ALT-4 Gift Ideas for Senior Travelers
Since my mother took her well earned retirement over a decade ago she has found the time to travel at least four times a year to destinations all over the world.During these years of travelling I have sought out gifts and gadgets that hopefully help her out and make the holidays a little more stress free.
Each year my mother has found walking a little harder to do but she did not want to carry around a walking stick as she felt it dented her pride a bit, so I went out and bought her a folding one. This handy little item can be stowed away in her handbag until she feels she has to use it, out of sight and ready for use in an instance, it is also far easier to take these on board aircraft than the fixed type. Being the independant woman that she is it is also far easier when using public transport in the many places she visits, no more jabbing people in the foot or poking them in the eye!
One other little gadget that go's everywhere with her is a little wind up radio I gave her one Christmas, no longer does she need to worry about carrying batteries or having to pay extortionate prices for them. With this handy little item she just winds the handle for a minute to get a half hour of stereophonic bliss. The other plus side to this is that it comes with a small built in torch, not everywhere she goes has the most reliable of electric supply and having an everlasting torch can be a real bonus.
Flight socks are another usefull small gift for the regular traveller. With the ever present threat of DVT on medium and long haul flights these can be a real life saver and can ease the symptoms of swollen ankles that many travellers get during a flight.
There are many other ideas that I am sure you are thinking of right now, the best advice is to try them out, somethings are definately usefull, whilst many can safely be called useless, the only way to find out sometimes is by trial and error. So, from experience, leave the solar powered fan baseball cap on the shelves and buy a tin of boiled sweets, great for relieving pressure in your ears during take offs/landings, great for those times when you need a bit of sugar rush, great for offering to your travel companions to break the ice.
Happy travelling!
