20 Helpful Gifts for People With Dementia in Every Stage

Bird-watching is a hobby that is soothing at all stages of life, and using a bird feeder with suction cups that can attach to a window is a great way for a homebound person with dementia to get a little peek at nature from the comfort and safety of their own home.

"I installed [this] on a living room window where a 97-year-old lady sits most of her day," wrote one Walmart reviewer of this feeder. "It has brought joy and excitement to her." Need we say more?

My mom was the undefeated Trivial Pursuit champion of my family, so I wish I had known about this card game when she first started having trouble finding the right word.

Designed for people in the early- to mid-stage of dementia, the easy-to-read cards prompt players to finish common phrases, like "A roof over our____." It's simple enough for players to feel a sense of accomplishment when they get the right answer, and a fun way for families to exercise their language skills together.

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One of the best gifts I ever gave my parents was a digital photo frame — my brother and I would upload photos of the grandkids from our phones, which were then displayed on a continuous slideshow in the frame in their living room, miles away.

This turned out to be an especially significant gift in the early months of the pandemic, when visits to their assisted living home were severely limited. Qualls is a fan of this frame from Skylight, which she says sparked conversations between her father and his wife any time new pictures showed up.

Adult coloring books have become a booming market in the last few years, as people of all ages have discovered the calming nature of coloring in the lines. A large-print coloring book is an excellent choice for someone with mid-stage dementia, who can still hold a chunky crayon and enjoy the beauty of their creation.

"My 91-year-old mother loves this book because it's easier for her to see and the designs are so pretty," wrote one Amazon reviewer of this particular coloring book.

If your loved one is in the later stages of dementia, the best gifts are those that engage their senses, says Qualls. "Sensory pleasure is usually retained," she says.

A supersoft fleece blanket not only keeps them warm and snuggly on a cold night, but gives them something pleasurable and soothing to touch. Bedsure's sherpa is one of our top throw blanket picks and a GH Bedding Award winner for its luxurious feel at a bargain price. With velvet on one side and fleece on the other, it has two different types of stimulating texture.

Fidget toys aren't just for small children or anxious adults. People with dementia may find comfort from the sensory play with the soft blanket, wooden beads, orbit fidget and other features of this muff they can hold in their lap — it has more than 1,000 positive reviews on Amazon.

Even several years into her Alzheimer's diagnosis, my mom loved to reminisce about her days growing up in the Bronx — she seemed to remember every block of her old neighborhood, even if she couldn't remember her current address.

Bookstores and web sites are full photo collections from different parts of the country and the world. Find one featuring your loved one's hometown, then page through it together and let the memories flow.

Smell is a powerful sense, and one whiff of these pretty little soaps in nose-tingling scents including lavender, jasmine and wild rose, can stir up lovely sense memories for your loved one. Perhaps they'll even tell you about that romantic trip to Provence they took a few decades ago.

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This cozy gift hits the jackpot by stimulating two important senses — touch and smell. With non-skid bottoms for extra grip, these fuzzy socks are infused with the relaxing scent of lavender. They come with a bonus sachet that you can keep in a clothing drawer or on a nightside table to lull your loved one to sleep at the end of the day.

If your mom or dad is the early stages of dementia and can still access stories from their past, write them down! This handsome journal has pages of prompts that can gently coax memories of your loved one's childhood, romances and adventures.

Find your favorite old photos, and paste them in, then write down the stories behind them. This is a great project for grandkids to work on with their grandparents, and it is an invaluable way to capture those memories before they disappear.

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My mother-in-law loved cats — she fostered several until she became too frail to care for one. So when she developed dementia and was bedridden after a bad fall, she found great comfort in holding and petting this lifelike robotic cat, which purrs, mews and moves its head like the real thing (without requiring the owner to feed it or change the litter box).

It's very common for people with cognitive impairment to lose track not only of the day of the week, but also of whether it's morning or night — and even whether it is 2024 or 1973. This easy-to-read digital clock can help orient your loved one to the day, the time and the year.

While tapping and scrolling on a smartphone may seem like second nature to anyone born after 1960, it can be confusing for people with dementia, especially if they also have poor vision.

To make things easier for my dad, who had macular degeneration in addition to cognitive decline, we bought him this easy-to-use phone, which has large text and big, easy-to-press buttons. He loved being able to call and check in with me without having to ask an aide to help him dial. Service plans start at $20 per month.

It becomes difficult for someone with memory loss to follow the plot of a novel or to make sense of long paragraphs, but they can still enjoy looking at beautiful illustrations. Qualls recommends this gorgeous Nat Geo book featuring Joel Sartore's "extraordinary and intriguing" photos of thousands of different reptiles, mammals, birds, fish and more from around the globe.

Smart speakers may be one the greatest inventions ever for people with dementia. We used to say my dad had a new girlfriend, and her name was Alexa. Even deep into Alzheimer's, my mom would still perk up when my dad asked Alexa to play Frank Sinatra or Judy Garland, and when he couldn't read anymore or even figure out how to turn on the TV, Dad could still ask Alexa for the score of the Mets game.

You can also program Alexa to remind your parents of tasks they need to do each day, and it can allow them to make hands-free phone calls.

A very simple way for your loved one to play the music of their youth is with this retro-looking digital music player. Simply lift the handle that says "Play Music" and it will start spinning their favorite tunes. The player comes preloaded with 40 classic American songs, and you can add your parent's personal playlist (Rosemary Clooney? Harry Belafonte? The Beatles?) via the USB port in the back.

"I love the security weighted blankets offer my mom," says Lewis. "They reduce her anxiety, and she sleeps well at night."

Our Good Housekeeping Institute testers loved that this weighted blanket is both lightweight and affordably priced. Best of all, it is one of the few weighted blankets available with a washable cover, so your loved one doesn't have to worry if they accidentally spill their drink or snack while snuggling up.

Whether you have hundreds of pictures of the grandkids that exist only on your phone, or boxes of fading black-and-white snapshots featuring poodle skirts and bouffant hairdos, this linen-bound album gives you a perfect place to organize them.

Pick a few photos representing all the family members at different ages, label them and and slide them into the pockets for a flipbook of family history. This linen album holds up to 600 photos and comes in 15 classic colors.

To help your loved one stay independent as long as possible, consider buying them adaptive clothing that is easy to put on and take off, with velcro or magnetic closures rather than tricky-to-manipulate buttons.

This colorful men's shirt with magnetic buttons from Joe and Bella was co-designed by and named for the actor and Alzheimer's advocate Seth Rogan — a portion of the proceeds go to his Alzheimer's nonprofit, Hilarity for Charity.

Several of my friends have raved about how easy it is to create a personalized calendar for their mom or dad from Canva (or Snapfish or Shutterfly).

Not only can you upload personal photos that will spark warm memories, but you can add in all the important family dates —birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, when the grandkids get back from camp — as a useful reminder for a loved one who wants to stay involved in all the family events but can't quite remember when they are.