You don’t need to scramble for another mug or “World’s Best Grandma” t-shirt this Grandparents Day.
What do grandparents really want?
Something that tells them:
💛 You’re important. You’re remembered. You matter.
They treasure the little things that mark time: a height on the wall, a crayon drawing, a scribbled “I love you.” These aren’t just keepsakes, they’re proof that they matter in the everyday.
The best gifts for grandparents aren’t about price tags or wrapping paper. They’re about weaving them into family life, giving them something to hold, to listen to, to look back on—gifts that get more meaningful with every year that passes.
10 Easy & Thoughtful Gifts Grandparents Actually Want
Get ready for 10 simple, heartfelt gift ideas that go beyond “stuff.” Each one is designed to help grandparents feel included in the milestones, the giggles, and the ordinary magic of daily life—the things that only grow more meaningful with time.
1.🎙️A Voice Memo
There’s nothing sweeter to a grandparent than the sound of their grandchild’s voice—the lisp, the giggle, the way they mispronounce spaghetti. These fleeting little quirks get tucked away in memory, but a voice memo lets them keep listening again and again.
Record your child telling a joke, singing a favorite song, or simply saying “I love you, Grandma.” You can even ask little prompts—“What makes Grandma laugh?” or “What’s Grandpa really good at?”—and capture their sweet, unfiltered answers. Save the clips on your phone or in a free voice app, and before long you’ll have a “listen later” playlist that feels like a mini podcast of love, delivered one clip at a time.
2. 🎥 A Video Montage
Grandparents want to see real life as it happens. A shaky phone video of bedtime giggles or a soccer goal means more than a perfectly staged family portrait. Everyday moments are the ones that show them they’re part of the story.
Scroll through your camera roll and pick 5–10 short clips. Stitch them together in iMovie or Canva (super simple, no fancy editing required). Add a quick title screen—“Our Week with You in Mind”—and you’ve created a highlight reel that will be watched again and again.
3. 📸 A “Day in the Life” Photo Strip
While grandparents may not be in the house for the daily chaos, you can give them a window into it. A row of snapshots—from breakfast crumbs to backpacks by the door to bedtime snuggles—captures the rhythm of ordinary days they long to be part of.
Snap a handful of quick photos, drop them into a free Canva “photo booth” template, and print on cardstock or order a 4x6 collage print from Walgreens. Trim into a strip, tuck it into an envelope, and you’ve turned Tuesday into a keepsake.
4. 📖 Grandma’s Story Journal
Children love hearing about “before they were here”—what Grandma’s childhood was like, the traditions she remembers, the love stories she lived. Giving her a place to write these down ensures those treasures aren’t lost.
Gift our Grandma’s Story Journal and encourage her to jot down one memory at a time. Over coffee, on the porch, or with grandkids curled at her side, each page becomes part of your family’s legacy.
5. 🎟️Experience Tickets
More than wrapped things, grandparents crave moments they can hold in their hearts. A Saturday donut date, a puzzle night, or a library trip becomes the stuff of family legend.
Draw or print little “admit one” tickets on cardstock. Label them with simple promises—“Picnic in the park,” “Game night at our house,” or “Help me bake cookies.” Bundle them with ribbon and you’ve just handed over time together.
To make it easy, we’ve created free Experience Vouchers you can download here. Print them on cardstock, bundle them with ribbon and you’ve just handed over the gift of time together.
6. 💌A “Real Mail” Envelope of Their Week
The ordinary is extraordinary when it’s shared. A spelling test, a doodle on a sticky note, or a quick joke scrawled in kid handwriting becomes priceless when it lands in the mailbox.
Keep an envelope handy on the counter all week. Toss in papers, drawings, or funny one-liners. Seal, stamp, and send. When Grandma opens it, she’ll feel like she’s right there in the middle of your family’s daily life.
7. ✏️A Drawing of Their Favorite Shared Memory
Children see their favorite moments in vivid color—feeding ducks, baking cookies, playing cards. When they sketch these memories, they’re handing Grandma a piece of how they see her.
Ask your child to draw “the best thing you do with Grandma.” Frame it on one of our Art Displays so it hangs proudly instead of getting lost in a drawer. It becomes a daily reminder of their bond.
8. 📏 A Link to the Bigger Story
Every notch and name on a ruler tells a story of growth. Grandparents love seeing time marked this way—because it means they’re part of something bigger, a tradition that stretches year after year.
Mark your child’s new height on your Growth Ruler, snap a picture of them standing beside it, and send it to Grandma. A quick photo says: “Look how much we’ve grown—and you’re part of this story too.”
9. 🎨A Shared Hobby Kit
What grandparents want most is connection. When you gift a shared hobby, you’re creating a bridge between generations: her love of gardening, his love of puzzles, passed down through little hands.
Pair something Grandma loves with a child-sized version. A baking set with matching aprons, flower pots and seed packets, or a puzzle they can work side by side. Present it as a kit, ready to use during their next visit together.
10. 📝 A “Favorite Things” List
Grandparents want to know how their grandchildren see them. Hearing “Grandma makes the best pancakes” or “Grandpa’s hugs are the coziest” brings tears, laughter, and a deep sense of being known.
Sit down with your kids and jot a list of 5–10 favorites. Decorate the page with doodles or stickers, frame it, or fold it into a card. Simple, sweet, and unforgettable.
To help, we’ve made Favorite Things Drawing Pages you can download here. Kids can fill in prompts, add their own doodles or stickers, then frame it or tuck it into a card. Simple, sweet, and unforgettable.
What They’ll Treasure Most
At the end of the day, the best gifts for grandparents aren’t things you buy off a shelf. They’re the ones that weave them into your family’s story—keepsakes that mark time, words and drawings that capture a child’s voice, and memories made side by side. These are the treasures they’ll return to again and again, long after the wrapping paper is gone.
Whether it’s a journal filled with your little one’s words, an art display showcasing their drawings, or a growth ruler etched with new notches each year, these simple gifts remind grandparents of the role they play in something bigger—the story of your family. And really, what better gift could there be than that?
