Gift Ideas for Caregivers

The people that help take care of you day in and day out work very hard to keep you comfortable and often get paid little for what they do. All the caregivers and other employees at your assisted living or retirement home deserve some appreciation. The holidays are as good a time as any to give it to them.

Obviously, gifts aren’t one-size-fits-all. Do your best to listen to the caregivers working with you every day and see if they mention anything that could make finding a good, relevant gift for them easier. If nothing seems to come up though, maybe some of these gift ideas for caregivers can help you out.

1. Homemade Baked Goods

This holiday gift’s a little tricky if your retirement community has a shared kitchen (at least if you want it to be a surprise), but maybe you can enlist some family members to help out. Bread, cookies, or any other yummy baked item your family traditionally enjoys during the holidays can make a great gift for caregivers, too.

2. A Gift for their Kids

Do your caregivers ever talk about their families? While they’d surely appreciate a holiday gift just for them, for many people the stress and expense of buying Christmas gifts for kids can make the holidays harder. Ask if there’s something you can get for their kids to help them out.

3. Spa Package

Taking care of people is hard work and probably leaves your caregiver exhausted at the end of the day. Purchase a spa package (or put one together yourself) that includes items like lotions, fancy soaps, bath bubbles, and other stress-relieving self-care items that will give your caregiver the chance to feel pampered.

4. Massage

Along the same lines, a gift card for a local masseuse can go a long way toward easing some of the stress your caregivers experience.

5. Homemade Scarf

Are you a knitter? This one works best if you have some knitting or sewing skills (if not, you can always skip the “homemade” part of the suggestion). A scarf is stylish, practical, and that much more personal if you make it yourself.

6. Gift Card

If you don’t have a very clear idea of what your caregiver likes, giving them a gift card can ensure they end up with what they really want.

7. Gift Basket

There’s endless variety in the gift baskets you can choose from for your caregivers. Pick something that will be fun for them to share with their friends and family while celebrating the holidays.

8. Hot Chocolate or Hot Cider

When it’s cold outside, a seasonal hot drink can feel like an indulgence. To make the gift look especially nice, you can put it in a jar and decorate it.

9. Subscription

Does your caregiver like reading? How about a subscription to a magazine you’ve seen them flipping through before? Do you ever hear them mention TV shows or movies they like? Consider a Netflix or Hulu Plus gift subscription.

10. A Babysitter

You have to know they have kids for this one to make sense. If you have a grandchild or family friend you can pay to offer their services as a babysitter at no cost to the caregiver – the free time may be a better gift for them than any item.

11. A Nice Dinner Out

It can be hard to take time to treat yourself when working a difficult job. Make it a little easier for your caregiver to do so with a gift certificate to a nice local restaurant.

12. A Relevant Of-The-Month Club

Like a magazine subscription, this holiday gift gives all year long. If you know your caregiver likes to cook, you can go with a food-of-the-month club. If they’re a big reader, you can go with a book-of-the-month club. There are loads of options out there, so go with something you know they’re interested in.

13. Something Crafty from Etsy

Once again, this requires some knowledge of what your caregiver likes. Etsy has a whole range of unique gifts that are a little more personal and crafty than what you’d find at the mall.

14. Nice Coffee or Tea

It can seem like something small, but to someone who regularly drinks coffee or tea, having access to a higher quality version of it can make a big difference.

15. Plants

This could be flowers to help bring some extra color to their life during the holidays, or a plant they can keep alive in months to come. Plants are believed to have a positive impact on mood, so it’s a gift that goes beyond the aesthetics.

The more personal and thoughtful you can make your gift, the better. For the caregivers working to make your life better every day at your assisted living home, any way you can find to repay the favor is worth it.

Kristen Hicks

Kristen Hicks is an Austin-based copywriter and lifelong student with an ongoing curiousity to learn and explore new things. She turns that interest to researching and exploring subjects helpful to seniors and their families for SeniorAdvisor.com.