10 Best Gifts to Give New Grandparents
Becoming a grandparent for the first time is one of life’s biggest milestones. While the greatest gift for most grandparents is the gift of time, they’re sure to welcome a little something extra, too! But what are the best gifts to mark the occasion? Keep reading to find the very best presents to dazzle the new grandparents in your life!
A Journal
There are journals, and then there are journals specifically for grandparents. Take, for example, these great options:
- A Love Journal: 100 Things I Love about Grandma (Lisa Carpenter)
- A Love Journal: 100 Things I Love about Grandpa (Manny Oliverez)
- Tell Me Your Life Story, Grandma: A Grandmother’s Guided Journal and Memory Keepsake Book
- Tell Me Your Life Story, Grandpa: A Grandfather’s Guided Journal and Memory Keepsake Book
- Grandfather’s Journal: Memories and Keepsakes for My Grandchild (Laura Westlake)
- Grandmother’s Journal: Memories and Keepsakes for My Grandchild (Blue Streak)
These specific journals are guided journals that are full of simple but creative prompts for grandparents and grandchildren to complete over time. Others can make for a wonderful keepsake, which grandchildren will cherish for years. Of course, if you don’t want to buy a guided journal, then any kind of journal will do! Find the one that best fits the grandparent-to-be’s personality, and run with it. The goal of the journal is to make memories, and as long as you can do that, you can’t go wrong.
Kids’ Art Frames
Most kids love creating things. From stick figure portraits to finger-painted art, kids’ imagination is boundless! It’s important to encourage children when they’re young to continue honing their creativity. And that’s where kids’ art picture frames come in! Even as a mom, I have them in my house and have purchased them for my kid’s grandparents. If your kids bring any artwork over to the grandparents’ house, they will likely want to hold onto anything and everything their grandbabies make. This frame-slash-storage lets them display (hoard) up to 50 pieces of their precious grandkids’ art for everyone to enjoy. While you can always purchase frames, check out the DIY video above to see how you can make some yourself!
Caribu Unlimited Plan
This is a subscription service that works best for long-distance grandparents. The service lets grandparents and grandkids connect virtually with a library of digital games and books. It hosts features such as video chat and is easy to set up on desktops, tablets, or phones. While technology has brought about a host of problems, it also has its perks! Services like Caribu are one of them! This subscription is a wonderful gift to give someone who doesn’t live as close to their grandkids but still wants to connect.
A Home Portrait
Many grandparents spend a lifetime getting their house just so, providing multiple generations with a warm gathering place for holidays, family dinners, and more. Honor their hard work and those memories with a custom house portrait. All you have to do is submit a high-res image of the house’s front to the website and then you follow the prompts from there. Most have you choose an artistic medium, such as watercolor, pencil sketch, or oil painting. In just a few short days, you’ll receive a quaint, artful, and accurate proof to review and the option to request revisions before the final product is printed on the paper or canvas of your choice. From there, it’s shipped off to you to give to your friend or family member as a perfect gift!
Here are some of the best photo-to-drawing websites out there:
Ohuhu Garden Kneeler and Seat
Gardeners and grandparents alike don’t need to be a certain age to appreciate the comfort of this two-in-one bench. If you’re already a grandparent, you know how often the grandkids want to play on the floor. When on the hunt for the perfect gift, look no further than the Ohuhu Garden Kneeler! This nifty little tool boasts an elevated kneeling pad that’s sure to take the pressure off your knees. Flip it over, and it’s a comfy seat. This gift is also twofold, as it was originally designed for gardening. So, if you know someone who’s a new grandparent and a gardener, it truly is the best of both worlds!
A Personalized T-Shirt, Hoodie, or Sticker
Whether grandparents have just one grandchild or lots of grandchildren, the experience expands one’s love exponentially. And what better way to share with the world their love of their grandchildren than with something personalized? Whether it’s something to wear like a T-shirt, or a hoodie, something to show off like a sticker for their water bottle, car, or travel mug, or even a new coffee mug, these gifts make a great humble-brag gift for the grandparent how just wants the world to know how excited they are to have their grandkids! Whether you have one or one hundred grandkids, it’s the perfect present.
If you aren’t sure where to get customized grandparent merch, I’ve got your back. Check out these sites:
A Show-off Calendar
Grandparents never tire of showing off their kids and grandkids. Make that even easier by giving them a personalized wall calendar. There are so many great options out there, from sleek and modern designs to tear-away pages to large wall calendars for all the world to see. These personalized calendars offer customizable birthday and event reminders and can offer ample space for jotting down appointments and other important dates. Each month, or even day, can offer a picture of their grandkids or families allowing them to see the most cherished parts of their lives every single day.
Here are some places where you can customize your own photo calendar:
A Family Game
Nowadays, games can be personalized in any way you can imagine. From a deck of playing cards with their grandkids’ faces on them, to fun family facts games, quotes and advice, and even personalized puzzles, there’s no shortage of options! For the game player in your life, you can’t go wrong with personalizing their favorite hobby with their favorite people. Check out this photo puzzle on Amazon. Or, if you want something slightly different, here are some personalized playing cards.
A Fill-in-the-Blanks Book
The books in the series Knock Knock What I Love About You are rather simple. Each page has a prompt that a child fills in with statements like “I love how you always say __” and “You have taught me so much about __”. These prompts often elicit sweet, funny, or surprising answers from grandkids. These specific books are small but boast 50 prompts. Of course, there are other similar options out there. Want to get extra creative? Then you can always buy a blank notebook or journal and come up with your own prompts!
Digital Frames
Not every grandparent has the option to live near their grandkids. And while photos of grandkids are always a great gift, being able to regularly have photos added to a digital frame can be a great way to keep long-distance grandparents involved. With large, bright screens for easy viewing, an intuitive interface, and simple software that makes setting up the frame easy, these devices can pair directly to the parents’ account. You can pair the device to your account (via email or by scanning a QR code on the box) and invite family members to contribute photos, all before the recipient unwraps their gift. Check out the video above for some great digital frame options!
Takeaway
Whether you are buying a gift for your parents or for a friend or family member, I hope this list of ideas can help you narrow down what the best gift is for that person in your life entering into a new and exciting chapter! Becoming a grandparent is one of life’s greatest joys, and finding just the right gift can prove difficult. But, as evidenced by the list above, it’s not impossible!
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Originally published June 05, 2024
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