It is always hard to get grandparents holiday gifts. All we grandparents want is time with grandchildren. In that vein, here are ideas for being together or remembering that to grandparents, something that reminds them of the joy of grandchildren is the best gift, and more that are interesting and unusual. The majority of gifts listed are not expensive intentionally. We grandparents do not want you to spend a lot of money on us. Just having grandchildren to love is a priceless gift in and of itself.
A PHOTOGRAPH IN A FRAME OR A SHUTTERFLY PHOTO BOOK
Yes, these gifts are on this Grandma’s list each year. We grandparents love getting annual family or grandchildren photographs, and getting them in a frame we can immediately put out is the best.
LIFE STORY INTERVIEW KITS
A great holiday gift is one that includes interaction between older and younger generations. Traditions and rituals are important to family generations. These card kits are a fairly new concept and a great opportunity to capture grandparents (and great grandparents), and even parents’ stories and memories, and will help you uncover stories and memories you never knew. This can capture those stories before it is too late and this is a easy and fun way to include the grandchildren and the whole family. They do not mention videotaping the experiences, however, this Grandma thinks you should definitely video when you do this, ensuring that their voice and life lessons live on for generations to come.
Here are some choices:
Life Story Interview Kit. This has very high ratings. It is a deck of 150 questions, interviewing framework, and tips and tricks. It includes recording tips. It was developed by grandchildren to interview their grandmother. The questions are divided into three sections: early life, middle life, older life. Their quote: “lessons in traditions have passed down since the beginning of time through oral histories. One day our loved ones are no longer with us, taking their priceless stories and memories along with them. . . .”
Talking Point Generations. This also has high ratings. It includes 200 intergenerational conversation cards, constructed by experts, to learn about grandparents’ life and legacy in their own words. It says it covers an entire life as well as reflections on the future. Their quote: “200 gentle conversations starters for grandparents or parents to help guide as they recall their rich and interesting life. A careful balance of specific and open-ended questions help them tell their story from childhood to adult life, relationships, the family tree, and the good ‘ol days.”
Grandparent Talk. Around the Table Games Grandparent Talk Portable, Meaningful Conversation Starters. Highly rated and award winning: winner of the Dr. Toy Top 10 Games, iParenting Media, National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, and Learning Magazine’s Teachers Choice award. It is a very inexpensive and portable travel game that has a clip that can be taken anywhere, even to play at a restaurant for dinner. Quote: “features 100 thought provoking and silly questions, offers circumstances to encourage imagination and gives an opportunity to peek into the minds of your grandparents.”
A gift that truly keeps on giving for generations.
SHOCK ABSORBING TREKKING POLES
This is new to my list. We grandparents are active and enjoy the outdoors, travel, and more. However, increasingly, I am recommending to my friends that, before they travel, and if they are deciding to do a lot of walking in nature, especially on uneven surfaces or cobblestones, that they purchase collapsible shock absorbing trekking poles. I buy them as gifts. I broke my pelvis eighteen weeks before a planned trip to Egypt, Jordan, and Israel, and my physical therapist had me recover and prepare for the trip with Black Diamond shock absorbing trekking poles. With the poles, I climbed to the monastery at the top of Petra, climbed pyramids, walked hills in Old Jerusalem, and on a later trip even hiked to the top of Mount Etna in Sicily. They fold up to about 12″, fit into a backpack, are light weight, ergonomic, and provide a great level of safety against falling and provide extra stamina to go further. When I walk in my South Florida area, I am seeing more and more walkers using them.
Consider this gift for active seniors, and for active persons of all ages.
Buy men’s Black Diamond Pursuit Aluminum Trekking-Hiking Poles – Collapsible & Adjustable at Amazon.
Buy women’s Black Diamond Women’s Trail PRO Shock Trekking Poles at Amazon.
Also, get BLACK DIAMOND Trekking Pole Tip Protectors at Amazon.
YES, A WALKING STICK
Grandparents want to be forever young. I get it. However, there have been times in my life, recovering from injuries, when a cane was useful to have handy, for balance and extra support. Did I use one outside the house? Not often. The canes looked old and made one look old. The newly designed canes are mostly referred to as WALKING STICKS, easier to roll off the tongue, which I am comfortable having with me anywhere (fold up in a small carrying case) and are high tech and different–almost cool:
Shock absorbing: The tips absorb the shock of each step to help reduce hand and wrist fatigue effectively.
Night lit tips. The tip lights itself at night, which greatly ensures the safety of night walking.(with exposure in light for certain time only, the glow cone comes to visibility in darkness.) Great for the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Ergonomic hand grip: The handle is longer and wider than traditional T grip devices, and can offer bigger contact area with palm, more comfortableness and stableness. Ergonomic hand grip can reduce palm fatigue and prevent muscle cramping dramatically.
Different colors: Colorful fashion choices makes the walking stick become something to use when you go out.
Pivot base design: Its all terrain pivoting and slip-resistant base provides superior stability and ground contact on uneven surfaces. Multilayer rubber structure absorbs shocks and dampens the impact on the joints and muscles from shocks. Entire base system maximizes the safety in daily mobility.
Collapsible and travels well: Just stick it in a suitcase, just in case. Being constructed with durable and lightweight aluminum frame, with a collapsible design, this walking stick can be wrapped up to only 13.5″ in seconds and easily can be fitted into a briefcase, wheelchair bag, or even purse. A premium tape on the cane shaft and a carry bag come as standard, which can be used to tie up the cane and carry it conveniently.
Eight adjustable heights: It fits for people from 5′ to 6’5”. 8 adjustable height with one-inch increments makes the cane easily to be adjusted to proper height for almost anyone. The adjusting range of walking stick itself is from 2’7” to 3’2”. I would suggest watching the video on how to adjust its height. I was surprised I was using it at the wrong height for my hand.
So, consider this inexpensive gift that may be a surprise for the grandparents, until they take it out of the closet when they realize how great it is to have at hand. Of course, refer to it as a walking stick, and you, at any age, may want to keep this inexpensive indispensable aid for yourself.
Buy HEALTHBAZAAR All Terrain Walking Stick for Men & Women, Air Cushion Cane Tips Folding Walking Stick with Shock Absorbing, Comfortable Handles at Amazon.
ROUND TRIP AIRLINE OR TRAIN TICKETS OR COUPON FOR PICKUP AND DELIVERY
Local grandparents have the best in person time, and facilitating that time is a great gift for grandparents. . . and great-grandparents. Pick up and delivery coupons are a personal gift that keeps giving, whether it is to deliver the grandchildren for an afternoon or overnight, or bring the grandparents or great grandparents to the grandchildren, or arranging an outing with the grandchildren. When grandchildren can drive, having them chauffer the grandparents is a dual gift, time with the grandchildren and helping the grandparents with tasks and shopping.
Long distance grandparents may or may not be able to afford train or airline tickets on their own, but holiday travel is challenging financially and emotionally taxing. Going to visit the grandparents or great grandparents for a holiday visit, short please, is the platinum gift, but bring the grandparents or great grandparents to you is still a gold gift.
OTHER PRICELESS GIFTS OF TIME: HANDMADE COUPON BOOKS
Apps and Uber and Time
As a mechanically challenged grandma, I can relate to other grandparents like me. A parent of a grandchild or a capable grandchild giving guaranteed hours for a holiday gift means that this Grandma will not feel so guilty asking how to do something for the third or thirteen time. And, we won’t feel guilty saying it is beyond me at the moment and please do it for me. Grandparents get help and the bonus of some alone quality time with the parent of the grandchild or grandchild. Yes, we still love the parents of our grandchildren, even though our attention may be focused elsewhere.
If there is a ten year old or older grandchild, hours from him or her can even be a better bonus. They know Instagram, Twitter, and Bitmoji and can install those on our I Phone and I Pad. Guaranteed hours as an electronics assistant as a holiday gift from them is pure gold, as are the golden hours spent with them.
Did I forget prescheduled Face Time as a gift, whether daily, biweekly or weekly? Everyone is so busy that a set Sunday evening Face Time visit is a gift that will be appreciated with great joy. Or inclusion in a daily instagram video group of a grandchild? Our cousin posts Instagram videos of her son daily during a meal when he is in the high chair, most of the time tasting a new food for the first time. I love watching his expressions. These are priceless. I look forward to opening my Instagram (installed by my grandson, of course) every day. Yes, there is a privacy group setting so it is not the world seeing these videos, only those people our cousin chooses.
PERSONALIZED ITEMS
This Grandma discovered the website, Personal Creations, several years ago. This year, a favorite item, already sold out in some models and colors, is their “We Became Grandparents Throw Pillow.”
If this is sold out, try other personalized grandparent items. If the timing does not allow for Christmas delivery, considering bookmarking this site for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Joy,
Mema