Dementia UK’s Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline has put forward its list of gift suggestions for families with the condition to enjoy this Christmas, and all year round. The Helpline, the only nurse-led helpline for people facing dementia in the UK, regularly takes calls from families who find the Christmas period challenging. This can be the result of families not knowing how best to include or engage a relative with dementia and who are perhaps looking for gift suggestions to help with this. Theirlist of Christmas gift suggestions is focussed around items which have music, interactivity, aromatherapy and identity at their heart:
Twiddlemuffs: These are usually made from wool and are attached with various items, such as bobbles, which people can play with. If a person with dementia becomes agitated or is sat there doing things with their fingers, twiddlemuffs can be a great way to ease stress and give the person something to focus on.
Reminescents’ box: Reminiscence is all about evoking memory and emotion and the use of scents and aromas can be a way to make this happen. These boxes can be homemade and filled with scents which are really individual for the person with dementia. Young people can get involved too and help to guess the scents with their relative.
Music: Everyone has different types of music which they enjoy and this does not change when someone develops dementia. Some music can evoke some really positive memories so it can always help to gift someone a song, an album of an artist or soundtrack which they have enjoyed previously.
ID jewellery: This type of jewellery is personalised, helping to maintain a person with dementia’s identity and wellbeing. There are many types of this jewellery available on the market, with a number of styles to suit various tastes, such as Pandora style bracelets or even jewellery with a charm on it. It can also include a person’s name, details of their condition for medical professionals as well as contact details for a family member or close friend in case of an emergency.
