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Great Gifts for Your Family Caregiver

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22 Dec Great Gifts for Your Family Caregiver

Posted at 22:41h in Aging, Blog by

Best Gifts for Your Family Caregiver in Colorado

We are here to share our thoughts on your family caregiver’s best gifts here in Colorado. 2020 was a crazy year, and we wouldn’t have gotten through it without our community and support systems. Now is as good of a time as ever to show your caregivers a little extra love and support throughout the year.

As we learned in this post, the general term caregiver applies to any one—family member, friend, spouse, neighbor, or a paid employee that assists someone. 

A family caregiver is just that, an unpaid family member that assists a loved one while sometimes working full time, raising young children, or maintaining other core responsibilities.

In the context of paid positions, a caregiver is a licensed professional hired through an agency or nonprofit who assists an older adult or person in need that lives at home.

Why give your family caregiver a gift?

You may have heard the quote, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” Simply put, your family caregiver can’t continue to give their 100% when providing care if they are exhausted and running on empty. 

It’s essential that caregivers take time to have fun, rest, and recharge their batteries, and receive constant support from their loved ones while doing so.

How do we show our caregivers how much they mean to us, especially after how crazy the year 2020 was?

Here’s our list of ideas for the best gifts to give your caregivers:

Show appreciation all year round 

Showing your appreciation doesn’t need to be reserved for just holidays and special occasions. Sometimes it’s the small, day-to-day actions that mean the most.

For a caregiver, the days can be high-stress and emotional, and receiving daily words of encouragement or small tokens of appreciation can mean far more than large gifts during significant events only.

Here are some small ways you can show your caregiver appreciation throughout the year:

  1. Write or send them a card. Whether handwritten or virtual, a heartfelt card can go a long way to show your caregiver that you are thinking of them.
  2. Words of encouragement. Provide your caregiver with frequent encouragement or motivation to let them know that you support and believe in them. 
  3. Send them flowers. Fresh flowers are always a thoughtful token of appreciation appropriate for any time of year.
  4. Cook or buy their meals. Cooking or prepping their meals is an excellent gift for a busy caregiver. Ordering home delivery for meals and groceries is also an option that will save them time.
  5. Offer to give them a break. Offering to take over for a couple of hours, pay for respite care, or taking errands off their plate will lighten their load.
  6. Just tell them. Sharing your appreciation doesn’t need to cost a thing. Picking up the phone or paying a visit is just as if not more effective and much more personal.

Non-Work Time Together

Being a caregiver means spending most of their time away from loved ones or doing the things that mean the most to them. The moments they can spend quality time doing the things they enjoy with others outside of work are precious and often look forward to doing.

Here are a few ways you can spend quality time with your caregiver on the days they are away from work:

  • Dine out together. Whether it’s a morning coffee meet-up, afternoon lunch, or evening dinner, offer to take your caregiver to their favorite spot to relax and refuel.
  • Movie night. Plan a fun movie night at home or visit your local theater to catch up on the latest films.
  • Take them on an outing of their choice. Ask your caregiver what they enjoy doing the most and dedicate time to doing just that. Or, schedule time for them to do it on their own!

 

Self Care Treats

Self-care is a buzzword that ranges in authenticity from relaxation to working on yourself. For our caregivers, they may not be able to find time for self-care, or because they are so focused on caregiving may neglect to take care of themselves.

Encouraging your loved ones and caregivers to engage in self-care activities is the first step in this process. The next step is finding out what makes your family caregiver feel good and buying them or finding time to do the things that lift their spirits.

These activities could be meditating or doing yoga, having dinner with a close friend, getting a well-deserved massage, or taking the time to go for a walk through the park. It could also be a gift certificate for a coffee from their favorite coffee shop and a new journal so they can take some alone time to reflect on the new year and their goals for 2021.

No matter what, center your self-care treats around your individual caregiver’s personality, passions, and joys. 

Here’s the self-care list that we love:

  1. Massages. Gift them a massage at a local spa or give them a gift certificate to get their nails done at the local salon.
  2. Care Kits. Make a sleep well kit with a sleep mask, chamomile tea, and a wonderful smelling candle. You can also add a super-soft throw blanket and comfy pajamas!
  3. Meditation. Sign your caregiver up for a meditation app to encourage them to meditate daily.
  4. Journals. Get them a gift certificate to their favorite coffee shop and a new shiny journal for all those 2021 goals.
  5. Candy. Buy them their favorite candy or dark chocolate as an indulgent treat.
  6. Gift Cards. A gift card to their favorite grocery store or drug store makes them promise not to use it on standard items but something to treat themselves!

 

What not to give your family caregiver:

When thinking up a great gift for your caregiver, keep in mind that you want to make their lives easier, not add more to their to-do list. Although full of thought and good intentions, some gifts don’t make sense for a caregiver with limited time and energy.

Here are a few no-nos when it comes to gift-giving:

  1. Gifts that require too much time away. As much as a week-long vacation on a sunny beach may sound, taking that much time away from the ones they provide care to isn’t ideal.
  2. Projects. Avoid gifts that are projects within themselves and take a lot of time and energy to assemble or complete (such as 1,000-piece puzzles, furniture, or digital picture frames).
  3. Books about caregiving. As thoughtful as the idea may sound, caregivers don’t have much time to sit down and immerse themselves in a good book. When they do, reading about the job they do every day is likely the least of their interests.

Being a caregiver isn’t an easy task to take on and can often make one feel lonely, isolated, or that they’ve lost a sense of self. However, surprising them with a gift (no matter how big or small) goes a long way in expressing our care and appreciation as one of our family’s most essential pieces.

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