Gifts for an Elderly Man Who Has Everything

He has a garage full of tools, a closet of sweaters and a standard answer when you ask what he wants: nothing. When an elderly man has everything, the gifts that land give him something to do, someone to see or a story to tell again. Here are 12 ideas for a man in his late 70s, 80s or 90s who is hard to buy for. Our honest top pick is a song made from his stories, because men of his generation rarely hear out loud what they mean to people.

Hear a real Songbond song

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry his name and your stories.

12 gift ideas for an elderly man who has everything

1. A song made from the stories he tells ($39.90). The job he held for 40 years, the car he still talks about, the joke he tells at every dinner. You share them and Songbond turns them into an original song, ready within 24 hours. It is hard to shrug off a song about your own life.
2. An old friend, found again. Track down an army buddy, a work partner or a school friend he lost touch with, and set up a phone call. It costs nothing but a few evenings of searching, and it may be the best hour of his year.
3. A hot-towel shave at a proper barbershop. The chair, the hot towel, the straight razor and a little conversation. Usually $30 to $60. Go with him and get a haircut at the same time.
4. A ride on a heritage steam train. Many regions run restored trains on short scenic routes. Usually $30 to $80 a seat, and he will explain how the engine works whether you ask or not.
5. The box score from a game he saw as a boy. Ask him about the first big game his father took him to. Find the newspaper report in a library archive, then print and frame it. Usually $30 to $60 with the frame.
6. A hat that actually fits. A wool flat cap or a felt fedora, measured properly at a hat shop. Usually $40 to $100. It keeps the sun and the cold off, and he will not replace his old one himself.
7. A walking stick with some character. Carved hardwood with a proper rubber tip, cut to his height. Usually $40 to $120. A handsome stick gets used where a plain gray cane stays in the closet.
8. A tab at his coffee shop. Pay ahead for a month of his morning coffee at the place where he meets his friends. Usually $30 to $60, and it gives him a reason to keep going.
9. A build-it kit to finish with a grandchild. A birdhouse, a model ship or a small bookshelf. Usually $25 to $60. The point is the Saturday afternoon, with him in charge.
10. A behind-the-scenes tour. A working airfield, a factory, a rail yard or a ballpark before the gates open. Usually $20 to $80. Men who spent their lives making or fixing things love seeing how it is done now.
11. Reading glasses for every room. A pack of good pairs in his strength: one for the kitchen, the car, the bedside and the garage. Usually $20 to $40, and he stops hunting for the one pair he owns.
12. The magazine he used to buy, delivered. Fishing, cars, woodworking or history. Usually $20 to $50 a year, and it lands in his mailbox every month.

How to choose for a man who says he wants nothing

Ask what he did every Saturday at 50, then look for a version of it he can still enjoy. A man who loved his workshop still wants a project. A man who loved his team still wants the game.

• If he loves to talk: the steam train, the tour or the old friend found again.
• If he likes to keep his hands busy: the build-it kit, the magazine or the box score to frame.
• If he is slowing down: the reading glasses, the walking stick or the coffee tab.

What to write in his card

Men of his generation were rarely told what they meant to anyone, and many would be embarrassed if you said it at the table. The card is where you can. Skip 'you're the best.' Name one thing he taught you and when: how to back up a trailer, how to shake hands, how to fix a leaking tap at 11 at night. One specific sentence will be read more times than a page of praise. If you order the song, put that same memory in it.

Make a song from his stories

Create a song about his life. Tell us his stories and it is ready within 24 hours, or in about an hour with express delivery.

Also in the Journal: Father's Day songs for Grandpa and songs for an 80th or 90th birthday.