Top five gifts that my senior elders appreciated

Christmas Day has passed…. But since Filipinos celebrate the longest Holiday Season, there’s still until New Year and Three Kings to give those gifts to the people you love. In the case of my senior citizen elders, the things they asked from me can be considered old old school…. But something they kept pressing me for.  These things are not as pricey- and can be described as simple, basic. No fuss, no frills. Just the way to go when you want something easy and uncomplicated. Here are the top five gifts that my senior elders appreciated:

1. Radio

The appeal of radio remains to this day as it provides an unobtrusive source of news and information and entertainment. Unobtrusive in a sense that you can just leave it on and let it play- and you don’t have to stop whatever it is you’re doing to make sure you get entertained by it. Furthermore, the radio Is also light and portable- and runs on both batteries and power cord. This  makes it very adaptable.

2. Calendar

I know that many of you will question the need for physical calendars, given the fact that we always carry out cellphones everywhere we go. But there is beauty to be had, I guess, from having an actual calendar plastered on the door or wall. Maybe it’s our elders’ way of feeling secure of the day and month and year- and that they’re still very much a part of it- or a way for them to look back or look forward to important dates and occasions and the people and places they associate them with.

3. A GMA Affordabox

With the ABS-CBN TV Plus a part of history, it’s only but logical for anyone dependent on Free TV to get a GMA Affordabox so they can watch their favorite tv shows. Yes, those ABS-CBN shows you used to binge on are no longer available, but TV is still very much part of a Filipino’s household. If we want old school entertainment apart from radio, a GMA Affordabox is the way to go.

4. A basic phone

Minus all that blah blah on screen resolution, that awesome camera and that great memory capacity, all our elders really need to do on a phone is to call. Not even text. They simply want to communicate as simply as possible. And the best way is to give them a basic phone. I remember giving my Dad one of those touch phones. And it rang to no end while he was inside a fast-food chain, all because he didn’t know what to swipe and answer the call.

5. A DVD player

Yes, not everyone has the capacity to stream, download or subscribe to Netflix. That is why there are still those cheap DVD players sold in Raon- where one can play their DVD or CD-laden movies. They also have those portable sets- a disc player with screen that’s easy to carry around.