[Music Playing]Mary Alexandria: Hi, I am Mary Alexander from Home Instead Senior Care. Today, I am talking about traveling and shopping with our senior loved ones. We will also touch on some gadgets that make great gifts. Traveling during the holidays, whether it's across town or across the country can be frustrating and full of delays. To help you with trips with your senior loved ones, go smoother, here are a few tips. Patch your schedule to allow plenty of time. The roads are busiest on the days right before and after the major holiday. Call ahead and make arrangements with the hotel, church, synagogue or airport for wheel chair and other special equipment they may need. If you think, you will need even more help, call a family friend or contact a home care company to obtain a caregiver to assist with the trip. Safety is a prime consideration when traveling the elderly. Balance and footing are challenges for many seniors. Rainy or snowy weather conditions can make them even more so. And don't forget to pack their address book, which lists all of their doctor's phone numbers as well as their medications and cell phone.

The holiday season also is a time for gift giving and many seniors like to do their own shopping but they need a bit of help. Be sure to determine the time of day to go when you know your senior will have the most energy.

If your senior has health issues, don't plan an entire day away from home. If your senior needs oxygen, medications or a cane, make sure you have those items before leaving the house. So now that you have helped your senior do their holiday shopping, what are some practical gifts you can give them?

As we age, being on one's own becomes more challenging. Here are a few gadgets geared toward making independent living easier. A large button cell phone is a good idea. They make calling easier for seniors with a large lighted display, big buttons, speed dialing and caller ID. Designed primarily for the hearing impaired but useful for all of us, are door bells and telephones that flash a light in addition to ringing. A large button universal TV remote control is another handy tool that makes seeing the numbers and pressing the right buttons so much easier for seniors.

Lastly, seniors find digital clocks confusing and hard to set, so give them a large faced electric wall clock. It's easy to read and has no batteries to replace. So those are just a few traveling and holiday shopping tips for this season.