My Christmas shopping is all done, except for my mother. She is of course impossible to shop for. Everything she wants she already has. Last year I got her a sleep mask, I love mine. It sits unused.
My mind turned to this while reading the fruit basket thread. The one thing I would like to do is encourage her to eat more and better foods. Since Father died she hardly ever cooks. But it is the consensus over there that fruit baskets and fruit-of-the-month clubs are not very good.
How about an assortment of dried fruit? My mother is particularly fond of the Sunshine Mix. My parents have the same birthday, and generally I send cashews or a nut mix to my dad, and fruit to my mom, and they happily share. Dried fruit is nice because it keeps forever, is very tasty, and is good for you in moderation. It IS high in calories, but having a couple of pieces a day is great. Figi’s is rather expensive, but they’re top quality. My parents always enjoy the food I send from this company. They have enough things, and if there’s something they particularly want, they have enough money to buy it.
It can be frustrating with parents who don’t really need anything. Granted, beats the hell out of having to support your parents or have them going without basic stuff because they’re poor, but it makes gift-buying a challenge.
FTR, getting a fruit basket for your mother, for the reasons you listed, is a fine gift. It’s only when it’s a generic type choice that it’s looked down upon. You’re not sending everyone you know fruit baskets, you’re choosing this for your mom for specific reasons she might enjoy it. That’s good gifting, baby!
Hmm, now I need to find a jerky of the month outfit for my Dad…thanks for the idea.
Gift giving for older folks is very difficult, no matter how well you know them. I gave my dad a gift certificate to get his windows washed. HE LOVED IT!
It’s tough, isn’t it? I started the mail order fruit thread; I’m still debating with myself whether or not I’m gonna do it. Since you mention food and that your mother doesn’t like to cook, is there a tip-top restaurant near her that you might purchase a gift certificate from? Or perhaps a delivery service that provides a selection of restaurants? (Something like Dine-in food service?) Alternatively, you might buy some special food items like those available from Amish Acres General Store. Of course, if fruit isn’t personal enough (as I was repeatedly warned in the other thread), I’m not sure if these will make the grade either.
To veer away from food, I stumbled across the Hammacher Schlemmer website, which is akin to The Sharper Image, but better (not as focussed on corporate gifts or memoribilia). Kinda pricy, but some really neat stuff. I wish I knew more people with kids, just so I could buy some of those toys for them.
My wife and I have a tradition of getting a special ornament each year; this year, I bought this one from The Guild’s Blown glass ornaments selection. It’s even better than I hoped. And I think the proceeds go directly to the artist, which is a plus in my book.
Yeah, what you really want at this point is something consumable (heck, I’m only 36 and I already have too darn much crap).
I just sent my dad a subscription to Wine Spectator Magazine. Is there a magazine she might like?
Other ideas
restaurant gift certificate (last present to my mom)
chocolate gift basket (I would definitely prefer this to a fruit basket, healthy eating be damned)
movie theater gift certificates
massage gift certificate
Um, that’s a bit heavy on the gift certificate theme, but oh how I love to get them. Unfortunately nobody who gives me gifts reads the SDMB.
But don’t make the mistake of buying candles or bath products. These are only consumable in theory. In reality, they nest and breed in storage until you have enough candles for a lifetime of bubble baths and blackouts and more bath products than a horde of miners could use up.
I got her a subscription to The Week last year and she loved it. I will let her renew it, as that is not much of a gift. So no magazines this year.
She has a new Impala. She bought it without the optional (!) side-impact airbags. I have been told the dealer cannot fit them now. Bummer. I liked that idea. What else does a new car need?
I got her a TV dish a few years ago. I loved it, but was too complex for her and she went back to cable, so a TiVo is out too.
I bet she would like a couple of ceiling fans in her house. Still I ought to ask her before I install stuff. Seems sort of pushy.
Does she like music? I’ve found that the music gift certificate never disappoints if the person likes music. I do these as stocking stuffers for nearly everyone on my list.
I also give the gift of flower planting. My dad loves flowers, but absolutely won’t go through the trouble of planting them. This is my annual Father’s Day gift to him.
Is she a drinker? An impressive bottle of fine wine or cognac is a great gift for the right person.
Along the lines of window washing, sometimes old people have a hard time cleaning their homes they way they used to. A gift certificate from Merri Maids or some other cleaning service will get her heavy household cleaning done. I’ve never used them, but I hear they do a fantastic job.
Is she a reader? A Book-of-the-Month Club subscription is a great gift.
Does she need a cell phone?
Take her to the opera (if she’s that type). Or a symphony.
Among the other things that I buy for my mother, I buy 100 dollars worth of scratch off lottery tickets. Never mind that I don’t like the odds - she gets a kick out of scratching them off. She has always won less than the 100 dollars, but she loves the feeling that she may one day win big.
Does your mom have a pet? The daughter of one of my friends gave her postage stamps with a photo of her cats on them. I believe she got them via the U.S. Postal Service website. My friend LOVED them, and she is one of those difficult-to-buy-for people.
No, no interesting pets. Just a cat. I just talked to my siblings. They all said the same thing “If I think of something good, I won’t give the idea away to you!”
I like the car detailing idea. She had that done once on the old car and was much pleased with it.
She is in the US. I am not a transplant, I am a long-term expatriate. After all, very few Saudis buy gifts for Christmas!
