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90 year old GMIL Birthday - what to get?
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shell2001
Posts: 1,817 Forumite
Hi
This is not strictly OS but any OS suggestions gratefully received. It my Grandmother in Laws 90th Birthday in October and I am really struggling with what to get her. The problem is as she has got older she will now think nothing of saying "well I dont like that", SIL is on about just giving her money but I thought you lovely bunch of people on here would have some wonderful ideas.
I did think I would get my girls to help me make any HM suggestions (they are 3 & 2 but very adapt at baking and making pastry - mummy has them well trained!!!:D ) at least this way if I said it was from the girls there would be no "load of rubbish" comments to deal with.
Thanks in advance!!
This is not strictly OS but any OS suggestions gratefully received. It my Grandmother in Laws 90th Birthday in October and I am really struggling with what to get her. The problem is as she has got older she will now think nothing of saying "well I dont like that", SIL is on about just giving her money but I thought you lovely bunch of people on here would have some wonderful ideas.
I did think I would get my girls to help me make any HM suggestions (they are 3 & 2 but very adapt at baking and making pastry - mummy has them well trained!!!:D ) at least this way if I said it was from the girls there would be no "load of rubbish" comments to deal with.
Thanks in advance!!
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When my Gran hit 90 I made her a rich fruit cake and iced it (nothing clever just rough snow effect). It went down well
She's just had her 98th b'day so I'm planning ahead and wondering what to do for her next big b'day
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:T Really like that idea as she does like fruit cake and the girls could definately help with that.0
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Difficult.
With 3 and 2 year old Great Granddaughters, there must be something cute that can be made.
My GMIL was 90 in the summer but as she is not quite with us mentally, we just picked a bunch of mixed flowers from the garden.
I'm thinking Birthday cake - let children help mix and then stick smarties and choc buttons on the top. At least one birthday candle is a must.
A couple of years ago, my (slightly older) daughter made a cushion cover. We purchased a cheap cream cushion from Wilkinson, got some felt which she cut into petal and leave shapes and made into a flower which she (I) attached to the cushion with that double-sided iron-on wonder-web type stuff. On the other side, the younger daughter drew pictures using fabric pens (mainly faces and people). I wrote who/what each image was underneath. We also wrote to Great Granny on dd/mm/yy with love from DD1 and DD2.
Photos of children in home-made/decorated frames.
Its ashame they are only 3 & 2 as you can get ceramic paints and make a personalised mug.
For my brother's wedding, we got some white ceramic tiles and each niece/nephew decorated one with the paints. (4 week old did footprint!!!) We then baked them and put felt on the bottom and gave them as coasters.
Hope that there is something that will inspire, will be back if I remember anything else.
Failing that, her favourite tipple!7 Angel Bears for LovingHands Autumn Challenge. 10 KYSTGYSES. 3 and 3/4 (ran out of wool) small blanket/large square, 2 premie blankets, 2 Angel Claire Bodywarmers0 -
Cake is lovely idea and you can get things to go on the top such as candles in the shape of the year they are celebrating and also supermarkets (asda) stock balloons - old people love this and I am sure she will be over the moon - they also love flowers tooSaving in my terramundi pot £2, £1 and 50p just for me! :j0
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Someone else was looking for ideas for an elderly lady in the thread: Under the influence of OS
(I'm making a direct copy and post of my thread in there, so sorry if it sounds disjointed for your particular needs)Queenie wrote:Perhaps you could make her a more simplistic bath product using natural ingredients yourself?
Diabetic recipes are abundant on the web so you could still make her some HM goodies to gift.
Or, how about a HM rice bag to heat up for any aches pains associated with age?
Or, make her a lap quilt using OS techniques to keep her warm and her bills down during those cold months?
How about some Sloe Gin to warm the cockles of the heart, or slow vodka if gin isn't her tipple?
If she's tea-total, perhaps a "promise book" would be more appropriate filled with coupons for favours? (ie: a foot massage, a back massage that kind of thing - know this sounds daft, but how about a promise to cut her toe nails so that she doesn't have to turn to those ad's in the GP surgeries and have a stranger do it?).
How about making her a pinny?
HM (or even bought!) slippers?
Clothing is expensive for a pensioner, but they like to get dolled up just like the rest of us and rarely are they gifted clothes because smellies and chocs are usually peoples first thoughts.
Is there a gadget that might make her life easier, or more comfortable? A back scratcher or something.
Perhaps "time" is something that she would value? A commitment for someone to be there for x amount of time on such and such a date?
Energy saving lightbulbs so that it assists her financial state?
A promise of a meal out somewhere swank perhaps?
A foodie hamper of tinned luxuries that her pension doesn't ordinarily stretch to and fits with her personal health issues?
Does she have any unfulfilled dreams/ambitions that she would like to do but put on hold while she was a wife/mother/MIL/grandparent?
Does she have recipes/stories to tell that she might like to see published? It could be done on computer and passed around the family or even sold to the family/friends and any money raised given to her favourite charity.
Seriously consider ... who cuddles her? Who does she confide in? Who takes notice of her gripes and grumbles? I know that sounds really daft, but, that can be very precious to someone who time has forgot
Are they any odd jobs that everyone has been 'meaning' to do, but life has taken over? Make her a promise and follow it through.
If you really, really listen to her and put aside the pride which is prevalent in that generation, you may be surprised at her little whims and fancies
Audio books are GREAT! But, what if, one of the grandchildren/great grandchildren/whoever decided to do one FOR her? Imagine her delight!
PS: another couple of thoughts:-
would she appreciate a voucher to have her hair done?
Would she appreciate someone checking her utilitiy bill to see if savings could be made and maybe the promise of paying her winter gas/electric bill?
would she appreciate someone redecorating for her (if they have the skills themselves rather than paying someone to do it?)
Hope you'll find something among those ideas~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PMS Pot: £57.53 Pigsback Pot: £23.00
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We took my Mum on the London Eye for her 90th birthday and then out to lunch. She loved The Eye and was nippy enough to get on it without having to have it stopped (tho I understand they do stop it for v disabled people) but she hated the lunch as there were some 14 of us and we chose a restaurant which was noisy (we didn't realise) and she's deaf and got very grumpy. We found that 'events' were the thing - a well planned outing and then a cake with candles and early bed seemed to do her just fine, and the outing doesn't have to be too grand - a river trip or a picnic somewhere she used to go etc etc. I was always afraid that if I let my daughters do something for her and she hated it then she'd say so loudly and they'd be very cast down, so we never did that. My sad Mum has Alzheimers now and doesn't notice Xmas or birthdays but we have wonderful photos of her enjoying the outings we took her on, and those are much treasured memories. Hope you can find just the right thing - take lots of pictures of her enjoying it !:rotfl:0
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I am thinking of making a hamper up, a mixture of things she likes. Like nice soaps, a HM chocolate cake, maybe a small bottle of champagne (anyone know of a nice cheap one??) some homemade truffles.
Was thinking about maybe making some raspberry gin (there was a thread on here about it) but not sure how long before you need to make it and/or how long it lasts???
I really loved some of Queenies ideasbut she lives with MIL & FIL so a lot are not relavant to her particular circumstances but I know my nan would have loved a lot of them (wish she was still around). DH Nan used to be a lovely old lady and I really thought the world of her but the last 5 years or so her whole character has changed. She has become really demanding and sometimes almost nasty in the comments/tone of voice she makes/uses. A big part of me thinks just give her some money because I am really worried she will just slate my efforts when really I want to do something "nice" for her.
We are all going out for a meal but to be honest I am dreading it, it doesnt seem to matter where you go these days in her opinion the food is rubbish and she does not mind who hears her comments. At least its somewhere nobody knows me.
I will have a word with DH and see what he says.
Thankyou to everyone who replied.0 -
Take her out for lunch, or bring her to your house and give her lunch there. They love getting their glad rags on (my mum is 91 and still saving some clothes "for best"), and getting away from their own four walls.
If you take her somewhere, make sure you check beforehand that the loos are accessible (not up a long flight of stairs) and maybe that they do smaller portions for the elderly if they have small appetites.I haven't bogged off yet, and I ain't no babe
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Oops, typed at the same time Shell. Sometimes they get into the habit of saying all food is horrible (or "yuk" as my dad calls it), but I think it's generally because they have lost the knack of being appreciative, and feel morally obliged to turn into Victor Meldrew
. I'm sure she'll secretly love being made a fuss of, so don't worry too much about her comments.
I haven't bogged off yet, and I ain't no babe
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shell2001 wrote:I am thinking of making a hamper up, a mixture of things she likes. Like nice soaps, a HM chocolate cake, maybe a small bottle of champagne (anyone know of a nice cheap one??) some homemade truffles. .
I think I recall Marks&Sparks doing small bottles of champagne, but no idea how much they cost. Alternatively, a good bottle of Cava can be just as tasty and you can get a whole bottle for £4.99 or less, that way she might share it~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PMS Pot: £57.53 Pigsback Pot: £23.00
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