Managing Holiday Cards and Gifts with Vision Loss

Hadley

Managing Holiday Cards and Gifts with Vision Loss

Presented by Ricky Enger

Ricky Enger: The holidays should be fun and festive, but there can be a lot to figure out. In this episode, Hadley's Tiffany Mpofu and Steve Kelly join us as we share tips for managing all the logistics for holiday gifts and cards. I'm Ricky Enger, and this is Hadley Presents. If this podcast helps you in adjusting division loss, consider making a Giving Tuesday gift to Hadley so that the same help is here for someone else. Visit HadleyHelps.org/Giving Tuesday or call 800-323-4238. Welcome to the show.

Steve Kelley: Hey, Ricky.

Tiffany Mpofu: Thanks, Ricky.

Ricky Enger: It's amazing to have you both. It's been a while, hasn't it?

Tiffany Mpofu: It has, but it's always a good time when we all get together.

Ricky Enger: Yes. So that is Tiffany Mpofu, one of our amazing practical help specialists. And also, we have Steve Kelly. Why don't you give a shout out, Steve.

Steve Kelley: Hey everyone.

Ricky Enger: Great to have you both. We are talking about holiday gifts and cards today, trying to talk through some of those logistics that might be making you say bah humbug because it feels really stressful. We just want to take that part of it away and really give some tips and tricks for how you might manage some of this stuff that can be a little tricky with vision loss. I want to start out by talking about holiday cards because that's a thing that is a really important tradition for a lot of people. You look forward to the mail carrier getting to your house and finding out what designs people have chosen for their cards. Also, maybe you are the one who is doing that card shopping, and you get all excited about sending things out to people, writing little personal messages inside. Maybe you're thinking, how in the world am I going to do that? So first of all, do we have tips for picking out your holiday card? If you are the one sending these things out and staring at these images it’s not quite as easy as it once was to pick the right design. Do you have any thoughts on how people might go about doing that?

Tiffany Mpofu: The first thing is finding the stationary aisle to get to those cars, and then the second challenge is finding the sign that says Christmas or holiday. Once I'm in that right place, sometimes I will ask for assistance. Just walking in the store, I may go to a cashier or someone if I haven't called already to ask for some assistance to find that aisle and find the section for the cards. But then I would go through the section of cards using my magnifier to enlarge the card so that I can see the design as well as read the message. So yeah, that's mostly what I would do.

Ricky Enger: And when you have your magnifier with you, Tiffany, do you typically have one of the small handheld lenses or do you have more of a digital thing that you can change the colors on it and things like that? Which thing do you find most helpful?

Tiffany Mpofu: The digital one for sure, because I can enlarge it as much as I need and sometimes when it comes to the messages inside the card, sometimes the print is pretty fine or has thin lines, so being able to have the option to change the contrast of the color to see the text a bit better is helpful.

Ricky Enger: That makes a lot of sense. I didn't even think about the fact that you're probably going to have some fancy fonts and stuff like that in those cards. And so yeah, having a way that you can adjust things on the fly to make it a little easier for you to see. Steve, did Tiffany pretty much cover it or do you have some tips that you use or maybe you just shop for holiday cards under duress?

Steve Kelley: Well, there's always a little bit of duress there. My approach is completely different because I use a service like Snapfish or something where I take a design, usually a photograph or something like that and do it on the computer. What's nice about that is because I've got magnification on the computer, I can pretty much decide what I'm going to do, what I'm going to say, and it's a little bit easier to see. That said, if I was in a store, I would probably do very much what Tiffany did. I'd approach the aisle with a pocket magnifier in one pocket and my phone in the other. And if I couldn't do it with the magnifier, I would then open up the phone and use the camera on that to check out the design or the verbiage inside. But I find what I've been doing for the last couple of years with the online service works really well for me, and then they just send everything.

Ricky Enger: So, what about putting those personal messages inside the card? Is that what you do, Steve? When you're doing it online, you can actually just type that stuff in instead of needing to hand write it or whatever? Is that right?

Steve Kelley: Oh, no, no, not at all. Okay. That's just one of those tricky things where I've got a nice pair of Eschenbach readers that are pretty high strength six or eight X. I was doing a review of the Patriot Vision Viewpoint, which is a pair of wearables and they magnify, and those were great. And usually what I do, Ricky, is I use a block print now. I used to have really good script that I was always so proud of, but I had to give that up about 10 or 15 years ago, so I just do it in block print. And for some folks, maybe getting a writing guide would be a helpful thing to do, and they can just put that on the card and do the same thing if they want to do that personalized handwritten thing.

Ricky Enger: What about you, Tiffany? Do you do what Steve does where you have something that you're wearing in order to help you see it better? Or do you have a different way of doing the personal messages or addressing the envelopes or whatever?

Tiffany Mpofu: Yeah, I do something just a little bit different. When I have a card, I will write a message on the blank side of the card. It wouldn't be script; it would also be a bit large print. So, I kind of think about what I want to write first and then I'll write the message, but I would sign my name in script. One more idea I wanted to mention is that in the past, and sometimes I still do it, I would buy a box of greeting cards. This way I can do everything using my video magnifier at home, I can see design of the card, and I can also read the message clearly.

Ricky Enger: And if you are thinking, okay, what in the world is a video magnifier? We actually do have workshops talking about all these different types of magnifiers, like the digital handheld ones and the video ones where you put it under the camera and you're able to see what you're doing as you're doing it. There were a couple of other ideas that we had. So, we kind of discussed this as a team before we got together and recorded because I wanted to get as many ideas from people as I could. This is something I still struggle with, so I tend to be one of those people that will get the gift and then the card that goes with it is written in that personal message in the online section. I take that technology approach to it. Other people have done this where you do a mail merge in Microsoft Word. So essentially you have your list of names and addresses that you're sending to, and then you set your printer to do the envelopes, and it's magical when it works for those who can set this up and get it done that way, it actually works really well. Have either of you ever done that?

Tiffany Mpofu: I have not, but I wanted to mention another idea is that the Hallmark store, the online store is really awesome because you can also send cards directly to the recipient.

Ricky Enger: Oh, nice.

Tiffany Mpofu: Yeah, I just thought that was a really nice service they offer.

Ricky Enger: For sure. That sounds a lot more approachable to me than doing a mail merge. I can get behind that. I want to try it too. So, what about reading cards that you get? Alot of times those are going to include handwritten messages because people love doing that. It's a way of personalizing the card and showing, hey, I took the time to write you something. So, what tools do you all use for looking at the card, getting an idea of what that design is that someone shows, and then reading the message inside?

Tiffany Mpofu: I would take a picture using my tablet or iPad. I would take a picture of the card to read the message, or even if I wanted a clear image of what the card looked like, I would do that also. Another way is that I would use my phone. I would use the magnifier on my phone to pretty much do the same thing, enlarge what I need to see. But of course, Seeing AI, I also use that as well for reading messages. And that has become my primary way of doing things now when reading cards.

Ricky Enger: Yeah, me too. That's such an amazing tool. And by the way, we have workshops on that too, but this is a tool that you can use. It's using the camera on your smartphone to read things aloud to you. And so, it's not just print, it can also be handwritten messages, and it's awesome. You can take a picture and get it to describe the card for you. So, it's super cool. Is there something we didn't mention on that, Steve, that you use?

Steve Kelley: I've got a similar approach. I usually start out with the handheld magnifier and then I move on to seeing AI or Google Lookout. Sometimes though, I'll just use the camera on the phone. This year I'm thinking about trying the Meta glasses for some of this because I think that that might work pretty well. I don't know how well they work with handwriting. I have a feeling, I mean, Seeing AI does pretty well with handwriting as does Lookout, so I'm going to guess they do as well.

Ricky Enger: That is just a lot of great tips for figuring out holiday cards, both choosing them, addressing them, and reading them and all that stuff. Gifts are a whole other thing, and they too have just this pile of logistics that you’ve got to figure out. When it comes to shopping for gifts, I mean there's a lot to think about. So sometimes you might know exactly what you want to get someone, but sometimes there is that process of strolling through the store and something catches your eye and you think, oh, that would be perfect for so-and-so. What do you do when that isn't really an option for you? Do you have a system where you're walking the aisles and maybe it's not as easy for something to catch your eye, but are you still kind of seeing some things or maybe it's even just the signs on the aisles, like, oh, down this aisle is candles or whatever, and maybe that gets you thinking?

Tiffany Mpofu: Yeah, so what I typically would do is once in the store, I'll start in one department or section of the store. So, I may start in clothing and what I will do is pretty much walk the aisles. I'll go down and then come back up and go down another one. So, like a zigzag type of pattern. And as I'm doing that, I'm looking for price tags and sizes of different things, and I'll just do that same method throughout the store, one department at a time. Yes, it takes me a while, but it works. Also, I'm able to kind of grab and touch things, bring them as close as I need it. So yeah, I kind of take my time in doing that.

Ricky Enger: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. What about finding things that maybe you already know you want? What's the process of trying to get in-store assistance? I don't know about you, but during the holidays the stores are really crowded and people are very busy. Do you ever have any issues with finding that assistance that you need, particularly around the holidays?

Tiffany Mpofu: I think with that it is better going in and having ideas because it is so busy. And then that way the person who's assisting can guide you to those areas where you need to go to find what you're looking for. Also, what I've found helpful, and I might be jumping the gun a little bit, for instance, Target, I can go online and find things and then pick it up at the customer service desk.

Ricky Enger: All right. Steve, what about you? Do you have a way that you do this, grab someone's attention just so that you can get directed to a specific aisle or what have you?

Steve Kelley: Well, I should say that by and large, I am not a planner whatsoever with a few exceptions. This would be one of the exceptions, I am not going to walk up and down aisles trying to find things for people. I'm going to have an idea before I go shopping. And then considering the big box stores, that would be the last option just because there's so many people and they're so busy and so few people to assist. So, I'm going to try to have something that I'm looking for specifically, go to a local place that maybe has a little less traffic, choose off hours, and then try to round somebody up and ask specifically where I might find that little truck for my grandson or something like that and go in. But just like Tiffany said, I'm going to have my magnifier handy and maybe the one with the light because who knows in the store just so I can see the prices and perhaps ingredients if necessary and that sort of thing. But most of the time I think I'm going to try a shopping online or I might do the selecting, like Tiffany said, where you actually go to the website, oh, that's the item that I want right there, and know specifically what it is that you want before you get to the store or maybe make the purchase online if that's the only way to do it.

Ricky Enger: And you're definitely speaking my language when it comes to shopping online. I just find it so much easier. But then I live in technology all the time as do the two of you, but I know that that's not really everyone's thing. So, the idea of, okay, I'm going to figure this online thing out, it sounds very overwhelming. I'm wondering if there are ways that can make it a little less complicated. It's still going to be a little bit of a challenge maybe, but are there tools that you all use or kind of ways that you approach this that makes it just a little bit less complicated?

Tiffany Mpofu: When shopping online I use magnification so that I can get things as big as I need, especially when you're looking at designs of different things and different items and also reading a description about the item and stuff. I'm an avid Amazon shopper and for the holidays they do have a gift service. So that will take out the wrapping and all of that. You can purchase the gift and send it as a gift, and it'll come in a gift bag. And using magnification for low vision, that could be helpful when you're searching online and makes it easier to read those descriptions of the different products.

Ricky Enger: And there's also something to be said, like you mentioned shopping at Amazon or Target. Sometimes it really is just a matter of choosing that place that you know the layout of the website, sometimes that's really helpful in just figuring out, “Okay, where's the search button? Where are my results going to appear? Where's the cart button?” All of that stuff. Sometimes that's the hardest thing to figure out. And so, once you have a couple of places that you're familiar with, then it can make a lot of sense to do it that way. I want to mention another tool that is relatively new and it has kind of the same advantage where it is one website where you get to know the layout of it and you can do a lot from it. So that is called Innosearch.ai. And what InnoSearch does is you can search for whatever it is that you're looking for, and Innosearch will search multiple retailers. So, it may search Walmart, Amazon, and Target and all these other places. So, you get an idea of who's got a great price on it and all of that. Plus, it is actually designed for blind and low vision users, which is really helpful.

Steve Kelley: Well, you guys know me, I can be the low-tech luddite among the group. And I was just thinking, I think I'm very fortunate to live in a relatively small community. So, believe it or not, we still have a toy store, and we still have a hardware store. And I was just thinking for the folks who are intimidated by the web, pick up the phone, call that local toy store, and I've done this in the past, say I want such and such a book, or I want such and such an item, do you have it? And would you mind gift wrapping it? Around the holidays they will gift wrap it, and then really all I have to do is show up. You could choose two or three items that way. And yes, you're probably going to pay a little bit more than you might from the box store from Amazon or one of those other places. But I like that. I think for some folks that might be an easy thing to do. And we do forget about just the regular phone these days in terms of shopping and asking those questions. Do they have them and what is it made of, et cetera?

Ricky Enger: Yeah, there's a lot to be said for actually talking to a human when you're doing some of this. Back to Innosearch, because what you said just made me think of this, it is not just online. You can call a phone number. Now, it's not a human who's talking you through it, but if you are able to dial this phone number, you can speak the things that you're searching, everything including the payment for what you're buying and where you're shipping it is done by voice. So that number is 855-746-7478. And we'll have that in the show notes too. But yeah, like you said, sometimes you want it to just be as simple as, let me call up and use my voice to ask about this stuff.

Steve Kelley: That's an awesome compromise right there. I love that because that does mix high tech with the low tech of just using your voice. So, I think that's an awesome alternative.

Ricky Enger: So, we've touched on this a little bit already, that process of making your gifts look presentable, and believe me, I am the first one to jump right on that. Oh, you want me to pay $3 and it's going to be wrapped or put in a gift bag? Yes. Let me do that. Do you have any other tips if you're a person who does want to do your own gift bags or do your own wrapping? I know one thing, Lisa who's not recording with us mentioned something I didn't know about, which is there are pre-cut sheets of wrapping paper that you could use. This is kind of nice because that is one of my biggest challenges is trying to cut a straight line or cut along the lines of the paper. And so just having a sheet of it, yeah, that sounds great.

Tiffany Mpofu: Yeah, absolutely. When I was wrapping, I've gotten lazy now and I use gift bags and it just works. You can get as creative with the tissue paper as you want and put that inside the bag as well, using different colors or just having paper to cover the gift.

Ricky Enger: So that actually made me think about something. If you are doing all these gift bags or you're wrapping things or whatever, do you have a system for figuring out which one belongs to which person once you have put all this stuff together? Because if you're struggling to either write a label or read the label that you've written or whatever, are there ways that you can get around that?

Tiffany Mpofu: Yeah, in my family, we would use a color method. So, if my gifts are in blue, everyone would wrap my gifts in blue. Most of us use gift bags now so it's kind of the same method. Also, using designs, because some gifts have different designs on them, so that's another way of knowing who has what.

Ricky Enger: That's a great idea. What do you do, Steve? I have a pretty small family, and so mine are all about location, location, location. Everyone has their spot under the tree, so that's kind of how we do it. Or for gifts that are outside just the immediate family, I will do those and organize them in such a way that I remember, oh, this person was in this part of the closet or what have you and go and grab it. So, what do you do?

Steve Kelley: I think it's a combination of both of what you're describing. I too have a small family at this point, so it's not that much of an issue. Usually what I'll do is I'll label things in large print with a bold marker and or use a different tag for different people. When my son was younger and there were more gifs around, each person would have a different style tag or something. So, it was really easy just to tell that way. But then, yeah, around the tree, we generally have just a different spot for folks.

Ricky Enger: Well, I think we've covered a ton of stuff actually, just talking about how to make things presentable, how to figure out which one's yours, how to let the family know which one is theirs in a really kind of inclusive way. So, it doesn't have to be that they've got to read my writing in order to know which one's theirs. It can just be yours is the Santa design, or yours is the green one. So that just works so well. We went through a lot of things, but I'm wondering, is there anything that we didn't really touch on, something that's just making the holidays a little less stressful for you figuring some of the stuff out?

Tiffany Mpofu: I would say a lot of pre-planning and preparing in that way. Planning ahead, even if you're planning to go to shop in person or at a store, getting a jump on that before it gets too crazy. And what Steve mentioned, going on off times when it's less crowded and you can get the help that you need.

Ricky Enger: Awesome. And what about you, Steve? Anything making the holiday logistics a little less stressful for you?

Steve Kelley: I generally am a last minute person with a lot of things, but one of the things that's dramatically changed over the years, I tend to start doing a little bit more planning ahead of time and giving myself more time because I know it's just going to take more time for me to do the cards, do the tags, the gift wrapping. By giving myself a little bit more time, which is not my usual way of doing things. I'm able to kind of stay a little bit more in the holiday spirit because we've got to remember, this is supposed to be fun and enjoyable in a family sort of a thing, but you get all stressed out about some of these things or the extra time it takes you and then you lose all of that wonderful holiday spirit. It's no good.

Ricky Enger: Yeah. So just planning ahead, even if it's not your default, you're actually saving yourself a lot of problems in the long run if you can do that. And I too have found that because I'm the strangest mix of being organized and planning for things and kind of doing things last minute, and this is one of those where I have had to very much bring the planner to the forefront because it’s much easier. So, this has been so cool. I'm feeling much more in the holiday spirit now, actually. I'm feeling like I can tackle some of this stuff and I'm going to get started right after I drink some peppermint cocoa or something to get me really in the mood. Well, thank you both for sharing your tips and your great ideas, I so appreciate it. It's always fun to get together with both of you. Thank you.

Steve Kelley: Well, glad we could help you out, Ricky.

Ricky Enger: Likewise.

Tiffany Mpofu: Thank you.

Ricky Enger: If today's discussion was helpful for you, help someone else find that same support. If you can consider a Giving Tuesday gift to Hadley, visit Hadley helps.org/giving Tuesday, or call 800-323-4238. Thanks for listening.

Got something to say? Share your thoughts about this episode of Hadley Presents or make suggestions for future episodes. We'd love to hear from you. Send us an email at [email protected]. That's P-O-D-C-A-S-T at HadleyHelps.org or leave us a message at 847-784- 2870. Thanks for listening.