Need ideas for father. Please

[Trish1298]

Ok, my dad really has me stumped this year. He is 58 and in bad shape. He used to be a serious baseball player, he played golf, wood working, cross stiching, hunting, mechanic work, thats what I can think of as of now. However he has had several surgeries on his back, tha last one fusing 4 of his vertibrae together, it has been several years now and he is in constant pain and doctors keep saying there is nothing that they can do. He has horrible migraines, he is not deaf but can't hear many different tones so he wears a hearing aid sometimes, he has bad sight so he can't see well (not good enough to cross stich anymore). The man is falling apart, and it seems to have all come very quickly, so he is depressed about not being able to do anything. I have no idea what to get him for christmas, I think he needs a hobby but can't think of anything for him to get into that he could do. I feel horrible for him. When he gets something he likes, he is like a little kid. I want this christmas to be good for him to get his mind off of him not being able to do the things he used to.

 

PLEASE, PLEASE give me any ideas you can come up with, I need HELP!!!!!

[AndreaInNC]

My dad used to love to hook rugs.

 

Have you thought about getting him a train set like he might have had when he was a young kid?

 

Or how about one of those massage things to put in a chair? Those are nice!

[Trish1298]

He has a massage thing for his chair. Hmm I don't know if he would like to do rugs or not.? Toys from when he was young may be good. They were kind of poor so he didn't have much. Great ideas. Keep them coming

[shopping mom]

Books on tape or cd if he has a hard time reading now with a nice walkman or something with headphones, a talking watch (check Radio Shack) Readers digest print a large version. Gift certificates for massages. My DH is was declared legally blind in June and he has really enjoyed the watch and the walkman.

[bovichtj]

Do you think he would like a hand-held video game? Even something like Battleship or Yahtzee. My dad pokes around with those all the time... he particularly likes a poker game.

 

I will keep thinking...

Joanne

[ashemgra]

I got my grand father an Ipod and loaded it with books on tape and old time music. You don't have to get an Ipod but any mp3 player would work I am sure. I go visit once a week and download new podcasts and books onto it. He loves it. It is easy to use...as long as someone else downloads his stuff for him LOL

[decafmom]

How about the gift of time? Do you live close? If so, you could give him a coupon book for lunch or dinner every so often. I have found that when it comes to my parents and ils, consumable gifts and gifts of time together are most appreciated.

[Trish1298]

I live in Florida and he is in Kansas. I hate being so far from him. I see him 2 or 3 times a year. Him and my oldest son(7) are very close, we moved a year ago and it has been hard on them both. Even though he has 13 grand kids he is closest with my son.

 

You guys are doing great.

[peekaboo]

What about one of those recording frames. You could put a picture of your son in it and have him record a message for your father since they are so close.

[jarerice]

what about the plug and play games. you an find just about any kind.

 

or model cars/airplanes

 

or sports dvds of his favorite team

 

I liked the idea from another post about the duct tape wallet with gc in it.

 

I also liked the idea from another post about the memory jar

 

Good Luck

[Kandy]

My dad likes the hand held poker games, the plug in play games would be good. What about having your son write your father a letter every two or three weeks or even just mail him some papers from school.

[Trish1298]

Great ideas everyone. He's not to into video games, and he and my son write ltters back and forth all the time.

[jarerice]

what about puzzles!!! You could get one made from a picture of your family.

[decafmom]

What about one of those recording frames. You could put a picture of your son in it and have him record a message for your father since they are so close.

I love this idea!

[Trish1298]

Puzzles may be a good idea.

[hopeky94]

Toys from when he was young may be good. They were kind of poor so he didn't have much.

Have you ever heard of the Vermont Country Store? My mom LOVES to look at (and occasionally buy;) ) their stuff, as a lot of it is nostalgic stuff from decades past... I've even found a few things in there that I remember as a kid that aren't around anymore! But they sell other fun, more modern things, too (like the "Tired Old A** Soak" shown on their homepage! LOL)

 

And even if you don't decide to order from them, sometimes seeing stuff like that can remind you of other things he might enjoy!

[jdoug]

Going with the nostalgia theme, if he can have candy a site like nostalgiccandy.com has lots of gift packages from the 50's and 60's. They even have boxes shaped like classic cars.

[arrowpolisher]

I was thinking foods from his past also:) My Fil has macular degeneration so cannot see well at all anymore( I think they have declared him legally blind) and he loves books on tape. They have some old series on mp3( they also have tapes, cds, dvd-r, and hard drive transfer) at www.dadsotr.com or www.originaloldradio.com.

[Trish1298]

Wonderful ideas. and I like that website. I make pick up some of the old candy. I was also thinking, he used to draw, he is really good, but hasn't drawn anything more than a few sketches for his home in probably 20 years. I think if I could get him back into this he would forget about all the things he can't do anymore. Is there anything that would be good for this? I absolutely can't draw anything, he didn't pass that on to me, so I don't know what he would need.

[BirdFur]

A neighbor of mine is fully blind, but he's amazing at flying different kinds of kites in the field across the street. He's also an expert on wind and air quality. He told me he can tell through his hands and the string. He even built a homemade 'copter out of some metal, tape and a piece of Kleenex box that technically is not supposed to be able to fly. He really enjoys just sitting there flying a kite..sometimes for an hour at a time. I think it gives him back some control he's lost in his life by being blind and having to depend on others.