Gift Ideas for Grandparents

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Gift for Blind Great-Grandmother

Nov 2004

My grandmother is nearly entirely blind from macular degeneration. I'm trying to think of a good XMas gift for her, and wonder if anyone knows of a way to have a controured cameo or something similar made of a child's profile. At age 95, she certainly doesn't need heirloom jewelry, but I'm wondering if anyone provides this sort of service outside of the realm of fancy jewelry. Or anyone have any other tactile gift ideas for a proud great-grandma? My daughter is 18 months and my nephew (something that involved both of her great-grandchildren would be wonderful) is nearly 6 years old, if the ages matter. Thanks for any ideas! anne

How about a plate or tile with an impression of the child's hand-- something to both look at and feel? I imagine there are kits you can use, or one of those big craft stores would have something. I sometimes wish I had more keepsakes to remind me of when my big guy had those cute little hands. a mom

My mom also lost her sight due to macular gerneration and what she liked best were audio tapes of my child, and us too. We taped everyday events, as well as special occasion, that we edited down and mixed together. We had my son ''pretend'' speak to grandma, and also just say whatever was on his mind. Grandma then felt like she had visited for a while, and was up to date on her grandson's development.

Mom also enjoyed books on tape, which she received through an agency that unfortunately I can't remember the name of, and music tapes too. She also liked to listen to cspan and court TV. another Aunt who also had the disease got really into Baseball and Football on the radio. Helene

Gifts for Grandfather's 70th Birthday

Jan 2000

Hello. My father-in-law in turning 70 shortly, having a big party etc. I'd like to give him something special somehow related to his grandaughter (my daughter) who is 16 mos. old. Does anyone have any great ideas? Some ideas I had: a garden stone with her hand and footprints; a pillow with her picture on it...stuff like that. Thanks!! Hilary

We just gave a gift to our 80 yr old grandpa. It would depend on how verbal your child is...I wrote out questions about him for my daughter to answer. Grandpa's favorite food is.....etc. My daughter sees him every week so had some true and funny things to say. Or it could be a funny story about Grandpa that your child fills in the blanks (with prompting). I put it in a nice font, printed on colored paper and framed. Karen

How about a mug or plaque with the baby's handprints (and maybe even some toddler artwork)? There are a couple of places where you buy the ceramics and then pay a studio fee which covers the cost of paints; they glaze and fire it for you and you pick it up 3-5 days later. Makes a personalized gift, and they're fun to make, too. (If you're bringing a toddler, I would recommend either going with another adult or allowing about 3 times longer than you think you'll need.) There's a studio on College at Claremont; the name escapes me but it's right next to Mama's Royal Cafe. Jennifer