Gifts for older people - great gift ideas for the elderly.

As parents, grandparents and friends get older, it becomes increasingly more difficult to come up with gift ideas for birthday and Christmas presents. My parents are both in their 70's and I find it so frustrating each year to actually produce a gift that is original and one that they don't already have. My dad must have enough new clothes to dress the entire street and my mum has so much perfume, bags and jewellery that she could open up her own shop and stay in business for years!

So what do you get the older person as a gift? Hopefully by reading on you will find my ideas helpful.

1. Family Portrait (professionally created) - You could arrange for the whole family to be photographed and the finished portrait would have pride of place in their home. The cost could be split between other family members. In my opinion, this is one of the most treasured gifts that could be given to someone.

2.Gift card or voucher - Why not give them a voucher which they can use to treat themselves to their favourite things i.e. hairdressers, a play or show, restaurant, gardening, spa day, weekend break, books, music, clothing, DIY, magazine subscriptions, days out etc, etc - the list is endless.

3. Freeview box - With the digital changeover being phased in this year, this would be a good opportunity to keep their tv channels up to date. If you are unsure of when the changes are happening in each area, you can log onto www.digital.co.uk and simply enter the postcode and house number. Details of the dates of the switch over for that particular address will be shown.

4. Scrapbook - Give them the gift of love. Collect as many photographs from family and friends and make up a scrapbook of memories. A gift that will be truly cherished for years to come at very little expense. Another option would be to put some photographs onto a digital photo frame which displays their favourite times.

5. Newspaper - Many companies now offer a newspaper from the exact date of the recipients birth. It is a blast from the past. I ordered my dad one for his 70th birthday and it was delighted. It was an original newspaper with a certificate of authenticity, and beautifully boxed.

6. DVD collection - There are many DVD boxed sets on the market nowadays. I recently gave my mum a collection of Audrey Hepburn movies which she enjoyed immensely. There are also a lot of comedy, sports and television sets from different eras which make a wonderful gift. If they don't already have a dvd player, they are now relatively inexpensive and prices start from around £25