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Fun stuff to order for person living alone

Kanin

By Kanin,
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Kanin

Kanin

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My mom is in her mid-60's, and lives alone. Usually she loves living alone, but it's starting to get to her. She normally has a bit of health anxiety and she's struggling. I recently got on her case for running an non-essential errand and she cried 😞 She did so well, too, wearing gloves and a mask, but I still jumped all over her because I'm so worried that she'll catch this virus. I was too hard on her though 😞 

I'm putting together an Amazon order for her, and so far I've got a NYT crossword book, that map-drawing book someone posted in a different thread, and a puzzle. She normally enjoys drawing/art, sewing, cooking, gardening. She is very talented at all of those. 

Map drawing book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1452169918/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Any ideas welcome! I'll probably send something to her every two weeks or so. 

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mmasc

mmasc

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Does she have a tablet? Obviously that’s more expensive, but my mom (that age too) got one a few years ago and LOVES playing games on it. And she is NOT tech-savvy at all. But she’d probably go insane without it right now. 
 

if your mom likes art, would she enjoy one of those lettering type of books? Like this:https://smile.amazon.com/Lettering-Modern-Calligraphy-Beginners-Guide/dp/1948209004/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=calligraphy+set+for+beginners&qid=1585492672&sprefix=callography&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyNURMWVgwWDVXMzQmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA3MzA5NTEzUTQ2VTZPWEg2RzhVJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA4NzcyODgyMFQ5SVFLTEk0V01BJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfcGhvbmVfc2VhcmNoX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=:

you could send a few small containers, gardening soil, and seed packets

She might enjoy a new cookbook possibly? Sometimes they’re fun to read through  and look at even if you’re not going to cook at that moment with them. 
 

Would she enjoy bird seed and a bird house?

how about plain terra cotta pots and some paint? She could paint her own flower pots. 
 

good luck! It’s sweet of you to send her stuff. 

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PeterPan

PeterPan

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Does she do puzzles?

Is she very socially connected and able to stream easily? If she's having trouble doing video chats to keep up with friends, then consider ordering her tech for that. Even a $49 kindle would probably work. 

Does she have a fire tv, roku, echo dot, or something similar so she can play music? Does she have a prime membership or something else that gets her access to lots of nice content? 

Don't jump on her, sigh. She's probably going to get it at some point and she's probably going to be FINE. Tell yourself that. I'm not worried about my mother, and she's in her mid 60s. Now my stepfather, sure. He gets it, he's probably toast. 

If the anxiety continues, can she talk with her doctor about a med? Or send her some chamomile tea? Or a nice lap blanket size weighted blanket? Nothing too heavy, just a kid size at like 7-10 pounds. I think my ds' is like 7 pounds and twin size and we fold it over to use on me for a bit sometimes. But I'm intense, haha. For an older person, try something light in a small size. That and tea and she might feel a lot better.

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PeterPan

PeterPan

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6 minutes ago, mmasc said:

 

Would she enjoy bird seed and a bird house?

how about plain terra cotta pots and some paint? She could paint her own flower pots. 

I really like these ideas! Thinking I should steal some for my mother. I stocked her up on puzzles over Christmas. I think my mom would enjoy the simplicity of painting objects. What a great idea. And that would inspire her to be out on her porch. What about things that get op's mother out in the sunshine? That will help with the anxiety too. Gardening gloves, a shipment of garden plants, some spring bulbs, a rose plant...

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Kanin

Kanin

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8 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Don't jump on her, sigh. She's probably going to get it at some point and she's probably going to be FINE. Tell yourself that. I'm not worried about my mother, and she's in her mid 60s. Now my stepfather, sure. He gets it, he's probably toast. 

If the anxiety continues, can she talk with her doctor about a med? Or send her some chamomile tea? Or a nice lap blanket size weighted blanket? Nothing too heavy, just a kid size at like 7-10 pounds. I think my ds' is like 7 pounds and twin size and we fold it over to use on me for a bit sometimes. But I'm intense, haha. For an older person, try something light in a small size. That and tea and she might feel a lot better.

I know... it was one of those times when the words came out of my mouth and I KNEW it was exactly the wrong thing to say. I still remember saying something mean when I was a teenager. It pops into my head every so often and I really hope she's forgotten it! She's already on a med, so I think we're ok there. 

She's got her laptop, and loves YouTube and Amazon Prime. She won't videochat with me yet, but I'm working on it. 

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Kanin

Kanin

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7 minutes ago, myblessings4 said:

Not only fun, but if she regularly sends cards or notes to others (my 80 year old aunt sends weekly cards to people who are ill, fighting cancer, etc) maybe send a package of supplies.  I sent my aunt a big stack of cards and a book of stamps.  

That's a great idea 🙂 She loves sending cards.

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Kanin

Kanin

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7 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

I really like these ideas! Thinking I should steal some for my mother. I stocked her up on puzzles over Christmas. I think my mom would enjoy the simplicity of painting objects. What a great idea. And that would inspire her to be out on her porch. What about things that get op's mother out in the sunshine? That will help with the anxiety too. Gardening gloves, a shipment of garden plants, some spring bulbs, a rose plant...

Me too! She can go out on her balcony, and also has a community garden plot. She can still hang with a friend sitting in their respective garden plots.

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PeterPan

PeterPan

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2 minutes ago, Mainer said:

She won't videochat with me yet,

My dad is a riot. He figured out how to *call* people on FB, haha. And you can video call people on FB too! Don't do it right now, because they're just jammed for bandwidth. But like tonight, later, sure. 

 

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PeterPan

PeterPan

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2 minutes ago, Mainer said:

Me too! She can go out on her balcony, and also has a community garden plot. She can still hang with a friend sitting in their respective garden plots.

And that's what I was realizing, that seniors might not spend money right now (because things are scary and tight) so having something gardeny appear might be perfect. And my dad will love more stamps. I need to refresh his stationary probably too, but definitely stamps.

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mlktwins

mlktwins

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Does she do cross-stitch or needlepoint?  You could send her a needlwork kit that either you get the pattern, floss, and fabric yourself or get a kit that is already together.  Solitaire chess, rush hour game?  My dad is in the same boat, but he is 85.  

 

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ikslo

ikslo

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The package itself can be fun.  Like those 12 days of Christmas type things where they open a new gift each day?  Something to look forward to each day, even if it is something small they are unwrapping, like a lollipop or a new dish towel or inexpensive ballet slippers. We did that for my grandmother one year and she loved it.  

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vonfirmath

vonfirmath

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8 hours ago, Dotwithaperiod said:

Do you know what quilling is? My son got my mom quilling paper/tools on Amazon and she’s having a blast; your mom is basically my age( mine is 88 and won’t use a cell phone or computer) she can just go online for tons of tutorials and ideas. I tried to get her to decorate plain cards, but she prefers to put hers in little frames.

You can get a huge amount of quilling strips for $15, the tools and accessories are  cheap, too.

 

My daughter got a quilling card from a great-aunt.

How do you get started? I thought it might be fun to do while she has extra time.

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