Christmas presents for grandparents: 8 ideas they’ll actually use

What grandparents tend to want

Most grandparents already have what they need, and many say so every year. What they never have enough of is the family: seeing the grandkids, hearing what they’re up to, being part of the days that matter. A good present gives them more of that, or a reminder of it they see every day.

8 ideas that get used

• Time, booked in: a voucher written by the grandkids for a day out, a picnic, a film or a swim together, with the date already agreed.
• A calendar of the family: every child’s and grandchild’s birthday printed on its day with the age they turn, the anniversaries, and photos of the grandkids on the months.
• A photo book of the year: holidays, school photos, the first day at school.
• A new family photo, printed and framed. Most families have hundreds on their phones and none on the wall.
• Something the grandkids made: a drawing, a card, a handprint, or a letter in their own writing.
• The family recipes, collected: Nan’s or Nana’s recipes typed up by the family, with space for the ones that still live only in her head.
• Help with something: setting up video calls on their phone, a digital photo frame filled with photos, or a day’s work in their garden.
• A summer present they can use straight away: a good sun hat, a plant for the garden, a picnic set for the beach.

Why a calendar works so well

A calendar fits the two things grandparents care about at Christmas: the family and the year ahead. Hung in the kitchen, it shows whose birthday is coming up and how old they’re turning, so nobody has to ask, and every month has a photo of someone they love.

It also arrives just as the new year starts, when they’d hang a new calendar anyway, and it’s used every day until the next Christmas.

How to make it personal

1. Collect the dates: birthdays of children, grandchildren, in-laws and cousins, with birth years, and the wedding anniversaries.
2. Pick twelve photos, one for each month. A photo of a grandchild in the month of their birthday works well.
3. Put a name on the cover, like “Nana & Grandad 2027” or the family name.
4. If there are two sets of grandparents, make one calendar with all the family’s dates and order a copy for each.

Personalised presents are made to order, so collect the dates and photos in November and leave enough time; the last order date for Christmas delivery is on the calendar’s page.