Gifts for Grandparents

Grandparents normally do not want or need stuff to add to the clutter that they have collected over the years. The things that our elderly relatives tend to appreciate most are our time, help with the things that they can no longer do as well as they used to, a break from their routine, small indulgences, and memories.

Based on these things I have compiled a list of gift ideas.

1. A gift certificate for a massage. These can be purchased at gyms, spas, or massage therapy centers. There are massage therapists that specialize in massage for the elderly, called senior's massage or geriatric massage. Massage can help relieve the aches and pains associated with ageing.

2. A gift certificate for a day at a spa, or for a specific treatment such as a facial, a manicure, hydrotherapy, aromatherapy, the list is long and depends on the spa or saloon that you choose. We all enjoy being pampered, and this enjoyment is not diminished with age.

3. A year's subscription to their favorite magazine, newspaper or book club. Every time they receive a new edition, they will remember you.

4. A homemade gift certificate setting a specific date to take them to lunch or dinner with you. Many times the most appreciated gift we can give is our time, and this sets a date after the busy holiday season for some special time.

5. Frozen home cooked meals in individual portions. Give your grandparent's a night off from cooking without having to leave the house.

6. Memories. Write a text or create a video or recording of your memories of them from when you were a child, compile letters from their friends and family with stories from when they were younger, or create a family photo album with old almost forgotten pictures.

7. A Grandparent's Book. Make a book for them with a notebook or a binder, where you ask them questions about their childhood, their teenage years, their parents, their siblings, and their way of life. Give them space to write their memories of their life and ask them to return the gift to you next Christmas. They will enjoy remembering and you will enjoy knowing them better.

8. A monthly bouquet of flowers. Receiving fresh flowers makes everyone smile.

For grandparents who may be living on a limited budget there are many practical and indulgent gifts you can give them.

9. Gift certificates for movie tickets to the local theater.

10. A long distance telephone card. Keep them in touch with family and friends that no longer live close by.

11. A housecleaning. You can do this yourself, or hire a service.

12. Vouchers from the local pharmacy. Many seniors have expensive medication that they must take and for those living on a limited income this is a great help.

13. A gift certificate to their hairdresser or barber. Going to the hairdresser is an indulgence that many seniors on a limited budget skip.

14. Give them IOUs redeemable throughout the year for things such as cleaning the yard, a meal out or in with your family, or a day outing to the amusement park with young grandchildren.

15. A gift certificate to a local restaurant so that they can take a friend out to dinner.

16. A subscription to a fruit, chocolate, or food of the month club. The gift of the month clubs come in many flavors and prices.

Many families live far away from their elderly relatives and the most meaningful gifts are not always those that cost a lot of money and will sit on a shelf gathering dust. The most meaningful gifts are those that remind our elderly relatives that they are loved and wanted, no matter the distance or time that separates them from the younger generations.