10 gifts the older people on your list will love

Choosing the perfect gift for your parents or grandparents can be challenging: How do you bring joy to those who’ve given you so much of themselves without cluttering up their homes? The answer, of course, lies in gifts that are both thoughtful and practical. These selections are sure to make them feel loved and appreciated, which is the best gift of all.

Perfectly portioned freezer meals

Meal-prepping isn’t only for young, busy professionals. Older folks can also benefit from having perfectly portioned, home-cooked meals available at a moment’s notice. Souper Cubes, available in 1/2-, 1- and 2-cup sizes, are like large ice cube trays that can hold soups, sauces, cooked vegetables and other prepared foods in the freezer. Made of silicone with an embedded steel frame, the BPA-free trays have snug-fitting lids to avoid spills and keep odors out. And they can go straight from the freezer to the oven and then into the dishwasher for easy cleanup. Available in Blueberry, Aqua, Charcoal and Cranberry. $19.95 and up; supercubes.com

Light + Sound

You don’t have to be tech-savvy or even have a clunky Bluetooth speaker to stream music around your home. GE’s LED+ speaker bulb screws into most standard light fixtures, connects to your in-range phone or tablet via Bluetooth and plays your music. Use just one or sync up to 10 bulbs for a surround-sound experience without the need for wiring, Wi-Fi, a hub or even an app. A remote with speaker and light control is included but not necessary for operation. $27; GElighting.com.

A few sips . . .

Folks who enjoy an occasional glass of wine at home may hesitate to open an entire bottle for themselves. Or they may go ahead and imbibe, store the bottle and later discover it is no longer drinkable. But the new Coravin Timeless Three+ wine-by-the-glass system will let them have their wine and drink it too. Using a needle to pierce the cork, the device allows users to pour one glass at a time without exposing the vintage to oxidizing air. When the needle is removed, the cork’s pinhole naturally contracts, promising to keep the bottle’s remaining wine fresh for “weeks, months or even years.” Available in Deep Sea Blue and Black, each set includes two argon capsules, two screw caps and an aerator. $249; coravin.com

Fancy fruit

Instead of chocolates or cookies, consider giving a truly unique food gift: Pink Glow pineapples. Grown exclusively in Costa Rica, the rare and unusual fruits get their color from lycopene, a natural pigment also present in tomatoes and watermelon. They’re also juicier and sweeter than traditional pineapples. Shipped in a colorful gift box along with a certificate of authenticity. $49 for one and $79 for a set of two, including shipping; tropicalfruitbox.com

Hands-free shoes

Skechers Hands-Free Slip-ins have made it possible to put on sneakers and other shoe styles without having to bend over. This is great news for everyone and potentially life-changing news for anyone with a bad back, troublesome knees or other accessibility issues. A “Heel Pillow” keeps the shoe back upright and holds your foot securely in place. Available in dozens of styles and colors for men, women and kids (the men’s Bounder 2.0-Emerged in Slate is pictured here). $38.99-$165;
skechers.com

​​​​​Home, sweet home

If there’s one member of the family that’s most often forgotten, it’s the home. It’s where children are raised, meals are shared and holidays enjoyed. So why not have its portrait painted and hung on the wall for all to see? Submit a high-quality image of the house to myDaVinci, then select a size and style or medium (pencil sketch, oil or watercolor painting), and an artist’s rendering will be emailed for your approval, then finalized, framed and sent. $64 and up; mydavinci.com

Warm, dry & connected

Isotoner’s new Shortie Stretch Microsuede gloves aren’t, well, your grandmother’s gloves. But they should be: Made from recycled fabric, the supersoft, warm and water-repellent gloves allow rain and snow to roll off their surface without the use of chemicals. Touchscreen-enabled fingertips will help wearers stay in touch, and the gloves’ decorative stitching makes them feel even more special. $44; isotoner.com

A personalized subscription service

Keeping in touch with loved ones from a distance can be challenging, especially if those loved ones aren’t especially tech-savvy. But for a fixed monthly fee, you can sign up for NanaGram, which will print and mail your photos across the miles. Just select a subscription level (determined by the number of monthly photos you’d like to send) and text the images with captions to a designated phone number. The service will then print and mail glossy, 4x6-inch snapshots to the recipient. You can share the submission phone number with friends and relatives.
Starting at $6.99 monthly (for three photos);
nanagram.co

A TV lifeline

If your difficulty with technology interferes with your loved one’s ability to keep in touch, a JubileeTV set-top box can help. Its senior-friendly, remote functionality allows for TV troubleshooting from afar, as well as video calls, photo sharing and even safety monitoring from their connected television via your mobile app. Alerts, such as appointment or medication reminders, can be programmed to pop up while they’re watching TV, and an optional voice-remote setting makes operation easy. $199 for the equipment plus a subscription fee ($29 monthly or $269 annually); getjubileetv.com

Special deliveries

Make shopping or mealtimes easier with a gift card to a same-day, food- or grocery-delivery service. There are plenty to choose from – DoorDash, GrubHub, Instacart, PostMates, Shipt, UberEats and more, plus options from their favorite local retailers. You might even go a step further and set up an account, then download the app onto their phones or offer to place their orders.