Are you only seeing lists of mugs, wine glasses, and candles with some snarky phrase about being retired? If you get that for your retiring lady, she will smile and say thanks but will she really use it?
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It’s time to consider retirement gifts for women that they will actually love, not just another tchotchke.
This list also isn’t about forcing a new hobby on them at the beginning of their retirement. Unless you factually know they are into a specific hobby, then YES, shower them with stuff in that genre.
But do not buy them garden seeds and tools if you’ve never heard they had an interest in this before. Also, do not buy them tons of coloring books if you truly don’t know they will enjoy this activity.
Instead, I encourage you to give things that encourage them to explore this new phase of life with something more neutral. See below for 10 unique ideas!
What is a proper retirement gift anyway?
Women ready to retire have seen it all. Many of them have been married, raised children, and worked through a lot of drama in their lives both at work and at home.
A proper retirement gift for women these days is something they will actually use and not create more clutter in their lives. Consider your relationship with the woman retiring, to gauge “appropriateness” of the gift you are thinking of giving, but regardless, please no more useless things.
At this point in their lives, they know what an afterthought gift was versus what you really contemplated thoughtfully. Don’t waste your money on afterthought gifts.
How much should you spend on retirement gifts?
Usually, retirement gifts range from $10-30. This is because most retirement gifts come from your fellow coworkers who are potentially the most impacted by the retirement itself. However, if the retiring woman is a very close friend or family member, a higher price range makes a lot of sense as well.
Here are the top 10 retirement gifts for women that no one has suggested
If you are able to get the shoe size of the person retiring, casual sneakers or athletic shoes are great choices. Shoes encourage them to get out and exercise and if you as the gift giver has a good eye for fashion, it also gives your retiree a step up in getting out and about in some trendy and comfortable shoes.
Sure, everyone can watch a movie at home these days, especially if you have subscriptions to everything. But when you’re retired, it might be nice to watch movies in a more dramatic way than that. Getting a retiree out of the house to watch an awesome action movie, maybe even with their spouse or retired friends would make for an excellent evening out.
I personally love being able to see how many steps I’ve taken, how many calories I’ve burned, and reminders to move. Retirement can lead to a sedentary lifestyle and many older women have high cholesterol, high blood pressure and/or diabetes. In fact, according to WebMD, “over half of all Americans age 60 and older have it,” high blood pressure that is. A fitness tracker can help keep up reminders to stay active in retirement and keep their health a priority.
A brand new luggage set would encourage anyone to want to make travel plans around it. Retirement gifts for women around traveling more is a great idea. New luggage can mean anything from an exciting getaway to a long overdue visit with family. Either way, it’s a gift that creates ideas and plans for this next freer phase of life.
Depending on if your retiring lady is an avid reader, a Kindle might be a great idea. Reading more always seems to be on the list of what many women wish they had more time to do. This would be the perfect time and providing a way to make reading easier will only get them finally started.
We all take tons of pictures on our phones, but hardly anyone really takes the time to develop them anymore. A lot of people forget to do it or simply don’t have the time. Why not eliminate some of those obstacles and get your retiree an instant polaroid camera? This allows them to immediately get their hands on a moment they want to capture.
Similarly to new luggage, a cute luggage tag and passport holder can spark just enough excitement to encourage them to book their next new adventure.
In retirement, you go from going to work every single day to suddenly no longer having to do that. If your retiree hasn’t yet made any plans for their daily routine, a brand new agenda might be a great way to get them started.
I love that agendas can help make plans, keep schedules and even memory plan. They are very versatile as an unique creative outlet and as a functional planning medium.
Whether it’s a vacation hat, sports hat, or hiking hat, any of these would get the retiring woman in your life out and about and that is why I recommend these. As you get older, your skin gets a little more fragile and thin. Age spots can occur more easily, so it’s a good idea to wear a hat when outdoors. Why not provide the perfect ensemble piece to complete their look outdoors?
I have not met a single person who does not love this movable Ipad holder. You can use this lying down in bed, on your favorite couch or even while cooking something in the kitchen. It has a wide range of motion and takes the load off your arms so that you can be hands free. No one is going to want to use a dinky Ipad case holder once they have one of these.
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