My parents are in their late 60s and early 70s and live in a tiny, 1
bedroom apartment filled with furniture and items from their home of
40 years. It's very hard to think of what to get them for Christmas. 
Dad has no hobbies and is showing signs of alzheimers.  Mom is an
accomplished watercolor painter and sewer, but has no space in her
appt to do either very often or without massively re-arranging the
appt for the duration of the project.  Their place is overflowing...
so I have no idea whatsoever on what to get them (either the two of
them together, or each one).  My sister had a great idea and is
getting them satellite radio. But, I can't think of anything...

Mom:
"Aunt Bea" from the Andy Griffith Show.
Mushy and sentimental. Sweet lady.  
Really smart.
A bit of a pack rat
Great cook, great artist, great sewer, but no room to do any of these things
Not very mobile due to bad knees.
Involved in church.
Gets no time alone.

Dad:
"Felix Unger" from the Odd Couple.
Neurotic. Sarcastic humor.
Can't stand anything out of place. Has to always be straightening up things.
No hobbies, can't operate a remote control. Used to love to read, but
struggles now.
Kinda smart, but limited attention span due to Alzheimers. (Makes it
hard for him to read, watch TV, etc.)
76 years old, so not very active other than general anxiety/pacing,
but does try to walk and run at least one errand each day.

Can you see why I'm having trouble?  Yikes. Any good ideas out there?
I do love them and want to give them something special.  Budget is
about $150 total...

Hello, anonymussedhair-ga! 


 I am so happy that you like my suggestion! Thank you for accepting it
as the "official" answer. I think your parents will be absolutely
thrilled with your thoughtfulness and the pleasure of looking at many
pictures they may not have seen in years.

Here goes:

One year I made a gift for my parents that they have never forgotten.
I made several collages of photographs for each month of the year, and
then took them to Kinko's to have the collages copied and made into a
monthly calendar. January started with a collage of pictures including
my parents marriage photograph, pictures of us as kids, etc. Then the
months went on with marriage announcement of the children,
grandchildren pictures, etc. My parents were absolutely thrilled
because they hadn't seen the pictures in years, and each month they
looked upon lots of wonderful memories! It didn't take long to make,
and as long as you have extra copies of photographs, it's sorta fun to
cut and arrange them.

==

Have fun making the calendar, and seeing the smiles on their faces as
they "discover" each month!

Merry Christmas - to you, and your parents!

umiat

There are some beautiful tabletop fountains on the market. There's
something very soothing and pleasant about a fountain.

If this idea is appealing, you might want to browse through this site:

http://www.simplyfountains.com/indoor-fountains/shop.cfm?N=2084+2086

An oil of the family might be nice. You can get individul pictures and
have the painter make one from them, or get everyone to sit for a
photo and have that painted.

What about one or a few audiobooks? You mentioned your mom is active
in church - does your dad share her religious faith even if he's not
active? The Bible is available as an audiobook, in several different
translations, online, downloadable or on cd. Perhaps this is something
they could enjoy together. Here are a few links:

Free mp3 audio format - downloadable:
http://www.audiotreasure.com/

Selection of online audio Bibles:
http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/audio/

Variety of Bibles and religious books in various formats:
http://www.simplyaudiobooks.com/processInterfaceAction.php?pId=130&gId=112

And perhaps just audiobooks in general might be of interest. If so,
here's a more general link:
http://www.audiobooks.com/

Good luck. I'm sure you'll find something suitable! 
Byrd-ga

Get them something they would buy themselves - something that is
practical that doesn't take up space.

We used to buy my grandparents a "goodie basket" every year filled
with stuff like laundry detergent, toilet paper, coffee, oatmeal,
soup, soap, shampoo, cleaners, paper towels, paper plates - anything
goes.  It saved them money, and was used up so no clutter.  You could
get a large laundry basket and fill it up with things from the dollar
store.

Another idea is to purchase them subscriptions - like maybe pick up
the tab to the local paper, or some magazines they might enjoy.

Along the same lines - for you mother maybe a selection of greeting
cards and some stamps (remember the postal rate goes up in January -
you can usually get the new ones before Christmas).  From your
description of her, I bet she likes to send cards.

Contact their utility company and pay a bill for them.

A little over you budget, but Discovery Store sells a really cool
digital frame for $200.  You can put some family photos on a memory
card, stick it in and it runs a slide show.  Hopefully the technology
won't scare them off - I haven['t tried it, but it seems easy to run.

Do they go out?  Maybe tickets to a show, or some gift certificates to
their favorite restaurant.

Or a gift certificate to their pharmacy.

Hello,

I'm sure that you don't want to add to the clutter.  Sattelite radio
requires a subscription fee and unless they have a specific channel
that they want and can't get now, it would be an expensive paper
weight.  If your father cannot manipulate a remote, a satradio will be
worse.  If you want, perhaps a tabletop easel for your mom.  They're
small and compact.  But, probably the best gift for both of them is
time.  Really, hear me out.

You mentioned clutter quite a bit.  Perhaps helping them arrange their
items to sell (e-bay, church rummage sales, garage sales, etc) or give
away (relatives, church poverty baskets, salvation army, etc) would be
a good idea.  Most places will pick up a lot of items.  You can get
your father to help organise everything.  Get him a nice big paper
book and a great ergonomic pen and have him catalogue everything (by
room or type or decade or whatever).  Then, they can decide with you
guys what to do with every item in the place.  If your father is
showing early onset, this mental and light physical activity is great.
 Also, early memories are strongest.  Then arrange a
give-away/sale/pick-up.

The major cost will be your and your sister's time.  You guys can help
with researching some item values and perhaps take digital photos of
all items (which can be framed later).  The end result will be a
healthier father, and an uncluttered apt to fill again with presents
for the next 20 years (and give your mom some place to do her stuff,
not to mention time alone as your father is occupied with this
important task of removing clutter).

webravi-ga

One year I made a gift for my parents that they have never forgotten.
I made several collages of photographs for each month of the year, and
then took them to Kinko's to have the collages copied and made into a
monthly calendar. January started with a collage of pictures including
my parents marriage photograph, pictures of us as kids, etc. Then the
months went on with marriage announcement of the children,
grandchildren pictures, etc. My parents were absolutely thrilled
because they hadn't seen the pictures in years, and each month they
looked upon lots of wonderful memories! It didn't take long to make,
and as long as you have extra copies of photographs, it's sorta fun to
cut and arrange them.

Good and great suggestions.  The calendar could also be works by
grandchildren (assuming there are any), either made to fit or reduced
by photocopying.

If the overcrowded house has heirlooms, you could help them make a
list (paper notebook) and tell them how much you and your sister would
appreciate their recording what they know about the items:  source,
history, their recollections and remembrances related to each.  (Even
if they aren't valuable antiques, just items that you know have been
around as long as you have.)
This sounds like giving them work instead of a gift, but it could be
an opportunity for them to cooperate on a project that has managable
small parts, and would indicate your appreciation for their
surroundings, those in which you grew up.  Maybe you don't really, but
that is not so important  - maybe you will if it works, and you then
do.
It will also be good for Dad, and it will give you something to talk
about on visits or on the phone and a way to show your continued
interested in them and your home, now condensed in space.
Might include Mom's or your favorite recipes of hers as "heirlooms".

Yeah, kind of a backhanded gift, asking them to give you something,
but your appreciation and interest is the real gift.  It sounds like
it is, just trying to find a way to be expressed.

I hope so, regards, Myoarin

Since they are burried in clutter and obviously don't want to throw
anything away, why don't you rent them some storage space and arrange
to have all the clutter they don't actually need/use removed so they
they can have some more space to move and collect more clutter.

umiat-ga, your answer is the best fit for my parents. Please submit it
as an answer so that I can pay you :-)

pinkfreud - i love the idea of the fountain, but they have no place to put one.
markvmd - we've done the family portrait concept recently (we're all
accomplished painters, so we've done these in the past.)
byrd - audio books is a good idea, and we've done that a lot in the
past as well. Dad's attention span is short and he forgets the story
lines in between listening sessions, so we aren't doing those any
longer. (Mom loves to actually read the books herself.)
nkamom - i love how pragmatic your idea is.  My mom would consider it
impersonal, however with the exception of the video frame, which is
out of our budget
webravi - my sister is getting them the radio. i'm sure mom will wind
up working the remote. music soothes dad, so I do think it's a good
gift.  We used to live in a 4 story house. i'll spare you the details
of how they wound up in a 1 br appt in a retirement home... but
they've gotten rid of everything that they (emotionally) can.  They've
got maybe 5% of what they used to have... it's just packed in.  Dad
wants them for memories. Mom wants them because she's sentimental.
Everything kept has a meaning.
myoarin - mom's on that project already. part of their planning for
when they pass is recording the history of what they have.  it's a
family tradition. ;-)lordmichaels - they would consider that
impersonal as well.

Thank all of you for your time and attention, your ideas and
thoughfulness. I appreciate it.

I have found that sending fruit baskets is a great idea.  It seems
everyone loves fruit, and being it is consumable, no need to worry
about storage.  If you think this is a good idea, you may want to look
at this site:

http://www.sweetmemoriesgiftbaskets.com