30 Gift Ideas for Grandparents

Some years have been easier than others when coming up with gift ideas for my parents and in laws. I don’t want to buy them a bunch of useless stuff that will just add clutter to their homes. I don’t want to always buy them clothing items either. So I try my best to think outside the box when it comes to their gifts, and as you probably know by now, I certainly favour consumable or experience gifts.

1. Photo Calendar: Every month they get a new picture to look at of their darling grandchildren (Both human and fur!) I’ve used multiple online options, but prefer Vista print the best.
2. Photo Book: You could make them a photo book of their grandkids, or grab the pictures of them on their latest trip, or pictures from the past that they just never got around to doing anything with and make one for them. Did you have a big family gathering the past year, (wedding, reunion etc.) document and gift them that in a photo book.
3. Personalized Mugs: My parents have uncommon grandparent names, making it very difficult to find anything in the stores for them. There are lots of local businesses who make wonderful personalized products. I’ve also tried the DIY sharpie mugs and was pleased with the results.
4. Mothers Bracelet: I’ve ordered a few of these mother’s bracelets from pearls by Laurel over the years and have always been extremely pleased! http://www.pearlsbylaurel.com/mothers-bracelets
5. Theatre Tickets
6. Sunday Drive Basket: Think gas card, coffee money, music or audio book, road trip snacks, book or list of places to go/things to see.
7. Babysitting Survival Kit: a box of items to make a night with their grandkid/grandpup easier. Craft kit, board game, treats, new toy, movie, advil, rum and coke... just the necessities.
8. Kid Drawn Towels: There are people on Etsy who can take a drawing that your kid made and transfer it to tea towels, key chains, jewlrey etc. My kids aren’t old enough to make drawings suitable for this yet, but when they are, I am excited to test these products out.
9. Golf tool Engraved: Again, on Etsy, you can purchase personalized golf towels, ball markers, divot fixers etc. You can get cute sayings put on them too like “Kick putt Grampie”
10. Freezer Meals: I know cooking can be daunting, and eating out is not always the best option. You could either put together your own freezer meals for them or purchase them from places like The Kitchen Door.
11. Gardening Supplies: It may not be the most seasonal gift option, but if your parents are interested in gardening, a gift card to a local gardening store and some gardening supplies always seem to come in handy.
12. Ornaments: I enjoy giving ornament gifts, either with photo ornaments or ornaments that the kids helped make. Or if something big happened that year, an ornament to represent that would be nice.
13. Hello Fresh Subscription: Do your parents love to cook, why not treat them to a hello fresh delivery for them to try out new recipes and have all the ingredients delivered to their door.
14. Date with kids or Grandkids: Create a date day or evening with a kid or grandkid and provide all the necessary money, passes and materials.
15. Travel Books for their next adventure: Since hitting the retired button, my parents have been on the move exploring anywhere and everywhere their heart desires. They always have another trip lined up and they enjoy researching that new destination, so travel guides to the next place on their list usually a good go to.
16. Hiking trails of Nova Scotia Book: to give them ideas for outings. You could easily make this a basket with snacks and hiking essentials.
17. Day Trip Baskets: There are really great locations and around that would make for great day trips. Local wineries, restaurants, museums, trails, beaches, etc. Do up a basket so they can enjoy it on you.
18. New Local Restaurant: They don’t always know about the newest restaurant to open in the city. Gifting them the experience to try it and let them know it exists is always an option. If you don’t live in the same province, I have also been known to call the restaurant I am hoping to buy a gift card from and usually I am able to purchase a gift card over the phone with a credit card and they just keep it at the restaurant until they show up to pick it up or use it.
19. Basket of Local Market Goodies: My parents aren’t always the most adventurous when it comes to exploring new things or new places. So making some choices for them to try that are local, fresh, and easy for them to get again if they want, would be a really fun gift to put together.
20. Family Photo Session: This was almost as much for me as it was for them. But I’ve gifted them two photo sessions with their grandkids now, and the photos are amazing and really nice keepsakes for everyone.
21. Customized Cutting Board with their last name or “Grams Bakery” etc.
22. Skates/Skate Sharpening: There are lots of free adult skates around the city during the day in the winter. If your parents don’t have skates and helmets, it might be a great option for a gift.
23. Something Sentimental from growing up: A gift I have always wanted to give my parents, and never have, is a playlist or CD with the songs I remember from growing up. We road tripped a lot and we had specific songs that we always seemed to listen to in the car, or certain songs that would energize us for cleaning the house. We also always went mini golfing as a family, so a gift card for a family mini golf outing would be fun, I could wrap it in a mason jar with golf tees.
24. Sporting Tickets: This is always a winner for pretty much anyone in my family, we are pretty big sports fans.
25. House Cleaning Service: Seriously, they have cleaned a house for how long now? I am sure they would love a break.
26. Personalized Pillows: I DIY’d these when I gifted them. I bought a square pillow and solid coloured pillow cover from IKEA, created a graphic, printed it on iron on transfer paper and transferred it to the fabric. The saying I used was “There’s no place like Grams and Grampie’s” I am sure you could come up with your own sayings.. “What happens at Nana’s stays at Nana’s” , “Life is better at the trailer”, etc. endless possibilities.
27. A Date Night: Could be an at home date with a new to them game, bottle of wine, snacks, etc. or it could be a night out on the town at their favourite restaurant and movie/concert/show/timber lounge? Seriously, I would love to see or hear about my parents adventure at an axe throwing bar.
28. A Deck of Cards with 52 of your most memorable memories growing up. As a mom I frequently wonder what things my kids are going to remember. 20 years down the road I would love for them to do this for me, so I can only imagine my parents and in-laws would appreciate the same thing.
29. Handwriting Jewlery: Again, on Etsy, you can have your kids write “love you” or “Grampie” whatever you want them to write, and it can be turned into a necklace, bracelet, or keychain. If you really want to make them cry Christmas Morning, if you can find an old card, or a picture that one of their parents wrote love you or their name on, you can send a picture of their handwriting in and have a charm or item made to replicate that.
30. Lessons: HRM rec has a lot of different adult programs around the city. Is there something your parents are interested in trying but never have? See if there is a class close to them for a new hobby or interest that they could learn about.

Still stuck after these 30 ideas? Just like with my husband, I think about their bucket lists. They don’t have theirs framed above their bed like my husband and I do, but I can think back. I think about conversations I have had with them about things they would like to do, places they would like to go to, things they would like to own (although they then generally go and buy it for themselves, and generally two weeks before Christmas or their birthdays, but I digress…..), places around town they keep meaning to get to or check out. There is a note app in your phone folks, use it to jot things down as you hear or think of them. You won’t regret leaving yourself little reminders!

Christmas is not meant to be stressful. If shopping for gifts and trying to come up with gift ideas for your loved ones stresses you out, come up with an alternate plan. I happen to have a family member who just really dislikes the act of shopping and purchasing anything, so this year she’s forgoing gifts and planning one large family outing. These family outings ideas could be another blog post!
If I leave you with one thing, it’s think outside the box. Your gift does not have to be able to be wrapped in a box and placed under a tree. There are lots of gifts that can be very meaningful, thoughtful, and appreciated that aren’t traditional “presents”.

What gift did you give your parents, in-laws, or grandparents that received the biggest and best reaction?