Gift Ideas for Seniors and Nursing Home Residents 2

Finding the perfect gift for a senior or loved one confined to a nursing home can be hard. 

Peg served as a caregiver to family members for over a decade. Here are some useful tips and things she learned in the process.

What nursing home residents want more than anything else is a visit from you. Your visit makes them feel special and valued.

If you live far away or your schedule keeps you from visiting, a useful gift is the next best thing.

What do they want? You could ask them, but their answer is usually, "I don't need anything."

In that case, here are some tried and true gift ideas they'll love.

Residents like board games to stimulate their minds and help them remember things.

Dominos, Scrabble, crossword puzzles, coloring books, card games and jigsaw puzzles are popular with seniors. 

A wreath or colorful door decoration helps residents find their room in a hallway of doors that look exactly alike. 

For mom's 90th birthday, all her children and grandchildren came from around the world to celebrate.

The pictures from that dinner made a great photo book. Everyone's names were printed below their pictures to help with remembering everyone. Photos help ease the loneliness of isolation.

Space in a resident's room is limited. Countertops are often filled with medical equipment, cosmetics, books, and other things, leaving little room for framed photos or other keepsakes.

Using wall space to display photos of loved ones, pennants from favorite teams and other familiar items can help stimulate memories.

When the days become a blur as time passes, residents enjoy having a visible way to help them keep up with the day and date. 

This changeable calendar comes with removable wood planks with writing on both sides. There are additional planks for special events like holidays and birthdays.

This could be a self-made project for a student or crafty person to make or it can be purchased online.

Finding suitable clothing can be difficult. When Aunt Louise entered the home, she was wearing pull-on tops with elastic pants. Once she became wheelchair-bound, she couldn't stand up without holding onto the handrail. Pants made life difficult.

We found dresses with a modest neckline that slips on over the head. She likes her dresses to have side pockets. They need to be machine washable and hold up to frequent washings.

A lightweight jacket with a zipper makes a great gift that can be worn year around. This machine washable jacket is a favorite that Aunt Louise wears often. Temperature can be adjusted in a private room, but the common rooms and hallways can be uncomfortably cold for seniors. While everyone else may be wearing shorts, Grandma is usually wearing a jacket.

Drawer space is limited in most facilities. The built-in dresser only had five drawers for clothing and personal items. The nightstand had two small drawers for personal items.

A set of plastic drawers for the bathroom gives extra room for personal wipes, hand towels, toothpaste, denture cups, shampoo and cosmetics.

If you play an instrument or like to sing, the residents will always gather to listen. Songs from their favorite era engage them and encourage participation.

You can also volunteer to read stories to the residents individually or in a group.

Seniors benefit from daily exercise to boost morale, increase muscle mass and improve circulation. This video shows how the residents keep the seniors actively engaged in using their hand and eye coordination as well as their upper bodies.

Here's a clip of Aunt Louise playing balloon volleyball.

Time and distance permitting, it's nice to drop in and share a meal with your senior. Stop by their favorite fast-food place and pick up take-out to enjoy with them in the lunchroom.

A visit during meal time and your company is one of the best investments you can make. For the small price, your presence will let them know they are loved and cherished.

Wishing you the best as you keep your loved ones close.

Italian Cream Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Enjoy the rich flavor of pecans and coconut in this moist cake topped with real homemade cream cheese icing. This step by step recipe with photos shows you how to make this yourself.

The smell of burning leaves always reminds me of my pecan-picking days in Georgia and my grandmother, Big Mom. She paid us kids a nickel for every  paper grocery bag of pecans we picked off the ground of their grove.

The work tired us out, burning off youthful energy Big Mom called "Rambunctious". And, it helped her gather the crop which she shelled and wrapped up in foil-wrapped portions for gifts. 

She also made baked goods, served after dinner at the dining room table. This recipe makes me think of her cakes and the days of the pecan harvest.

The recipe calls for chopped pecans, flaked coconut, 5 eggs, sugar, butter, vegetable shortening, all-purpose flour and baking soda. The coconut and pecans grow more flavorful when the cake sits overnight.

For buttermilk, I substitute regular milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice. Two percent milk works as well and cuts off more calories. Two cups of sugar can be reduced to 1 1/2 cups using sugar substitute.

How to Grease and Flour the Cake Pans

You'll need three eight or nine inch cake pans for this three layer cake.

1. Use a paper towel to spread about a tablespoon of solid vegetable shortening around the bottom and sides of the cake pan.
2. Lightly wipe off any excess shortening.
3. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of flour into the pan and shake it around to all parts including the sides.
4. Tap the bottom of the pan to remove any excess flour and set the pans aside while preparing the cake batter.

Cook Time - Oven at 350°

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 30 min

Ready in: 1 hour

Yields: Cake serves 16 slices

Ingredients

• 5 Fresh eggs, separated
• 2 cups sugar, granulated
• 1/2 cup butter, unsalted
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, Crisco
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup regular milk or 2% milk, instead of buttermilk
• 1 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cups flour, All purpose
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup chopped pecan pieces
• 1 cups shredded coconut
• Substitutions 12 packs of Splenda if desired, to replace half a cup of sugar

Instructions

1. Separate the eggs, placing the whites into a chilled mixing bowl. Reserve the egg yolks to use later.
2. Beat the egg whites until stiff and set aside.
3. Add 1 TBSP lemon juice to the cup of milk and set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, cut the butter into pieces and beat with the electric mixer until it's light and fluffy.
5. Add the Crisco or vegetable shortening and blend together with the creamed butter.
6. Add the sugar and blend it in thoroughly.
7. Add the egg yolks a little at a time, beating on medium speed for about a minute between additions.
8. Sift the flour and baking soda together. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time, alternating with the liquid milk mixture.
9. Using a spatula, fold in the pecan pieces, the coconut and the egg whites until mixed.
10. Pour into 3 greased and floured cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Only two of the pans fit in my oven without touching one another. So, I baked the first two layers, then baked the third one by itself for 28 minutes. When the cake comes out of the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes. 

How to Get the Cake Out of the Pans

1. Tear off a sheet of waxed paper slightly wider than a dinner plate.
2. Place the waxed paper on top of one layer of the cake. 
3. Turn the dinner plate upside down and place it on top of the waxed paper.
4. Holding the sides of the cake pan and plate with pot holders, turn the pan and plate over.
5. Lightly drop the plate right side up on the counter.
6. Thump gently on the bottom of the cake pan to loosen the cake.
7. Remove the pan carefully.
8. Place another cooling rack upside down on the bottom of the cake that's upside down. We're going to turn this right side up.
9. Flip the entire stack over (cake rack, cake, waxed paper and plate) like a sandwich to set the cake upright.
10. Remove the plate and the waxed paper from the top of the cake immediately. Work quickly, to keep the waxed paper from sticking to the cake top.

Repeat this process for the other layers, allowing each to cool upright on a cake rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 8 ounce package of Cream Cheese
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 4 Cups of Confectioner's Sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp. Milk

Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions

Cut 1/2 cup butter (one stick) into tablespoon sized pieces.

Using a hand mixer, cream the butter until it's light and fluffy.

Add one 8 oz. package of Philadelphia cream cheese (softened) and blend together with the butter.

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Add 4 cups of confectioner's sugar a little at a time until the frosting reaches a good consistency for spreading.

If the mixture seems too stiff, add a few drops of milk and blend it in. If it seems too loose, add a little more powdered sugar.

Refrigerate any leftover cake if the temperature is warm indoors. The cake grows more moist on the second and third day.

I like to cut individual slices and place in covered containers for an easy serving to enjoy with a nice bag lunch.