Although I didn't believe it for one second as a child, it's true that the older we get the less we need or want. That's why giving meaningful gifts to your children's grandparents (i.e. your parents and in-laws) can be such a tall order. A Snuggie or a "World's Best Grandma" sweater just won't cut it. Nor will slippers, bathrobes and other gifts that imply that life has slowed down so much they can barely make it out of bed. Instead, here are some gift ideas I think they'll truly appreciate without the cheese factor.
Commission a portrait. This might sound fancy and unaffordable, but it's not just for kings and queens. Look for artists (check art schools) in your city or town who specialize in portraiture or look online for artists who work from photographs (even better for young, squirmy children or babies). Etsy, of course, is a great place to start your search. One of my favorites is Merrilee of Tuesday Mourning (top photo). I'm also a big fan of artist Lisa Golightly who offers many styles of portraiture at Kiki & Polly from simple sketches to detailed paintings.
Commission a photo shoot. If your photo collection consists mainly of iPhone photos, maybe it's time to call in a professional. If the grandparent lives nearby invite them to be a part of the shoot. If they don't, think of ways to include them - have your child wear something made or given by the grandparent or holding a favorite toy or stuffed animal gifted to them.
Photo calendars. These are getting better looking each time I check. I like the selection at Minted whose designs run from very modern to modern with a traditional touch (or is that traditional with a modern touch?)
One big, gorgeous photo. If you have a photo you know a grandparent loves, give them a really nice version of it. Have it enlarged (I use Adorama Pix) and framed or mounted onto panels with a service like Plywerk or fotoflot.
Photo books. You don't have to be a graphic designer to create an attractive photo book. Keep it simple and just use your best photos or add anecdotes or include some of your children's artwork. I like the tools at Blurb and there are a ton of others to check out including Shutterfly, Picaboo and Apple/iPhoto for Mac users.
Custom silhouettes. Silhouettes bridge the gap between traditional and modern making them a great gift for anyone. You could try making your own (find a 30 minutes or less tutorial here) or hire someone on Etsy to take on the job (like seller Luv In Every Minute).
Create or Buy a Family Tree. We often think of doing this for ourselves, but especially as the branches are expanding grandparents would appreciate seeing the family represented in artwork. You could make your own or purchase one. I like the photo family trees at Famille Summerbelle as well as the variety of super modern versions at My Tree and Me.
What grandparents really want, of course, is time. Time with you, time with their grandkids. If they live nearby, share an experience with them like tickets for everyone to a show or event. Or pay extra to include them in your family museum memberships. For grandparents who are more than just over the river and through the wood, pledge to make an extra visit this year or surprise them with a plane ticket. If they're online, set them up with a web cam and walk them through using Skype.
Do you have a great idea for a gift for grandparents that will truly be appreciated? Share it in the comments!
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All great ideas. I want these for me! We did sillhouettes for my Mom, 1 of each of the kids & even one of the dog (which she loved!)
The photo calendars are a favorite tradition for my parents & my hubby.
wifi enabled photo frame that automatically displays photos you email to the frame, or photos from a flickr or picasa stream. Pretty awesome.
lots of cool ideas! i like it. i appreciate the range of diy to high end.
I just contacted an etsy seller for a silhouette of my son last night! I think my mom will love it, and when my daughter is older, I'll have one made of her, too.
All great ideas.
This year, we're giving my parents an experience gift involving the grandchildren. We haven't decided yet. It may be a children's museum membership or a weekend visit or something else.
A note about photo calendars and related gifts: Include photos of ALL their grandchildren, not just your own children. Think about the gift from the perspective of the recepient.
we've done silhouettes, photo books, etc... running out of ideas. finally i decided to make them a mini-quilt with each grandchild's birth flower embroidered on a square.
We're doing photo books this year for both sets of grandparents. Another idea is photo canvasses. For smaller events we've done photo mugs and magnets, both of which have been hits.
I made a collage of all of the grand kids silhouettes for my in-laws last Christmas and loved the way it turned out.
http://www.craftpad.com/2009/12/handmade-holiday-gifts-sneak-peek.html
we did a canvas photo to the grandparents and a birthday calendar to all family members. also did a 8x10 photo collage from our family photo shoot.
I've done silhouettes for my own home, but hadn't considered doing it for the grandparents (gift x 4 is sometimes a lot to think about). The silhouettes seriously took just a few hours to make (drying time for the paint), and look so fantastic in a simple frame.
Great ideas. I can hardly wait to see what comes my way this year!
I made a wood-burned portrait of my husband and me for our anniversary. It's really easy- I just printed a pic of us and traced the lines I wanted from the picture onto the wood and went over it with a wood-burner.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kated/4028645081/
This year my kids are helping me make a simple, 16-block lap quilt for my inlaws. I had the kids put handprints in permanent paint onto plain cream fabric for some of the blocks, and the rest of the blocks are in two coordinating colors. My MIL does the whole country-cutesy-clutter thing (and the kids picked out the fabrics) so they're bright calicoes, but for a more modern quilt it would be easy to pick graphic prints and clean contrasting colors. It makes the present more special to give the kids buy-in, so I always consult with them on what colors or let them pick fabrics or help with part of it or something -- this year my 11-yo is learning to use the machine to piece the blocks together.
I LOVE this idea for a non-cheesy, personalized gift to blend in with any decor:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62698404/your-words-on-the-plate-set-of-4
I put in a big order several weeks ago and the quality is outstanding.
Anything that will have to be either kept forever or hung or put somewhere is not welcome for my grand-parents, so I used to have a headache. I finally found an alternative: I only give them homemade bitter orange jam. They have this sweet tooth, the jam is really good, it's homemade and personal, but they don't have to stock it somewhere.
Last year, because I was at the end of my pregnancy, I couldn't make those jam jars, and they were a bit disappointed.
The best gift is presence. We put skype phones everywhere, and I call them at least twice a week.
Merliee is wonderful! So glad to see her on here; she's also a very sweet person!