Ive bought my Mum
An armchair exercise bike which she can use for her arms and legs.
A stress ball (not sure who will use that most - her or me) so she can exercise her fingers.
My daughter has bought her a cushion muffler - hmm have I said something rude here I wonder - it is a cushion that you can put your hands inside to keeps warm
We have bought the usual toiletries and lotions and creams for her arms and legs
A lovely fleecy blanket with feet so her feet can stay warm - her extremities get so cold these days even though she doesn't notice it
Still looking for ideas for people who keep asking me what does she want ....so come on all ideas welcome. I have to say it makes me smile that so many want to buy her presents yet none come and visit
Mind if I take your thread along another memory lane journey?
Hudson's flagship store used to be in downtown Detroit, a 13 story wonder of the most fascinating and diverse assortment of consumers goods I had ever seen. But the crowning glory was the top floor with its holiday displays....so mamy toys, dolls, and delights for children.
It reminds me now of some of the movies, such as Toyland, in which there were just so many products it was hard to choose.
Dad used to take us downtown at Christmastime; it was really a special treat. I still remember those days, and the atmosphere of Hudson's own North Pole.
Honestly, I wasn't aware of the interesting names of places in Michigan. I've always loved Frankenmuth for the Bavarian atmosphere, even if it is
commercialized.
CM, I've seen ribbon candy sold in my area, but I don't specifically recall where. There was a wonderful chain of stores owned by one family which had an extraordinary variety of holiday treats, even some from Israel. Walking in that small area where those special delights were displayed was like stepping outside of SE Michigan and suddenly being transported across the Atlantic.
Cracker Barrel may have ribbon candy; it has a lot of old candies from the days when I was a child. I haven't seen any wax lips or little wax Coke bottles for years though. We used to wear the wax lips at Halloween.
There was a restaurant called Buggy Works that was in an old building, with a short hallway entrance of wide wooden floor boards that creaked as we walked toward the restaurant entrance.
Along one side was an old ice cream parlor with the most delicious and massive ice cream delights. I believe there was even an old player piano.
Next to the ice cream parlor was a very small strip of a store selling old tyme things, including candy.
It was one of our favorite restaurants.
Greenfield Village is also another area that might sell ribbon candy. It's a collection of old buildings, including if I remember correctly a Cottswold cottage. I think there also used to be a general store just like "in the old days."
Greenfield Village was the place to go if someone wanted to see an old fashioned Christmas, with decorations that were natural and reflective of times before energy became such an accustomed luxury that decorations turned from freshly cut greens to what are now some incredibly ornate lighting arrangements.
I think this is a day that some of us are going to be wandering down Memory Lane.
I recall going to a care home where one of their memory days was devoted entirely to sight, touch and smell - well sight, touch and/or smell to be accurate
Pine cones for their touch the smell had long gone
Coal
Furniture polish
Lavender water
Old Spice cologne
Freshly cut grass - that was hysterical it was everywhere by the time they had finished
Old fashioned face powder - someone had brought in an old powder compact and you could still smell that very special smell I associate with my grandma
Cinnamon and clove marmalade
Smelly cheese like gorgonzola
Kippers - smelly but it reminded people of the taste
Some old fashioned soaps
Elizabeth Arden's Blue Grass perfume
Embroidered table runners
Antimacassars
Fire lighters
A very old lavender hair oil for men
Brylcreem also for men
Real silk stockings from a long gone era still had the feel they recognised
Suspenders - the sort men used to hold up their socks
Some sweets from a very old fashioned sweet shop that was nearby
PLUS A LOT OF FOOD cookies, cakes, old fashioned casseroles with dumplings, lamb with mint sauce, pork with apple sauce and crispy roast potatoes
An amazing array done by someone who really knew what the old folk would remember and I vent recalled half of the stuff - the room was full of tables weighed down with past glories
I only get lavender now as it helps Mum sleep - something that is becoming a huge problem for me as I feel sleep deprived most of the time theses days
The past two months I have bought Mom a lot of easy to wear tops as the tops need to be change twice a day or more as she spills things. Maybe I will get her a large print calendar with nice photos of flowers. I would hate to go empty handed.
I do plan to get the Staff some holiday cupcakes :)
I did some checking one time as Dad needed a new one but I don't recall all the results. I think some were available just at a local Meijer's store, which is an extended grocery store with home care product lines as well. I think Target and Penney's had some as well, but I just don't recall for sure.
I've been thinking more and more about holiday gifts as I read the good and helpful answers here and think that I could do more than I've done. There are some logistical issues for transportation, so bringing my father here involves a lot of driving, which tires me out and then I don't feel like even heating up food.
But I've been thinking about emotional gifts. I'm going to use some of the little cards I've gotten through the mail from charities, write a gift offering that he can use when he needs it, and hang the cards from an artificial tree....kind of like a focused fortune cookie gift tree.
I'm hoping someone will have suggestions.....thus far I can think of visits to mancaves (every man likes that, I think), maybe a gift card for favorite restaurants, a blues mood trip just to get out of the house, Dairy Queen visits for nice weather, accompaniment on a walk to the local beach in summer, lunch or dinner out when cabin fever strikes, perhaps a trip to Frankenmuth for the wonderful chicken dinners at the Bavarian restaurants there, maybe a drive over to one of the eastern Great Lakes for a picnic or just relaxation ....
Any other suggestions? He doesn't really need anything material, so I want to focus on the things that need to be done with a designated driver, things that will allow him to get out of the house for a change of pace when cabin fever strikes.
Example, my Dad never had Cheetos's before, and he loved them. Next thing I knew Mom would put them on her grocery list :)
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Only joking!!