Never Mind Their Age - Timeless Gifts for Christmas

They say Christmas is for children, but does it really have to be that way? We all remember the magic of our childhood Christmases, but as we grow through our teens and into adulthood, we all tend to notice that special Christmas feeling slipping away. As parents we go on to recapture the magic through our childrens' eyes, but later on as older folks we go on to experience a deeper nostalgia of years gone by that makes Christmas a very special time of year to reflect and rejoice in memories stretching back a lifetime.

If your granny and grandad are very old, they will remember back to what may seem to you like a thousand Christmases! Christmas during wartime was a time of recycling, mending and making do, when families celebrated around a small Christmas tree decorated with homemade baubles made from old tin. Christmas cake or trifle would be made as a special Christmas treat using ingredients hoarded in the larder throughout the previous year, and the house would be decorated with paper chains made out of newspaper and stuck with glue made from flour and water. Friends delivered homemade Christmas cards, and the Christmas gifts we found in our stockings were pieces of fruit, perhaps a small piece of coal for luck, pencils, handkerchiefs, a pair of knitted gloves or perhaps a small wooden toy. Entertainment on Christmas Day was provided by the wireless while the family indulged in card games, whist and charades. Food in Britain was still heavily rationed even 5 years after the war ended, and there was no commercial TV for entertainment until the mid-fifties. Computer games, iPods, CDs and DVDs were unheard of; a mere futuristic vision!

So it's no surprise when it comes to your Christmas gifts that grandma and grandad will not understand how to work your brand new state of the art gadgets! What our old folks love best is nostalgia, and you can indulge them in a range of memorabilia gift packs to keep their fondest memories alive. Whether it be memorabilia dedicated to family days out at the seaside in the 1950s, the good old days of the Blitz, or the golden days of classic steam trains, these unique packs are sure to have them chattering away by the fire recounting all their fondest childhood stories.

Grandparents never lose their sense of fun, and you'll need to shower them with Christmas gifts to make them chuckle, lest they fall asleep in the armchair after Christmas dinner. How about a collection of hilarious senior moment signs, celebrating the laughable drawbacks of the twilight years, with hilarious slogans they will identify with, like 'The reason I'm smiling is because I can't hear a word you're saying!' A wind-up racing granny complete with zimmer frame will have them chuckling all day, and for an after dinner treat, they'll love a tin of Senior Moment memory loss mints with 100% memory recall guaranteed! Both of these loveable Christmas gifts make great stocking fillers too.

As our loved ones grow into their senior years it's vital to keep their brains ticking and there are more ways to sharpen their memory than asking them to recall the words to 'In the bleak midwinter'. You can help to exercise their brain power and get them back into the habit of thinking for themselves with Brain Fitness kits, probably the best Christmas gifts you can give to an ageing relative, or even an IQ test, to help them pinpoint the areas they need to improve.

When it comes to Christmas gifts, you'd be surprised how many older people prefer to receive the gift of an exciting day out, or even a short break if your budget can stretch to it. If they still have a spring in their step and love the glamorous side of life, why not consider a Strictly Come Dancing gift experience for your gran and granny to share? There are a wide range of gift experiences on offer and no reason not to treat your old folks, when after all, they have all that time on their hands. Just don't go crazy and overestimate their abilities - maybe rock-climbing and bungee jumping will be slightly out of granny's league!

What's important to remember is to make Christmas a happy time of year for everyone, regardless of their age, and when it comes to Christmas gifts, putting a smile on the face of a loved one bypasses the boundaries of age. For granny and granddad, Christmas gifts will be special no matter what, but you can be creative with what you buy and make their day as memorable as those special Christmas Days of yesteryear.