I'd go with an iPad over a MacBook Air, especially for the much better FaceTime camera. My parents (~80) use iPad Airs and thought the Pencil looked like a silly product until I convinced them to try using mine for a few days.
The current iPad, iPad Air, and iPad Pros all work with some version of the Pencil. Any recent iPad will have 1080p FaceTime rather than 720p of the MacBook Air. This new iPad Pro has even higher resolution with automatic panning that could be useful if they want to set up the iPad on the kitchen counter and walk around while they talk to you.
The current iPad, iPad Air, and iPad Pros all work with some version of the Pencil. Any recent iPad will have 1080p FaceTime rather than 720p of the MacBook Air. This new iPad Pro has even higher resolution with automatic panning that could be useful if they want to set up the iPad on the kitchen counter and walk around while they talk to you.