Whether it’s their birthday, the upcoming holiday season or just because, grandparents are notoriously hard to shop for any time of year. This is especially true for grandparents who love homemade gifts from their grandkids that they can proudly display on the refrigerator or strewn across the coffee table. To help you sift through these various gift ideas, we compiled them into the following categories:
- Bestselling gifts for grandparents
- Best practical gifts for grandparents
- Best cozy gifts for grandparents
- Best books for grandparents
- Best unique gifts for grandparents
- Best keepsakes for grandparents
While homemade gifts are always a win in our book, there’s something special about getting grandma and grandpa something they will enjoy and find useful, too. If you aren’t sure about what to get your grandparents this year, consider one of the following highly rated gifts. Some items are more practical, some heartwarming and others are just plain fun.
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Whether your grandparents love to cook, read or play games — or could use a little help organizing their passwords or keeping track of their keys — there’s something here for every budget and every interest. Below, we compiled gift ideas for grandparents we think you should consider based on our previous coverage and Select reader interest.
Bestselling gifts for grandparents
Witshine 16-Color Motion Sensor Activated Toilet Night-Light
For the grandparent who’s always turning on the bathroom light in the middle of the night (and waking up their partner), consider this motion-activated toilet light. The battery-operated device sits on the side of the toilet and lights up when there is motion within a certain range. The light can be programmed with 16 different colors and has an automatic shutoff.
Large-Format Internet Address & Password Logbook
Keep grandma and grandpa organized with this large-format password logbook, to finally take the guesswork out of trying to remember passwords. This 144-page book provides plenty of room to record internet usernames and passwords, website addresses and additional notes, and its spiral binding allows the pages to lie flat so it’s easy to write, according to the brand.
Apple AirTag
If your grandparents are like the rest of us, always misplacing things like their keys, wallet or purse, and they have an iPhone, an Apple AirTag can give them peace of mind. Once set up, they can just look at their phone to find out where the missing item is. AirTags come as solo pieces or in a set of four. To note, this item may not ship before Christmas.
Knock Knock ‘What I Love About Grandpa’ Fill-in-the-Love Journal
Taking the time to fill out this book about grandpa will warm his heart. The book has blank lines and pages so you can write everything you think grandpa needs to know about how much you love him.
Knock Knock ‘What I Love About Grandma’ Fill-in-the-Love Journal
Grandma deserves her own book about why you love her, too. This fill-in-the-blank book has prompts to answer along and blank spaces to add drawings, photos or other things that remind her of you.
Best practical gifts for grandparents
Cubii JR1 Seated Under Desk Elliptical Machine
If the grandparent in your life has trouble getting up to exercise, this Select favorite compact elliptical may help them get stronger from their favorite chair. The lightweight device (just 25 pounds, assembled) by home fitness brand Stamina lets you pedal while sitting at a desk or watching TV. The device includes an adjustable dial that controls resistance levels, a display that keeps track of exercise time, calories burned and number of strides per minute, says Stamina.
iRobot Roomba 694 Wi-Fi Connected Robot Vacuum
As grandparents age, doing basic household tasks like vacuuming can be more challenging. With this robot vacuum, they can set it to run at a certain time every day. They may need help setting this one up, but the grandkids should be able to help without any issues.
Ember Temperature Control Smart Mug 2
If grandma or grandpa is a coffee drinker, Ember says this temperature-controlled smart coffee cup will keep their cup of Joe hot from start to finish while they do the crossword or watch the news. It comes in white or black, so you can get whichever color you think they'll prefer.
Fire TV Stick 4K
If your grandparents love streaming their favorite movies or shows, the Amazon Fire TV Stick is an easy way for them to have all of their favorites in one spot, according to the brand. The small stick plugs into the back of the back of the TV, and they can control everything with an Alexa Voice Remote.
Doctor Rogers Restore Healing Balm
The experts we spoke to in our guide to the best products to heal chapped lips recommended this fragrance-free lip balm for its plant-based ingredients. In addition to relieving dry lips, it can be used to help heal any burns or scrapes your grandparent may get while insisting on cooking or putting up the tree. Its ingredients include glycerin, castor seed oil and castor wa, which hydrate lips and replenish the skin’s natural barrier.
Sunbasket
If your grandparent lives alone, you can give them the gift of not having to think about dinner with a meal delivery service. Sunbasket offers pre-made meals (in addition to meal kits), which the brand says consist of high-quality ingredients and organic produce. The Fresh & Ready plan includes 4-10 single-serve meals a week that can be heated up in the oven or microwave, according to Sunbasket. These meals don’t come frozen, but your grandparents can freeze most of them to cook later, if need be (the ones that can be frozen have specific cooking instructions on them).
Bombas Everyday Compression Socks
While compression socks aren’t the cutest gift you can give, your grandparents will be thankful for more time comfortably up on their feet, and less time sitting with swollen ankles. Bombas’ knee-high cotton compression socks are designed with extra durable yarn, which the brand says makes them more resistant to constant wear. The socks have a y-stitched heel to create a cup around that part of the foot for added support, according to Bombas. They’re available in both women’s and men’s.
Best cozy gifts for grandparents
L.L.Bean Wicked Good Moccasins
“If your grandma’s house is anything like my grandma’s house,” said Select editor Christina Colizza, “there are at least two buckets of miscellaneous slippers from the dollar store in the front closet.” However, cheap slippers often lack structure or a rigid, rubber bottom, making them less than ideal for grandparents or anyone with mobility issues. Colizza plans to gift her 94-year-old grandmother L.L.Bean’s Wicked Good Moccasins because she loves how warm the cozy shearling interior is and that the moccasin’s rubber sole adds traction. The Moccasins also come in a men's version.
Lanz of Salzburg Plaid Flannel Pajamas
These pajamas for grandpa are made from 100% cotton and are machine washable. They come in two colors: blue-green watch plaid or red tartan plaid.
Cozy Earth Bamboo Pajamas
These long-sleeve bamboo pajama sets are made from a soft stretch knit with enhanced breathability, which is cooler than cotton to keep your temperature right through the night, according to the brand. They come in five colors, including Ivory, Blush, black, gray and navy. On Amazon, you can buy the pants and top separately.
Personalized Drawing Woven Blanket
Instead of hanging artwork from the grandkids on the fridge, let grandma and grandpa warm up in a blanket emblazoned with the artwork. Just upload a photo of the drawing they'll love most to be turned into a woven throw.
The Criterion Channel
If your grandparent is adept at using a streaming service and is a film buff, they may love a subscription to the Criterion Channel. The service’s library includes more than a thousand important classic and contemporary films, plus art-house, international and independent films, says Criterion. You could curl up with grandma during the holidays to watch a foreign movie from her ancestral home or surprise grandpa with a classic old noir, like ‘The Third Man.”
Best books for grandparents
‘How to Babysit a Grandpa’ by Jean Reagan
This adorable book gives cute ideas for things to do with grandpa, including going on walks and finding lizards and eating anything dipped in ketchup.
Kindle Paperwhite
Not a book per se, but the Kindle Paperwhite is a nice gift for any grandparent who enjoys reading in their spare time. The e-reader is lightweight, and the screen is easy to read with adjustable warm light, according to the brand. With one charge, the Kindle can last for up to 10 weeks, according to Kindle, which is a lot of books. It can also be used with the Flippy Tablet Pillow Stand, above.
Storyworth
If your grandparent loves to write as much as they love to read, they may love the experience of writing their own memoir. With Storyworth, readers (in this case, family members) prompt the writer (your Grandparent) with a question about their lives, like “what is your favorite childhood memory?” The writer answers via email and at the end of the year, their stories are bound into a keepsake book, says Storyworth. Select editor Christina Colizza purchased Storyful for her mom last year and has loved learning about and at times, being surprised by what she didn't know about her mother’s life. “I’ll check my inbox and almost be brought to tears by my Mother’s stories about her family, her favorite things and even her regrets. It is wonderful to have all this wisdom collected in one place.”
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Best unique gifts for grandparents
Pearhead ‘Promoted to Grandma’ Mug
Help grandma show off her new role with this large ceramic mug when baby arrives. The mug features a gold foil design and a floral print, and it can fit up to 2.75 cups of their favorite drink, according to the brand.
Think Engraved Recipe Cutting Board
For the grandparent who loves to cook, consider this recipe cutting board. Just snap a picture of a favorite handwritten recipe, and Think Engraved will transfer it onto a maple or walnut cutting board. It’s a sweet way to preserve their favorite recipes and pass them down for generations.
Friendship Lamp
They may be called “friendship lamps,” but family can use them, too. Touch the lamp at your house, and the lamp at your grandparents’ house will light up, and vice versa. The lamps connect via Wi-Fi and have over 250 different light colors to choose from.
Metal Bird Feeder
For grandparents who enjoy watching the birds in their backyard, this metal bird feeder has six perches for birds to sit on, and the feed tube is clear so they will know when it’s time to refill. It received a 4.6-star average rating from over 400 reviews on Amazon.
Scrabble Giant Deluxe
Game night with your grandparents just got a lot more fun with Scrabble Giant Deluxe. The board is almost twice the size of a standard Scrabble board, and the raised grid is designed to keep letters in place while playing.
‘There's No Place Like Grandma and Grandpa's’ Doormat
Dorothy might have gotten it wrong when she said "there’s no place like home," because there’s really no place like grandma and grandpa’s — now you can give them the doormat to prove it. The mat comes in three sizes and you can request different terms for “grandma and grandpa” if that's not what you call your loved ones.
HillHome 2-Pack Cotton Adjustable Parent and Child Apron
If the grandparents are always baking with the grandkids, consider a grandparent-and-me apron set. The sets come in six different pattern options, and the aprons have adjustable neck straps, making them easy and comfortable to wear, according to the brand.
Coravin Pivot Wine Preservation System
After the kids have left for the day, if grandma and grandpa like to open a bottle of wine, with the Coravin Pivot Wine Preservation System, they don’t need to worry about finishing the entire bottle at once, according to the brand. The Pivot Stoppers can help to preserve wine in its just-opened form for up to four weeks.
TableTopics Grandparents and Grandkids
Sometimes it's hard for grandparents and grandkids to connect. That’s where this box of TableTopics cards comes in. Whether over a meal or while spending the day together, the cards have 135 topics to discuss, like favorite songs or the best things about being their age.
Best keepsakes for grandparents
‘Around Our Table: A Modern Heirloom Recipe Book’ by Korie Herold
For the family who enjoys cooking together, having a place to write down and preserve cherished recipes is priceless. The book has seven sections, 138 pages, 40 index cards and plastic sleeves for recipes.
My Life in a Book
My Life in a Book is an easy way for grandparents to share their stories for generations to come. After registering, grandpa and grandma will get an email with a question prompt to inspire the story. At the end of the year, they will have written 52 stories that will be bound in a book and sent to a designated person to cherish for their lifetime and beyond.
Americanflat White Family Tree
If there’s one thing that grandparents love, it’s pictures of their kids and grandkids. With this family-tree picture hanger, they can show off their whole family at once.
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