November 16, 2021

A Christmas Gift Guide for Older People

Nick Everything Else events, reviews 8 Comments

Christmas is barely six weeks away, and it’s a safe bet more of us than ever will be shopping online this year.

Pounds and Sense is aimed at the over-50s, so today I thought I’d set out a selection of products you can buy online suitable for people in this age category. Though in my view most would be very well received by younger people too 🙂

Quite a few of these are things I’ve received for free this year as an Amazon Vine reviewer. Others are simply products that I’ve bought for myself – or friends or relatives – and am very happy to recommend to others.

• Please note that I am using some affiliate links in this article, so if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission for introducing you. Of course, this will not affect the price you pay or the product you receive.

(1) Music Hat

My first thought when I received this unisex beanie hat to review for Amazon Vine was that it was just a novelty product – but it turned out to be a lot better than I anticipated!

The hat itself is made of stretchable acrylic and is warm and comfortable. It’s available in a range of colours to suit all tastes. And in addition to keeping your head warm in the winter, it boasts an LED light at the front and built-in Bluetooth earphones.

The LED light has three brightness settings, with the brightest illuminating the area in front of you quite impressively. I’ve found this useful for putting the bins out at night and (on a lower setting) to ensure I can be seen when walking at night along poorly lit roads and pavements.

The stereo headphones are surprisingly good quality. Obviously you wouldn’t expect super high fidelity, but for listening to music or podcasts on the go, they are more than adequate. Setting up a Bluetooth connection with my Android smartphone was easy, and I’ve been enjoying listening to my choice of music on my daily walks. In theory you can also use the hat for making and receiving phone calls, though I haven’t tried that myself. Even if you only use it for listening to music, though, it’s still a very nice piece of kit. And for around £20 at the time of writing, this unisex beanie hat won’t break the bank either!

I also got this two-light beanie hat (without built-in earphones) for my sister Annie. At this time of year she has to walk home in the dark from her job at a prison, and she goes running in the evening sometimes as well. Annie sent me the following mini-review: ‘That fluorescent hat is actually really good! Very bright front and back light. Great for being seen by others so makes you feel safe at dusk (I don’t run in the dark nowadays so much). Nice snug fit especially round the ears and easy to put the lights on (front and back) even when it’s on your head! Have had lots of positive comments. Definitely recommended!’

(2) Fruit Wines

I am not much of a drinker these days, but I will always make an exception for these delicious fruit wines, especially at Christmas!

Clive’s Wines is a small, family-run company based barely a mile from where I live. They offer a range of high-quality fruit wines, including damson, cherry, raspberry, strawberry, elderflower, plum and (my personal favourite) gooseberry. For special occasions they also offer a premium sparkling ‘Rhubling’ made with rhubarb.

You can order individual bottles and gift packs online for delivery anywhere in the mainland UK and Europe, with free delivery for orders of over £60 in the UK. If you are looking for an unusual gift that will also support a small local business, I can promise that you (and the lucky recipient) won’t be disappointed 🙂

• You do, of course, have to be over 18 to order any product containing alcohol.

(3) Hand Warmer and Power Bank

I have two of these devices now (the first came my way as an Amazon Vine reviewer). As you may gather, they are dual-purpose devices, serving both as a hand-warmer and a power bank for charging your phone or tablet.

The product pictured above is the OCOOPA Rechargeable Handwarmer and Power Bank. This has a powerful 10,000 mAh battery and doesn’t therefore need frequent recharging. You can have three levels of heat (though I find the lowest is more than sufficient for me). It only takes a few hours to charge fully and can charge up my Android phone in under an hour.

Currently I am using this device more as a power bank than as a hand warmer, but that may change if and when sub-zero winter weather conditions arrive. For under £30. it would make a nice, practical gift for any older person (especially if they suffer from cold hands!).

(4) Amazon Echo

Unless you’ve been on Mars for the last few years, I’m sure you’ve heard of these devices. There is a growing family now. The picture above is of an Echo Show, which also has a visual display. I have one of these in my kitchen and use it all the time. I also have an Echo Dot in the bedroom, a standard Echo in the living room, and a tiny Echo Flex in my office. And I’m still thinking of getting more!

I use my Echo devices primarily for listening to music and radio. But I also regularly use them for checking the weather forecast, getting news updates (‘Alexa, read my flash briefing’), asking random questions (‘Alexa, how far is the Earth from the Moon?’), checking the time, setting alarms and timers, finding out what’s on TV, and much more. Alexa has become part of my life now, and I have to admit I actually miss her when I am away. How sad is that? 😀

In my view an Amazon Echo device would make a great gift for any older person, even if they aren’t at all tech-savvy (though they do of course need wifi to work). Once the device has been set up – which is easy enough – you can control it entirely using your voice, just using the ‘wake word’ (Alexa by default, though you can change it if you like) to activate it.

For an older person living alone especially, having an Amazon Echo device can provide companionship as well as reassurance in the event of an emergency (you can ask Alexa to call any of your contacts for you, though currently you can’t get it to phone 999). And an Echo is a present that will go on giving through Christmas and well beyond. Highly recommended.

• Amazon often have some great offers on Echo/Alexa devices in their Black Friday sale.

(5) Christmas Hampers

This is quite a traditional Christmas gift, but none the worse for that. I have been sending Christmas hampers to various elderly relatives for many years, and they are always well received. The hampers include a selection of luxury food and drink that people on a limited budget wouldn’t typically buy for themselves. I often get quite in-depth feedback about what they liked or disliked about this year’s hamper and whether it was better or worse than last year’s!

There are various suppliers you can order hampers online from (Marks and Spencer have a good selection, for example). But these days I normally order from Amazon. They have a vast range from a variety of merchants, and you can easily search for the type of hamper you want (including by price, with/without alcohol, vegan/vegetarian, and so on).

Amazon also sell hampers aimed specifically at older people, such as the Traditional Treats Hamper (from Clearwater Hampers) pictured above. This costs £49 at the time of writing and includes luxury chocolates, a tin of afternoon tea, hand-baked lemon biscuits, rhubarb and custard sweets, almond biscuit thins, clotted cream fudge, and more. Guaranteed to put a smile on the face of any grandparent 😀

Of course, there are lots of other options as well, for younger folk as well as older ones. Prices range from around £20 to £200 or more if you really want to push the boat out!

(6) Red Letter Days Vouchers

Red Letter Days sell gift vouchers for a huge range of experience days, for single people or for couples.

Among other things, they include luxury spa days, hotel mini-breaks, afternoon tea (see picture above), driving experiences (e.g. supercar driving, go karting, truck driving), sky diving, hot air ballooning, river cruises, visits to historic houses/gardens, restaurant meals, and many more. Some will obviously appeal more to younger folk, but there are plenty that are equally suitable for all ages (and plenty of older people still enjoy a bit of thrill-seeking as well!).

In the last 18 months many of us have have spent months on end cooped up in our homes. So the chances are your friends or relatives will really appreciate the chance to enjoy an exciting (or relaxing) experience day such as these.

(7) Salter Electronic Scales

Finally, here’s a great, inexpensive gift for anyone who enjoys cooking.

I was lucky enough to get these Salter Aquatronic digital kitchen scales as an Amazon Vine reviewer, and have been using them regularly ever since.

No bowl is provided with these scales, but because of the way they work you don’t need one. You can place any container you like on the scales and press the button to zero the display (so the scales disregard the container’s weight). You can then add your ingredient and the weight (or liquid volume if you prefer) will be shown. If you want to add more ingredients, you can zero the display again before doing so. Once you get the hang of this, it’s amazingly quick and simple. I use it all the time now, and even weighed a parcel on it recently 😀 I also like the way it hardly takes up any space at all in my kitchen when stored on its side.

So there you are – seven great ideas for Christmas gifts you can buy online that any older person would be delighted to receive (and a lot more exciting than slippers or socks!). As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

Note: this is a fully updated version of an annual post.