Photo Jigsaw Puzzle: What To Give A 90 Year Old

Image by kevin dooley via Flickr

Milestone Birthday Present Challenge

Aunt Louise turned 90 a couple of weeks ago. She threw herself a party, and we were happy to be included. (See One Family: Two Life Celebrations.)

We wrestled with getting a suitable present. What do you give a 90 year old who has recently downsized and gotten rid of the majority of items she has collected in her lifetime?

Flowers Are Always Nice, but…..

Image by hello-julie via Flickr

We thought about bringing her a bouquet of peonies from our garden. Unfortunately, we were scheduled to be out and about all day before the party. There was no way to arrive with them in good shape. We could not get excited about picking up a bouquet on the way to the party.

When we stepped into her one-bedroom apartment, we were glad of our decision. Every surface was covered with vases of flowers, and more were delivered in the two hours we spent there. I guess flowers are the default gift for people who don’t need more “stuff”.

I think really expensive Belgian chocolates are sure to be appreciated, but after age 90 you don’t want to fool around with dietary restrictions. It would be a pity if she could not eat them, or worse, if she did eat them, and they made her sick. Note to friends and family: You can risk bringing me really expensive Belgian chocolates for my 90th birthday.

Old Scrapbooks Rekindle Memories

Scrapbook by karen horton via Flickr

We ended up bringing old family photo albums. David sat on the sofa with Louise and her son Steven, while they looked at old pictures, talked about people who were long gone, and marveled at the new things they learned about the family as they shared the images.

My favorite presents to give are the ones that offer an new or shared experience. It made Louise so happy to talk about her parents, her brother, Germany before the war, and moving from Germany to America as a war bride. She may be 90, but her memory is just fine. Everyone enjoyed the family resemblances and learning about previously unshared family history.

Custom Photo Jigsaw Puzzle

It was the grandchildren who knocked it out of the park. Three of them (all in their twenties) presented a beautifully wrapped box. The box lid displayed a happy picture of the three grandchildren, specially taken for the occasion. Inside the box were pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that Louise could reassemble with her friends on a rainy day in the future.

It truly was the perfect present. The kids found a way to use new technology for an old-fashioned experience. Louise not only has a photo she can cherish, but she can again celebrate her party and her grandchildren as she shares the puzzle with her friends. Such a present will always be unique.

Plan Ahead for Milestone Birthdays

ElderAuthority is a mixture of experiences, memories, advice, and “how-to” tutorials for making the most of your life as you get older. If you need to come up with a special present it is pretty easy to turn a great picture into a very personal gift that can be presented is a nice box with a fluffy, celebratory ribbon.

The one challenging aspect is that YOU HAVE TO PLAN AHEAD. Most of us have gotten pretty bad at that since we can usually find want on the internet in a hurry. You need to allow a minimum of 10 days to 2 weeks to make sure you have the puzzle in your hands in time to wrap and present it with a flourish.

Puzzles can be ordered with 50 to 2000 pieces. Choose the complexity of the puzzle to match the capabilities of the recipient. The ordering process is simple: