The Perfect Gift for Grandad or Grandma Over the Holidays

My grandfather is one of the most difficult people to shop for. He has stock, owns his home, can build pretty much anything, is a master mechanic and a chef. I can't very well cook him anything that he won't decide to doctor up. His car is just about brand spanking new so even an air freshener would be pointless. Giving a man who has more money than you more money is pointless, and he has everything in his home that he wants and needs to own. However, I have mastered the art of giving gifts to those who have everything. There are a few things that they will always need no matter how much money or how talented they are, and those are the winning gifts I've given my grandfather over the years.

This type of gift works for grandmothers and grandfathers alike though, and grandchildren are usually spoiled anyway so even if your parents wanted to give them the same gift, yours is better just because of the "grand" in front of your title. Oh, the joys of being a grandchild.

Photo Calendar: Retirement organizations and charities send calendars with birds and flowers and photos of people nobody knows who don't look a thing like the sender. But your grandparents sure do love their extended family, and they're always going to enjoy seeing the latest pics of family events. For the past two years, I've created a photo calendar for my grandfather with funny and memorable moments-his 85^th birthday party making faces with his neighborhood friends, the two of us sitting together on Thanksgiving, my nephews dressed up for Halloween in October, my brother and his wife on their wedding day. I knew what events he'd been to and how he'd reacted to them, and I used that to my advantage. Every time he changes that calendar, he calls me to joke about that month's photo.

Round-To-It List: There's an ongoing joke between my grandfather and myself about the Round-To-It list. Whenever one of us doesn't want to do something, we'll say we'll get "around to it." He shortened that up to "round-to-it." This past year I couldn't think of one thing to buy him. But I'd heard him all year round complaining about things he needed to clean, vacuum, mop and dust. I wrote out an entire list of items that looked like a hotel cleaning crew checklist, showed it to him and then took off around his house. I started doing every single thing on my list, and after I finished about 12 different chores, I put a checkmark next to them all. Of course he felt guilty and started cleaning along with me, but he showed that list off to everybody telling them all I'd done that he was going to get "round-to-it."

Store Gift Cards: Grandparents like to spoil their grandchildren, but they have to spend money just like anybody else. However, they tend to be pickier about what it is they want. I know my grandfather loves to cook so a grocery store gift card is going to come in handy. I know he likes watching old sitcoms, so an electronics gift card to buy DVD sets is going to be useful. I never buy him store gift cards to places I've never heard him say he's shopped in less than five times.

Dinner Gift Card or Dinner Treat: Although some grandparents are very old school about who pays for breakfast, lunch or dinner, they may just let the rules slide on a special occasion. Although it's usually an argument followed by sneaking the restaurant check away from my grandfather, grandmothers are more likely to let you pay the tab. Chivalry may weigh in with older men though so beware of trying to give this away as a gift. You might be better off cooking for him and then sneaking the money for the food (that he conveniently slipped into your apron or coat pocket) back into his wallet with a post-it that says, "You're the best. I love you."