Gifts for those with memory loss

Gifts for those with memory loss

Deciding what holiday gifts to give a person with memory loss can be challenging. Following are some tips to share with family members.

The gift of time

  • A special date to share cookies and send holiday cards to others
  • Attending seasonal music events
  • Caroling together

A person with early-stage memory loss is often still striving to do his or her usual activities. Gifts that provide reminder systems or simplify daily tasks are useful.

  • A clipboard with attached pen for notes. Attractive stick-on labels for cabinets and drawers. An erasable whiteboard for listing the day’s activities.
  • A push-button wristwatch that will literally “tell the time” out loud.
  • A cell phone or personal alert system with a single button to request support from anywhere in an emergency.
  • An automated pill dispenser.

A person with mid- or late-stage dementia thrives with simplicity. Even when words are failing, sensory pleasures can still be enjoyed.

  • Music is almost always a hit, especially from the era of your loved one’s youth.
  • Easy-on and -off clothes in soft fabrics, such as sweats. Shoes with Velcro straps.
  • Cozy items for staying warm. A soft throw blanket, a fleece vest, or soft scarf. Even a furry stuffed animal as something to cuddle.
  • Scented skin lotions for arms and hands.
  • A robo pet. These lifelike pets can purr (or bark), tilt their heads, lift a paw, open and close their eyes, and respond to voice and touch. They have proven to be remarkably soothing for people in the later stages of dementia.