# Appropriate gifts for blind friends or family **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 25, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-gifts-for-blind-friends-or-family/190933 "2003-07-25T18:34:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Big\_Tom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc348/32.png) [@Big\_Tom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Tom)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-gifts-for-blind-friends-or-family/190933/1 "2003-07-25T18:34:07Z")
I want to buy the perfect birthday gift for a great aunt that is in her 80’s and has been blind for many years. Obviously, nick-nacks and other typical gifts for older persons just won’t cut it. I have thought of the following, so far: wind chimes, a comforter for her bed, or maybe a portable cd player. Any other ideas out there? ---
**Author:** ![kputt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f475e1/32.png) [@kputt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kputt)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-gifts-for-blind-friends-or-family/190933/2 "2003-07-25T18:45:57Z")
What about a multi-thousand dollar surgery to fix her blindness? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shemem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Shemem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shemem)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-gifts-for-blind-friends-or-family/190933/3 "2003-07-25T18:47:33Z")
audiobooks? ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-gifts-for-blind-friends-or-family/190933/4 "2003-07-25T20:20:29Z")
perfume, books on tape, lotions, a soft downey pillow, new sheets, braille books, crochet hook and yarn ---
**Author:** ![evilhomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/43a26b/32.png) [@evilhomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhomer)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-gifts-for-blind-friends-or-family/190933/5 "2003-07-25T20:24:40Z")
**Shemem** took my suggestion. Find out if she liked to read before she lost her site, and the type of stuff she was interested in. If she likes them, then you have a good idea for future birthdays and Christmas too. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-gifts-for-blind-friends-or-family/190933/6 "2003-07-25T20:55:31Z")
Music, food, incense, a trip to the park to hear the birds sing at sunset, a warm blanket for winter, some fleece lined slippers. Toss in some really fragrant flowers like yellow Fresia for a kicker, ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Tom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc348/32.png) [@Big\_Tom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Tom)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-gifts-for-blind-friends-or-family/190933/7 "2003-07-26T11:29:26Z")
Thanks for all the great ideas… ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-gifts-for-blind-friends-or-family/190933/8 "2003-07-26T12:57:10Z")
Take her some place. Blind folks, particularly elderly blind folks, often don’t get out much. She might really appreciate a walk in the park, a trip to a zoo, a meal in a restaurant, a trip to a mall… She might even enjoy a ride in a convertible with the top down in nice weather, feeling the breeze and listening to stuff as you go through the neighborhood. Depends, of course, on the person - someone really frail may not enjoy the above, or may need a wheelchair if they can’t walk a long distance. But blind people do have a harder time traveling around than sighted people, so helping her with that sort of thing would probably be much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-gifts-for-blind-friends-or-family/190933/9 "2003-07-26T17:20:26Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Big Tom_ > Obviously, nick-nacks and other typical gifts for older persons just won’t cut it. I’m not sure I agree with this. I have a close friend who has been blind since birth. He really likes those little pewter figurines you see at craft and hobby shops (and is particularly fond of wizards and such). He likes them because they have interesting textural details, and he can “visualize” them through touch. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-gifts-for-blind-friends-or-family/190933/10 "2003-07-26T20:26:23Z")
Asked a friend for their favourite shopping sites and got these three. You might want to take a look. [http://www.speaktomecatalog.com](http://www.speaktomecatalog.com) Mainly novelty stuff, but some of the stuff seems useful, for example audio alarms for when your plants need water etc. If she is 80 she probably has a system for this already though. [http://www.maxiaids.com](http://www.maxiaids.com) Has a lot of stuff, some of the board games might be good? [http://www.annmorris.com](http://www.annmorris.com) Lots more stuff, plenty of games and also home-help items.