Gift ideas for parents who still live in their own home?

Giving of your time is the most valuable gift you can give (anyone).

Both my Mother and my MIL love their crocheted necklaces. I found them on Etsy. They are pretty and lightweight and they get a lot of compliments on them.

I ordered from Omaha Steaks, this week for my sister in law. Take a look at that.

How about a small CD player and some of the Big Band Tunes or whatever music or stories they liked?

Reader's Digest has a large print book. It has interesting and fun things to read.

As a caregiver I have a special dislike for one thing that people in my family give -- gift cards! Especially those for restaurants we don't visit. They don't offer to do the work of taking them. It is just something else I have to do. Gift cards for places like Wal-Mart or the grocery store someone goes to are fine. Other gift cards are a bad choice unless the recipient drives or you plan to take them to use the card.

The best gift for my mother is something pretty to wear or candy. I can never go wrong if I stick to those two things. The best gift for my father was always something shiny and collectible, or some type of little tool. He was hard to buy for.

If they like to send greeting cards to family/friends, you could make up address labels for these people. Perhaps 10 each would work, so your parent(s) can just sign a card and put the address label on it. For my Mom her writing has become difficult to read and it isn't easy for her to write, so this is a good solution. Could they benefit from some adjustments around the house? Sturdy railings at stairs, better nightlights, deadbolt locks on doors, new double pane windows, etc. Have a room painted, give them new curtains, reframe their favorite pictures into a nice wall arrangement. Is there a family member or friend they haven't seen in a while? Could you afford to pay that person's plane fare to come for a visit? If their vision is a challenge could they do better with a larger screen television?

My mother doesn't see well, so we gave her a BIG digital picture frame. She loves it.

Mom is 95 and likes to receive flowers, 40s music, DVDs of old concerts and TV variety shows, soft and fluffy throws to cover her when seated, shoes, slippers, colorful sun-catchers, fancy greeting cards with lots of glitter and especially visits from her daughters and their families.

There are a lot of good suggestions here. It depends on the person and their interests, which is good to encourage at every age. When he was alive, my father used to like recording of old radio shows, or big band era music. At one point, I got my mother a Kindle from Amazon, which might seem unbelievable now, but when her AD was early she could still use it. The value of this is that with a Kindle you can change the font size to ANY size. So that you could read many, many books with a very large font. She was able to use it for nearly a year. There is also a group I have heard of called Local Church Bible Publisher that offer a 24 point spiral bound New Testament excerpt from John, Romans, and Psalms.

My parents no longer need anything either. But the gift they treasure the most is memories. So we take them special places, like a drive through their favorite park, visit a museum, "walk" through a formal garden or a woods. I put walk in quotes because they are both wheelchair bound, so we pack up the wheelchairs and take them to a paved path through the woods in a local park. We relive those memories many times after, so the gift keeps giving. And you're right about chocolate, Pam.

I've given Mom mulch because she loved to garden. Always a hit is a current picture of the family. Or a picture of them from their youth and putting in a nice frame or a fridge magnet or onto mugs. If you have very young children or grandchildren, they could draw / make coasters or placemats. Lastly, homemade "coupons" for lunch, flower planting, yard cleanup, or anything related to "just because" time. I don't think they want anything expensive. At their age, they prefer our time. And our help without having to ask.

CHOCOLATE IS ALWAYS A WINNER!!!

The Rolodex was a great idea. I've sent packages from Omaha Steaks to a few older relatives. It's convenient for those who don't get to the grocery store as much. Omaha Steaks gave a nice selection of steak/fish, vegetables/potatoes and deserts. Depending on the gift pkg. combination, it can last awhile.