It will soon be Valentine’s Day and, as a senior home care provider, you will want to make the day special. Nothing shows you care like a gift made with your own hands. This gift will have special meaning because you made the effort and spent the time to do it yourself. The person you provide home care services for might also want to make a gift for a daughter or grandchild. Depending on your senior’s ability, they will be able to complete most of these ideas with maybe just a little help from their caregiver.
1. Brownies. Make the brownies according to directions. When cooled, cut the brownies with a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Top with red, white, or pink sprinkles.
2. Valentine meals. Besides preparing their favorite meal, add a little love to your preparation. Cut cucumber slices into hearts with a cookie cutter or freehand with a paring knife. Cut out the center of a slice of bread in the shape of a heart. Butter and place on the griddle. Crack an egg into the heart-shaped hole and cook as usual. How about making pancakes, but make them Xs and Os! A little goes a long way toward making a special Valentine’s Day meal.
3. Plants. Purchase small buckets, or you can even use empty soup cans or empty cans of fruits or vegetables. Clean well and, when completely dry, paint the outside in pinks, whites and reds. They can be painted solid colors or in a design with different colors, depending on you or your senior’s artistic ability. When the paint is dry, fill with soil and a small plant. It will be even more special if you can use a cutting from one of your own plants. If you don’t have a plant to put in the container, give the planter along with a package of seeds that the person can then plant.
4. Wreath. Purchase a plain wreath of grapevine, straw, or wireframe and artificial flowers to cover the wreath. You could use all roses in pinks and reds for an elegant look or pink hydrangeas for a full, luscious look. You will also need a wire cutter (the wire cutter on needlenose pliers is good enough) and possibly a roll of wire. Depending on the type of wreath you are using and the length of the stems on the flower choice, you may be able to just poke the stem into the wreath, and it will be stable.
If you have short stems or are using a wireframe, you will probably need to secure the flowers to the wreath with wire. Simply run the wire through the stem of the flower, and then place where you want on the wreath and twist the wire to secure it in place.
5. Rocks. You will need flat rocks to write on. If you live near a beach, you may be able to collect these, and they will have the added sentiment of a memory of the fun day at the beach. You can either paint the rock or leave it natural, and then add Valentine’s Day words like LOVE, HUGS, KISSES.
6. Candy Container. You will need a canning jar as your container, along with a lid and ring. Purchase the candy, something like chocolate kisses in pastel foil or M&Ms in the pink and reds. Place the candy in the jar. Cut a square of Valentine fabric large enough to cover the lid and ring. Tie the fabric in place with a pretty ribbon. You could also replace the ribbon with a pink ponytail band.
7. Mobile. Make a mobile for Valentine’s Day. Get a stick from a tree or bush in the yard. It will need to be about 6” in length. Cut hearts from colored paper and attach with a glue gun or staple to a length of yarn. Tie the yarn to the stick. Add as many lengths of yarn as you like, depending on the length of the stick. Use another piece of yarn tied to both ends of the stick to hang your mobile.
You can add glitter or stickers to the hearts to give a different look. Use twine instead of yarn or cut your hearts from decorative paper plates or the red plastic disposable plates. Experiment with different sizes of hearts.
While these ideas are perfect for Valentine’s Day, they all can be changed into any holiday gift. Instead of heart shapes, use stars. Have Easter eggs hanging from your mobile. Use the heart-shaped foods for your senior’s birthday. Most of all, have fun making one-of-a-kind gifts!
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