gifts for my elderly FIL.

December 16, 2005 1:08 PM

GiftFilter: What do I get my 76-year-old Father-in-Law for Christmas? (additional parameters inside)

He is smart, likes CNN and the weather channel, books on math and physics (I got him Wolfram and he liked it), a former Boeing engineer and department of environmental quality employee, and has a fairly new Imac that he likes. Doesn't like pop science reading as much. Widower. Likes talk radio. Needs to get out more. Lives alone. Budget: around 40 bucks. Likes walking. Cooks simple meals. Thank you.

posted by mecran01 to Human Relations (16 answers total)

For cooking: How to Cook Everything (the best cookbook evar). It has recipes for almost any basic dish you can think of, they're simple, and they always turn out well. Sort of like a modern Joy of Cooking.
posted by elquien at 1:14 PM on December 16, 2005

Maybe biographies of prominent mathematicians and physicists? I'm thinking of any of Feynman's books, specifically. Also, I always thought Fermat was incredibly interesting, and I'm sure there are some good books about him.
posted by Your postings will be signed with this name at 1:25 PM on December 16, 2005

"... Likes talk radio. Needs to get out more. Lives alone. Budget: around 40 bucks. Likes walking."

Man.... I'd consider an iPod Shuffle (closer to $99, but maybe could be found cheaper). Introduce him to podcasting. I listen to all sorts of stuff when I take my daily walk, and I enjoy it for the "talk-radio) sort of content...
posted by jpburns at 1:41 PM on December 16, 2005

I vote ipod shuffle (on sale?) + podcasting + subscribing him to a few worthwhile smartie podcasts. Some options: NOAA, NASA, NIST. You could, of course, do the podcast thing just on the Mac.
posted by jessamyn at 1:51 PM on December 16, 2005

How 'bout a pedometer? Closer to forty smackers than an iPod.
posted by fixedgear at 1:59 PM on December 16, 2005

Here's my list of interesting podCasts from awhile back...

You could, I guess, get him a generic MP3 player, but it'd be a lot less user (and senior-user) friendly.
posted by jpburns at 2:00 PM on December 16, 2005

Some of my favorite gifts are when people introduce me to interesting things I didn't know about. He might get a Kick out of Cooking for Engineers.
Sound him out about getting a dog. Dogs like to walk too and can be taught all sorts of things, many of which are very social for both the dog and the person. Agility classes and competitions etc. I've made some really good friends at the local dog park. Do Not just go get him a dog but maybe you could go with him to the humane society. A young adult would probably be better than a puppy unless he really loves puppies
Or you could get him a good pedometer.
posted by BoscosMom at 2:26 PM on December 16, 2005

Since he likes the Weather Channel, you could get him one of those desktop weather forecaster thingies. They have come down dramatically in price, and you can get a basic one that will show barometric pressure and temperature (up to three different sensors, I think), along with highs/lows for the last 24 hours and 'to date' (until cleared).
There are many brands to choose from, but in the NW, Fred Meyer seems to have the best selection/price, although Costco occasionally has them too.
If you wanted to spend waaayyy more (maybe the whole family could do this?) you could get him the whole she-bang with a wind gauge, outdoor hydro-thermometer, three temp sensors, and an indoor panel that reads it all and can even hook up to a computer (not sure about a Mac though... check the Oregon Scientific website, they seem to be the folks who make most of these) - but that costs around $150.00 these days (way down from their price of over $300 a few years ago, but still).
posted by dbmcd at 2:28 PM on December 16, 2005

Response by poster: Podcasting is an excellent idea--I can set him up with that for free. Not sure if he'd use the mp3 player.


Earthbrowser might be cool, and I think he'd use it.
posted by mecran01 at 2:34 PM on December 16, 2005

a sweater, a scarf, a jacket, etc.

I don't know too many 76 year olds that want to listen to music through earbuds, but who knows?

Long novels and non-fiction books are often not great gifts because tastes vary, but cookbooks can be great gifts for someone who cooks a lot.

If he has hobbies (fishing, golf, gardening, model building, etc.) often a nice gift is some little luxury to assist with the hobby.

Does he drink scotch or wine?
posted by caddis at 2:48 PM on December 16, 2005

I recently got an 80 year old relative this and it was a HUGE success. Getting through airport security with a pointed stick was somewhat more difficult, but my grandfather loved it and took it on his walks for the rest of his life.

If you go to the store, they have a pretty good selection for around $50 with different handles and baskets.
posted by Sheppagus at 2:50 PM on December 16, 2005

Ooooh, I'm liking those walking sticks. I'm all over that. He walks down hills to the local Fred Meyer store and that would be great.
posted by craniac at 2:57 PM on December 16, 2005

Podcasting is an excellent idea--

Cool.

Now maybe you can help me with an idea for my 79 year-old dad...

(sigh!)
posted by jpburns at 3:46 PM on December 16, 2005

For books, I'd reccommend anything by Richard Posner or Stephen J. Gould.
Maybe a Birdwatching guide?
Someone on askmefi mentioned Yaktrax the other day - they're a kind of strap-on tread for the soles of your shoes to prevent slipping on snow/ice. I believe they cost about $20.
posted by Radio7 at 5:42 PM on December 16, 2005

I totally recommend any of the Feynman stuff. QED (Quantum Electrodynamics) is great but short. The autobiographies are supposed to be terrific.
posted by unSane at 6:17 PM on December 16, 2005

- One of those wireless weather stations
- nice birdfeeder
- prescription goggles for swimming (good exercise, easy on joints, social!)
- ham radio (can just get the standalone HF receiver as recommended in that thread - no license needed)
- DVDs of an old TV series he loved, or Band of Brothers, or some religious series (if he's inclined)
- magazine subscription - one of the many science magazines, Saveur (cooking with lots of engineering concepts!), aviation magazines
- remote-controlled airplane - fun at parks!
- kite, new walking shoes, guide to the area, Toastmasters?
- 'experience' present - lots of recent AskMes on this. Such as: tickets to an event with you or another loved one, cooking classes with someone else, race car driving, hot air balloon ride.
- if these are over your budget, you can always go in on the cost of the gift with someone else!
posted by fionab at 7:39 PM on December 16, 2005