If you are planning to buy something for your grandparents, consider a board game like mahjong or scrabble.
Studies have shown that such games can stimulate the brain and therefore keep dementia at bay.
The Newsdesk finds out more.
31-year-old Edwin Phua and three of his friends sat down for their monthly mahjong game.
Already, the air is filled with the click-clacking sound of mahjong tiles.
They chat and laugh as they mix the pieces around the table.
For Edwin, who's been playing mahjong for more than 20 years, the Chinese traditional game is a great way for socialising.
"It's very social in nature. You get to interact with different opponents at the same time. So on a social level, it's very good for interaction with friends, family. Mahjong has been perceived as a very Chinese game, but it can actually be played with people from other races, you know. So it's a good platform for getting to know people. So even when I was young, we can use mahjong to bound people together like doing chalet and all that. We get classmates to just learn play the games with us."
For others like 56-year-old Geraldine Phoo, mahjong is also exciting and challenging.
"I feel very excited in the sense, you know when we have a game and you see all the cards are already there, you want to go for higher score."
Beyond the leisure aspect, they believe that mahjong is an excellent game to exercise the mind.
Edwin, who's also a Mahjong trainer at the People's Association, explains.
"Basically mahjong is mentally taxing in a way. It requires a lot of mental processes, such as memory, decision making, strategising, and even reading body language. In order to do well in mahjong, one needs to be able to integrate all these processes together and use all these when they are playing the game."
And not just mahjong, scrabble too, gives the brain a workout.
59-year-old Thong Liew Kee is a scrabble trainer at the People's Association.
He's been playing the game for about 20 years.
"Scrabble is more than just a game. Scrabble is a game requiring a lot of memorising work and you need to read the scrabble book or dictionary and memorise the words and make use of them in the game. So playing the game, one has to use his or her mind to think of how to form words with the tiles, apply the test strategy in the course of the game, also we need to use the mental sum for counting of points."
Dr Chua Sze Ming is a Registrar at the Department of Geriatic Psychiatry, Institute of Mental Health.
She explains why mentally-stimulating activities benefit the brain.
"These activities actually involve a lot of impulse working memory, you need to have a lot of strategies in the game, it's pretty good to help retain the cognitive reserve that we have. So things that really require you to think and do it on your feet, you know, like mahjong is a very complex game. You do need to have something that makes you think rather than just a passive game like watching TV, unless it's a stimulating programme."
Studies suggest that a brain workout on a regular basis can reduce the risk of developing dementia - one mental illness which affects older adults.
Dementia is a decline in mental capabilities, especially memory, that can be caused by diseases such as Alzheimer's.
The study, Leisure Activities and Risk of Dementia in the Elderly, was published in New England Journal of Medicine.
Dr Chua shares the findings.
"They actually did a community based study in an English speaking population between 25 to 85 years old. They observed this community over a period of 20-21 years, which is a long time, and they underwent detailed clinical and neuropsychological testing every 1 to 1.5 years. So they did cognitive and physical activities and there was a decreased risk of dementia in those who did cognitive activities."
Another study in Hong Kong in 2006 showed that playing Mahjong helps improve the memory, judgment and reasoning of people with mild to moderate dementia.
Dr Chua again.
"The Hong Kong study showed that for this group of nursing home residents and who already had dementia, they were actually able to protect the memory reserve for a period of time, for about 6 months. They did this study by dividing the nursing home residents into groups of people playing mahjong, and they found that those who play mahjong on a regular basis and played it frequently had better cognitive reserve compared who those who didn't."
In Singapore, some 18,000 people are currently diagnosed with dementia with the number set to double by 2020.
Presently, there's no cure for dementia.
So can activities like playing board games be considered as treatment option for dementia?
Dr Chua shares her thoughts.
"I would say that they may help to at least retain cognitive reserves but to actually say that it's a cure for dementia, it's still too early to tell."
Scrabble player, Mr Thong, shares his observation.
"Since I took up the game about 20 years 'till now, I haven't come across any regular scrabble player, whether young or old, for fallen sick due to problems related to well-being, Alzheimer's or dementia. For example, once I came across an old woman player of the age of about 75 years old. I played against her in a scrabble championship in Perth. At her age, she's about 30 years older than me. And guess who won the game? Anyway I lost. She played very fast game. 'Till today I still haven't come across anyone who can play as fast as her."
To promote mental wellness, the People's Association will launch workshops on brain-stimulating games such as Mahjong and Scrabble and Sudoku, Contract Bridge and Weiqi at the end of this month.
They will be made available at various Community Clubs.
This report was filed by Vina Mubtadi.
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