Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Christmas or AnyTime Gifts for Caregivers

Forget the Christmas sweaters or socks, what Caregivers need is time away from taking care of their love ones. Caregivers need time to focus on our personal needs whether it’s reading a book or getting a haircut or going for a walk with friends. This is CareGiver Guy's favorite Christmas or Anytime Gift Suggestions.

  1. The Gift of Time - Give your family member or primary caregiver a day off by personally taking care of your love one or by making arrangements with the caregiver to schedule a professional caregiver to take care of your love one.
  2. Home Cook Meals Delivery Service – In the San Francisco Greater Bay Area we have Home on the Range deliver nutritious delicious meals Monday through Friday. The meals can range from Grilled Mango BBQ Chicken to Italian Veal Stew to Roast Turkey. Contact Home on the Range before 1:00 PM and your meals will be delivered before 6PM. Home on the Range can be contacted at 510-251-8030 or 415-333-1787. Monthly menus are mailed or you can view the menu on http://www.homeontherangemeals.com/.
  3. Grocery Gift Card – give your family caregiver a gift card for groceries or place an online order for them. I order online with http://www.safeway.com/ every two weeks and the service is excellent. As a homebound caregiver I find the online grocery service with Safeway very convenient.
  4. Netflix Movie Delivery Gift Card – I love going to the Movies but as a full time caregiver it's impossible. Netflix is the best solution for the homebound caregiver. Netflix has a program that fits any budget or movie requirement. The process of selecting a list of movies from 75,000 titles is fun and easy. I'm a action, science fiction and drama guy. I watch 4-6 films a week from my list. My program allows me to receive two films at a time with no limits per month. Keep the movies as long as you want because there are no due dates or late fees. Netflix provides free shipping both ways and the shipping envelope is also your return mailer. The movies on my list arrives in one day. Have fun receiving your movies by mail!
  5. Professional In-Home Massage – This is my most favorite gift from a friend. Most caregivers do not pamper themselves. This is the perfect gift for your family caregiver.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas Caregiver Guy,

I love your list! I'm making arrangements for a professional caregiver to take care of my dad next Saturday and take mom to a Spa in Los Angeles. Thanks for the advice.

Lisa

Anonymous said...

Caregiver Guy,

Thanks for your blog. Are you OK? I wish I could hug you because there are so many nights when I feel so alone and your blog let's me know that I'm not alone. I sent your blog address to my son who's coming to visit me next week. I've been taking care of my father for three years. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Caregiver Guy!

Leslie In New York City

Anonymous said...

Caregiver Guy

Man, I thought I was the only guy caregiver taking care of their mom full time. I read your blog and it's right up my alley. I'm the only family left so it's all up to me to take care of mom. I have no social life or even time to walk my dog.

San Diego Caregiver

Anonymous said...

Caregiver Guy,

I can add another gift idea to your list. A paid weekend trip to a Caregiver's Training Seminar in your area. It really helped me when I felt alone.

Weekend Caregiver

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas Caregiver Guy,

It's almost a reflection of my life taking care of my husband. It seems like we have the same problem of communicating to our love ones. My husband was a stubborn man before and he's even worse now. He's driving me crazy and sometimes I will just scream at him to let out my frustrations.

Erica in Omaha

Anonymous said...

Caregiver Guy,

I just googled for a list of ideas for caregivers and your list sounds the best. I live in New York City and my Miami-based sister has been taking of mom for almost three years. I'm making arrangements to have a caregiver come by once a week and give my sister time to do whatever she wants. I wish I could do the same thing for you Caregiver Guy.

The Older Brother

Anonymous said...

CareGiver Guy,

What a great Christmas list of ideas for caregivers...I would like to add another great idea for family caregivers. I'm going to take care of my nephew's first year of college. My sister has been so worried about her son's education that this should relieve her of her anxiety.

John

Anonymous said...

WOW, WOW, WOW what a great list of ideas for Christmas. I'm going to take my mom for a SPA day in Miami. She enjoys a good massage, manicure and pedicure so she should really enjoy her gift. I'm also going to take care of her cable bill which is around $100 per month right now.

Miami Blues Singer

Anonymous said...

CareGiver Guy,

I love your online diary because it's very honest. I have taken several caregiver classes and it does help. What the classes or support groups does not describe is the personal frustation that you write in your blog. Thanks Caregiver Guy and God Bless.

Lonely Woman in Seattle

Anonymous said...

Huggable Caregiver,

I love your blog. It's an excellent view of a caregiver life especially when you're taking care of someone around-the-clock without any support from family or friends.

Lost My Mom 2006,

Lisa

Anonymous said...

Caregiver Guy,

Thanks for your tips on Christmas Gifts. I signed up with Netflix and will be ordering movies for my dad who's taken care of mom.

Son of a Carpenter, San Jose

Sam

Anonymous said...

Caregiver Guy,

It's so nice to know that there is another guy taking care of mom because I've been doing this for almost 1 year without the help of my brothers.

Kasey

Anonymous said...

Hello Guru, what entice you to post an article. This article was extremely interesting, especially since I was searching for thoughts on this subject last Thursday.