the 1990s.
For the true candy lover, there is a 4 lb choice as well as a monthly subscription box option to keep the candy coming on a regular basis.
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Everyone loves Burt’s Bees hand care products – from young to the old. It’s a great gift for senior men and women who suffer from dry, cracked, and painful hands including gardeners and travelers. This gift set includes 2 hand creams, a cuticle cream, and a set of cotton gloves.
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Fruit Gift of the Month Club
$89.90
Greatclubs.com
With this gift, the recipient will receive 5 pounds of fresh fruit delivered each month featuring both traditional and exotic varieties. Only the highest quality fruit is selected and it comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. 2,3,4,6, and 12 month options.
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Gourmet Cookie Basket - One Dozen
$38.49
Cookiesbydesign.com
These cookie baskets from Cookies by Design feature one dozen gourmet cookies and 2 packages of high-quality nuts. Choose from several flavors – with and without nuts. Available in other sizes too.
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Sugar Free Chocolate Basket
$95.00
Ethelm.com
Indulge in these sugar-free chocolate treats packaged in a premium gift basket. Features Sugar Free Nuts & Caramels, Sugar Free Almonds, No Sugar Added Chocolate Cherries & eight Sugar Free Dark Bars. One-time purchase or available as a subscription.
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This gift basket is overflowing with Ghirardelli’s top-selling chocolate treats including chocolate bars, SQUARES, hot cocoa, nuts, and a cable car tin. Tied up neatly with a bow.
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This charming indoor garden basket features two yellow rose potted plants and two purple-blue African violet plants nestled in a natural Nantucket basket with handle.
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A perfect of wine, cheese, and chocolate featuring a Cabernet Sauvignon with Gouda cheese, crackers, dark chocolates, and toffee peanuts. Packaged in a decorative gift box.
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Scented gifts like lotions, in their favorite scent, can enhance memory and bring back fond memories. They are also a nice touch to have in the home.
Unless you know of a scent they specifically enjoy, stay away from bold, overpowering smells like heavy floral scents. Light aromatics, vanilla, and food smells are often the best choices. You can find some of my favorite lotions for seniorsin this guide.
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All-New Echo Dot (4th Gen) | Smart speaker with Alexa
This is probably one of the most useful gifts for any senior. Alexa Echo will tell them the time, date, weather forecast, play them their favorite songs, and also remind them to have their medicines. However, you may need to set it up for them.
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USDA Prime Steak Burgers
$13.12
Mychicagosteak.com
For the burger lover, consider this gift of 8 half-pound USDA Prime steak burgers made from steak trimmings and aged perfectly. Only 2-3% of beef qualifies to be labeled USDA Prime! Individually packaged and vacuum sealed and delivered in a black and gold gift box.
RELATED: Food Gift Baskets for Seniors
Types of Gift Baskets to Give Seniors
1. The Memory Basket
It is a truly sad fact that as we age, most of us are going to start having a few forgetful moments and perhaps even progress to memory loss.
A good way to keep your loved one in touch with what is going on with family and friends is to send a memory basket every now and again.
Every basket can hold a treasured memory from the past as well as a current event that perhaps the senior could not be part of.
This helps them remember what happened a long time ago as well as stay in touch with what is happening with their family and loved ones now.
Photos with captions and even short stories are all great ideas to include in a memory basket. This can be a low-cost item or you can spend as much as you like on photo frames, professional photos and journals.
2. The Activity Basket
Seniors have plenty of time on their hands that can result in boredom and loneliness. An activity basket including items like crossword/sudoku puzzles, jigsaw puzzles and other games will provide the opportunity to stay occupied.
These games and puzzles are also believed to help prevent cognitive decline in seniors.
Another great gift to include in the basket is some professional coloring pencils and some large print coloring books or pages. The latest research has shown that coloring for adults is a relaxing and stress-relieving activity.
It also distracts a restless mind from negative thoughts and and inspires creativity and mindfulness.
You can download coloring pages online for free or buy coloring books. The Alzheimer’s Store has a great selection of these types of products.
3. Pamper Basket
Every woman likes to be pampered (and some men too) no matter their age.
A senior friendly pamper basket is a great way to pamper an elderly loved one while ensuring that they are taking care of their own personal hygiene. Personal hygiene can become a challenge for the elderly.
Choose products that are suitable for seniors. Go for bath oils or milk instead of salt which can dry the skin out.
Make sure soaps and potions and lotions for seniors are all pH balanced, moisturizing and low on fragrance, dyes and other artificial additives that can irritate the skin and result in contact dermatitis.
The elderly commonly have more sensitive skins that require special care and attention.
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If you don’t have the time or don’t want to go to the trouble of assembling your own gift basket, you can order a whole range of baskets online to be delivered directly to your loved one.
However, doing it yourself or getting your kids involved is half the fun and teaches the young about the importance of the gift of giving.
It also gives you the chance to ensure that the products placed in the basket are suitable for your elderly loved one.
A little time and thought can go a long way to creating a gift basket that is memorable, appreciated, and of use.
