Welcome to our official guide to great ideas for aging parents and grandparents! Of course, Les (Jess’s dad) is here to give you his thoughtful and nice ideas, but we’ve also included some great ideas for moms and grandmas. So please enjoy and don’t forget to check out even more ideas on our shop page
for men (from lace)
Well, it’s that time of year again. The holidays are upon us once again. As wonderful as this time of year is, it can also be challenging. Hopefully, my gift guides can relieve some of the pressure. Lately, I’ve been noticing all these cute items for baby girls. You pick out a dress and almost immediately you find an even cuter dress. I buy that one and then suddenly buy another one. Oh my God, I never imagined what an impact a granddaughter would have on me. Mr. Tough Guy is now the softest man on earth. Oh! Give me strength.
Anyway, let’s see if I remember some of the cool things we saw last year. I need to start by checking my stuff. When I see something unique I usually buy it. Ha.
When I was living in NYC, I met a guy who restored old radios and installed Bluetooth in them. I bought one and am completely happy with it. It’s nice to hear my music on an old song. I wondered if any retailers sell something like this. Well, Crosley has just that. Well, not exactly. Its a new retro radioIt is beautiful and feels great, (I bought one for my cabin,)
Something else I bought for my cabin was old cuckoo clockI remember an incident at my grandmother’s house, Not only does it make me feel good, but I can tell what time it is without even looking at the watch, Just count the cuckoos, Ha, who knew? (Grandma never told me), They are easily found online, Most watch repair shops have a few, Make sure it has a silencing lever so you don’t keep waking up, I leave it on so I know when to get out of bed,
Every once in a while, I stumble upon a shop that offers a different type of product than the usual gift shops. One such store exists in Healdsburg, CA. called foragerI went in because of a Giardino Natural Tablecloth With a spectacular grape pattern. It wasn’t cheap, but I couldn’t resist it. This would be perfect in my outdoor kitchen when I’m feeding people. (I do this sometimes.) It’s always easier for me to cook for others than to cook for myself. Plus, I have someone to talk to. Ha!
This tablecloth will enhance our already beautiful tablescape.
At that shop, I also picked up a graphite pencil In the shape of an old writing pen. It’s so beautiful sitting at my desk. I have always preferred pencil to pen. That’s probably because I make a lot of mistakes. The pencil is titled Graphite Object by Battle Studio. I went to their website, and they have many more designs. It’s probably not worth the money except that it’s awesome. I like to live very well.
On my trip, I was behind a Ford Bronco just like mine, but when he hit the brakes, a large circular brake light His spare tire was burning behind it. Wow, great again. So I went online and found one. It was very affordable and plug-and-play. It was installed in about ten minutes. Easy peasy!
Another thing that my son liked about my vehicle was a car antenna Which is the size of a large caliber gun shell. Now I’m not a gun guy, but again, a little cool for a red-blooded American guy. I can hear Jess rolling her eyes as I type yes. Plus, you don’t have to worry about it in the car wash. It is only about 4 inches high. So that’s not a statement, it’s just clever.
With all the work I do here, I make a lot of sawdust. It’s a mess! I have all kinds of shop vacs to clean. They’re great, but they usually have a filter to clean when you empty them. Eventually, the filter will need to be replaced. Well, I figured it out shark messmasterThere is no filter to clean or replace, Everything goes into a built-in container that you take out and empty like the trash, Mean talk, You can put a plastic garbage bag in it so you never have to clean it, just throw the bag away, yes, impressive, I like to make my life simple,
I have some apple trees on my property, and suddenly, they decided to produce. Oh, what will I do with the apple? I can only make so many pies. I have a bow and arrows, but my children refuse to put apples on their heads for their William Tell father. Then I thought of applesauce. I can give it to my neighbors for the holidays. Wow! so i needed one apple peeler corerFound one at Williams-Sonoma, Given that I live in Sonoma, how could I miss this? Great job and I am in my second batch, I’m going to need more neighbors,
While I’m in the kitchen, let me tell you about it my new knife honorSteelport is a knife company in Portland, Oregon, I know he is fond of his knives, It seems that my metal knife hone has disappeared, Funny, I have my car keys, I should have reprimanded the grandchildren before leaving the premises after Thanksgiving, Anyway, in search of a new Honor, I wandered into a beautiful wood handled ceramic Honor from Steelport, I have never seen ceramics, It’s so beautiful, I don’t even care if it works or not, I know Steelport knives and can’t imagine this wouldn’t happen, By the way, their knives are also extraordinary,
This time of year, I start looking through calendars so I know where and when I’ll be next year. There are all kinds of good people out there. I’m a native of Chicago, and I met a man called ‘The’ Chicago BrickIt depicts various brick buildings throughout the city, With whom I am familiar, It’s a desktop, so I would also buy a wall calendar with larger numbers, Ha, Whatever your guy, dad or husband likes, I’m sure there’s a calendar for him,
I have a habit of always keeping a toothpick in my pocket. I think I got into this habit when I was a teenager that I thought I was a badass. Anyway, I got a silver toothpick box to put on my desk. It looks great and keeps my poor toothpicks on hand. I love it.
Lately, I’ve been craving malted milk shakes (oh oh, I’m back to my youth again). So, of course, I bought a single-stem mixeri found a vintage one EtsyMost evenings, I’ll have a strawberry malt to drink after dinner, I remember my dad and I going to Ken’s Dairy in Chicago when I was a kid, He’ll get a banana malt and I’ll get a strawberry, seems like yesterday, My nightly routine has become one of life’s little joys, I need all of them I can get, It takes a little practice to get the malt perfect, but once you get it, it’s like riding a bike, you never forget,
As you guys know, I travel the planet extensively. I have found that European men dress much less casually than American men. I like that. The holiday season is when I can dress up whenever I leave the house. I don’t mean a suit, but a nice shirt or a nice t-shirt a sport coat Do wonders for my mental state. When it gets a little chilly around here, I’ll break out the fedora, too. I may not be GQ material, but I can fake it well, ha! It’s amazing what a well-starched white cotton dress shirt can do for one’s appearance. When purchasing a white dress shirt, simply put your hand inside it and see if you can see your hand through it. If you can, the cotton fabric is not of high enough quality. You don’t want to see your hand through it. Anyway, this is my system. It seems to be working. i always search best quality white shirt At Nordstrom. Brooks Brothers brand is also quite good. They closed their stores, but his shirt These are still sold by Macy’s and some other department stores.
I love French cuffs and cufflinks. I have a huge assortment ranging from solid gold Texas stars silver airplaneWhatever your guy is interested in, I guarantee you can find cuff links to match him, It’s impressive when you give someone a French cuff shirt with the cuff links already added, It’s just old and good, I know I’m old school, but I love it,
I wore my tuxedo to see ExcuseAn audience immersion version of Phantom of the Opera in New York City last month. What an evening! Now this would be a great gift. This is one of the top 5 experiences of my entire life. There is a statement.
I hope you found my suggestions useful. I really enjoy sharing them with you. I’ve been on this planet for a while and I’ve learned that there are no “big deals” in life. It’s just a bunch of little joys, if you’re lucky, you can add them together and live a happy life. Remember, quality time is the best gift you can give anyone. It is a gift that always comes back to you. So why not cough on it? Of course, in case of emergency, there is always Jean jacketHa! I realize most of these gifts are for men (the gender I’m guilty of), but don’t worry, ahead Emily has great ideas for the women in your life, the stronger of both sexes, I wish you all a very happy and loving holiday season,
With gratitude,
Jessica Bunge’s father
for women
Okay, so it’s really hard to buy “things” for both Suze (who is turning 80 this year!!) and my mom. Remember when Suze created the first Boomer gift guide “No More Scarves!” Had written. Message received. We always give plane tickets for anyone to come visit us, and I’ll also give a photo book along. But it’s true that most things don’t go the way they want, and that’s what I get (same). I asked her for a list to share, but it was mostly gift cards or experiences. But there are some categories that still seem to be popular for IRL presentations.
suz always gets These ISDIN Vitamin C Capsules Because they’re fiddly, but she loves them (and that impressed me, and I really love them too). I’m going to take him My Favorite New Korean Beauty Gel This makes my face instantly glow (in a good way). You know, salmon sperm and whatnot.
she also really wants an infrared face mask
She also really wants a spa day with her DIL and granddaughter, which I think is so well-deserved, so I’m thinking we’ll get our nails done on Christmas when she visits, which might be a fun tradition (she had two boys, so never did these things with them, and she loves taking Elliot to get their nails done). Gift cards, check!
Digital Frames + Photo Books
I know aging parents (or grandparents) typically don’t want a lot of stuff or clutter, but it’s clear that they want to be surrounded by memories of the people they love. A digital frame, e.g. aura frameStill a great gift, and if you want to make the world’s easiest photo book, choose this one. journey (Seriously, so fast thanks to the AI that automatically populates it chronologically).
In reality, they want gift cards so they can shop, spend time with family/friends, and have new experiences. Plane tickets (or money for them) for travel are always appreciated. i buy a lot airbnb gift cardWhich they can use to book places to stay and experiences in the city. If I could project a little into the future, I know I would want time and experiences with my children or grandchildren, or sentimental, thoughtful gifts that remind me of my life with them. Thanks, Les, always for your insight. The internet definitely loves you.
*by photos Caitlin Green
