Last Minute Gifts for Parents
- Give your parents the gift of pictures. Especially if you have small children who seem to change overnight, take some new pictures and upload the pictures to a digital picture cube for the desk. Grab the video camera or a voice recorder and record your parents stories to go with pictures of them and explain that you are working on a family history. Upload the data for them and then take it home for editing and include the whole family in the project.
- If Mom always feels she has to feed everyone, contact a company that prepares meals and delivers them such as Send a Meal or Home Bistro. Choose selections your parents enjoy eating for the first delivery and bring menu selections so they can choose future deliveries. Provide the service a list of any dietary restrictions your parents have. Tell your parents how to schedule delivery times and whether the food will arrive ready to eat or if they will need to do anything with it when it arrives.
- Stop off at Blockbuster, Red Box or a big box store with a large video department and bring entertainment for the evening. Choose something you know they will enjoy. Alternatively, offer to take everyone out to the movie and let them choose the title.
If you don't have small children, look for a local comedy club or dance club. Choose a place where you will be able to hear one another talk. If they enjoy the experience, check into getting a gift card for them to take home so they can return later. - Stop by the florist, or the grocery store, and grab some flowers to show your appreciation of your parents. Select a suitable card that tells them how much you really appreciate all the sacrifices they have made for you. If one of them has a green thumb and prefers live flowers to cut flowers, select a beautiful plant that will give them more long-term pleasure. Hardware stores like Lowe's and Home Depot carry nice selections of live plants at a reasonable price but you might have to stop somewhere else for the card.
- Don't forget spending time with your parents is a gift as well. They appreciate your presence and your attention. No matter what kind of gift you bring, taking time to visit has value. Share your day, your dreams and other parts of your life. Talk about events in your childhood you remember with fondness and love. If their memory is slipping some, your memories can give them connection to your shared past.
