Gifts for Grandparents
Earlier this week, McKenna gave excellent tips for giving gifts to your kids’ teachers. It got me thinking about this time of year and how special gift giving can be. Now that Black Friday is behind us and the holiday season is here, I’m getting things ready for the grandparents.
This is the second year that my sisters-in-law and I put together a calendar with pictures of our children for Grandmom. There are four grandchildren, so we each selected three pictures of our children, giving us 12 for the year. I ordered the calendar through winkflash.com, and with shipping included, each of us only had to put in $7! Last year, the debut calendar was a huge hit, so I know this will be a tradition for years to come.
Of course, photo calendars are just the tip of the iceberg; all the major photo processing sites offer great gifts using special pictures of your choice. I have purchased magnets and coasters using special pictures as well. Playing cards and jigsaw puzzles are also a cool idea. If you prefer to go a bit more straightforward, a photo album or framed picture is always a hit. In these penny-pinching times, I have gone for these gift ideas more than once. I’m also fond of framing the kids’ artwork, but I’ll only do this as a gift idea sparingly.
What other ideas do you have for grandparent gifts?
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My sisters-in-law also do the grandkid calendar every year. (They’re a lot cheaper at Office Depot.) This is the first year we’ll be participating in that.
I found a really cool idea at blurb.com. We’ve made a 40 page book detailing the first few months of Addie’s life, using all the great pictures that show just how amazing of a miracle our baby is (she was a pound and a half at birth, for those of you who don’t know our story). We’ll be ordering that for both sets of grandparents (and one for ourselves). It takes a bit of time, but will be a cool keepsake.
If your kids are old enough, I would suggest making something for gramma and grampa. How about a handprint or an ornament for their tree? Grandparent coupons might be fun…or if everyone lives close, maybe the grandkids could take their grandparent(s) out for a date.
One of the things that I’m really wanting is a professional picture of my small family with the grandparents. It would be cool to have siblings and cousins too, but one side of our family lives far away and the other side of the family would be a hassle to coordinate at this time. So, we’re going to do a small photo shoot and give pictures for Christmas gifts…
i got my dad (grandpa to my kids) a digital photo frame last year that we can upload pictures too for him.
We went with a very similar idea — we designed and ordered photobooks for both sets of Grandparents. We chose photos from throughout the entire year. It was fun to do, and it’s a gift I’m very much looking forward to the reactions when it’s opened.
We get personalized notepads made for the grandparents– it is really easy (but maybe hard to explain!) I fold 8.5 x 11 paper in half- then have each child draw on only the top 2 ” or so of the paper – then take to kinko’s and have them made into notepads with kids artwork at the top. (each side is made into a separate notepad–they cute the paper in half when they make it– or you could do a large notepad if you use entire sheet of paper for one).
We put the boys’ portraits on purses for the grandmas. They’re gorgeous! And I can’t wait to see their faces when they open the gifts!