Gift ideas
12 gifts for grandparents who have everything
Ask a grandparent what they want and the answer is "nothing, I've got everything I need." They mean it. The cupboards are full. What they're short of is contact with the people they love and things that make the days easier. Good presents are one or the other.
Things that bring the family closer
- A standing phone call. The same time every week, in the diary, kept. Costs nothing and is the present most grandparents would choose.
- A book of this year's family photos. Not a link to an album. A printed book, with names under the pictures, that they can show people. This is what Paper Chain makes, with the whole family adding photos from their phones.
- Prints for the fridge. Six good photos, properly printed, posted in an envelope with a note. Do it every couple of months.
- A visit with a job attached. Come for the weekend and fix the gate, sort the photos, cook and fill the freezer.
- Their stories, recorded. Sit down with a phone recording and ask about their childhood. You're giving them an audience and yourself something irreplaceable.
Things that make days easier
- A good reading lamp. Bright, adjustable and positioned over the chair. Older eyes need far more light than younger ones.
- A subscription they'd never buy themselves. The newspaper delivered, the magazine they read at the library, a monthly box of good tea or coffee.
- Someone to do the hard jobs. A window cleaner, a gardener for the heavy work, or a few hours of a handyman. Pay for a season.
- Large-print anything. A large-print calendar with family birthdays already written in. A large-print crossword book. A phone with the text size turned up for them.
Things to do together
- A day out, organised by you. Tickets, transport, lunch booked. The organising is the gift.
- Their favourite meal, made by the grandchildren. Burnt edges included.
- A plant with a history. A cutting from your garden, or a rose with the right name.
What to avoid
- Gadgets that need an app, an account or a charger they don't already own.
- Ornaments. There is nowhere left to put them.
- Anything that implies they should take up a hobby.
- Vouchers that expire.
If the family is clubbing together, give one thing from everyone. A book with a page from each grandchild means more than nine separate boxes of chocolates.