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Meaningful gifts

What do you give grandparents who have everything?

When grandparents have everything, give time and stories instead of things: a standing call, a family story written down, or a book with the grandkids in it.

Storybook Studio Editorial Team5 min read
Three panels from the fictional claymation book Ava and the Starbound Express: the cover with Ava, Grandma, and Grandpa, the train over the rooftops, and Grandpa checking the engine while Grandma reads a map

The short answer

Grandparents who have everything usually want more of the grandkids, not more objects. Give something that holds time or a story: a standing date, a family story written down in the child's words, a recording of the kids reading to them, or a storybook where the grandchildren are the heroes and the grandparents are in the scenes the family remembers.

Grandparents who have everything rarely need another thing. What they want more of is the grandkids. So give a gift that holds time with them, or a story about them.

Key takeaways

  • Swap objects for time: a standing date, a shared outing, a recurring call with a job for the child.
  • Write down one family story, ideally in the grandkids' words.
  • A recording of the kids reading or singing costs nothing and gets replayed.
  • A storybook works when it uses a scene the family actually remembers, with the grandkids as the heroes.

Time gifts that need no shelf space

  1. A standing date. First Saturday of the month, pancakes at their house, or a ten-minute Sunday call. Write it on a card with the next three dates filled in.
  2. An outing the child plans. Let a five-year-old pick between two places. Grandparents remember that the child chose.
  3. A call with a job. The child shows a drawing, reads a page, or asks one question they prepared. The AAP suggests an adult help young children engage during video chats (Tips for Video Chatting with Infants and Toddlers).

Story gifts: write the family down

Family stories matter to kids too. Emory University researchers who study family storytelling describe how children who know more about their family's history tend to show more resilience, and suggest sharing those stories at ordinary moments like dinner (Emory University). That is research about children, not a promise about any gift, but it is a good reason to collect the stories.

A simple version: ask the grandkids three questions about their grandparents ("What does Grandpa always say?" "What do you do at Grandma's?"), write the answers exactly, and bind them into a little booklet. The child's wording is the gift.

If the grandparents also look after the kids, the AAP's tips for grandparents who provide child care encourage reading and sharing stories together (Tips for Grandparents Who Provide Child Care). A book with the grandchildren in it gives them one more thing to read together.

Is a personalized book a good gift for them?

It can be, if it is specific. A book where the grandkids are the heroes and the grandparents appear in a scene the family remembers (Grandpa's workshop, Grandma's garden, the beach every July) holds both a story and the people in it. A generic "I love Grandma" book is just another object.

Our grandparent storybook ideas help you pick that scene. Whether the personalization is specific enough is covered in what makes a personalized storybook a meaningful gift.

Ava and the Starbound Express is our fictional sample. Ava, Grandma, and Grandpa are made-up characters on a toy train adventure. Your book should use your family's real details.

Cover of the fictional claymation book Ava and the Starbound Express with Ava, Grandma, and Grandpa
Cover. Ava, Grandma, and Grandpa are fictional sample characters.
A claymation train crosses above tiny rooftops with Grandpa in the cab and Ava and Grandma inside the coach
The train goes over the town. Big adventure, small cast.
Grandpa checks the engine while Grandma reads a map and Ava listens beside them in the train cabin
Grandpa checks the engine, Grandma checks the map, and Ava listens. Each grandparent has a job that sounds like them.

For December, Christmas gifts for grandparents from the grandkids sorts ideas by age and distance. If the gift runs the other way, from a grandparent to a grandchild, the Christmas book for a grandson guide is written for the giver.

If you need help finding a scene, personalized story ideas for everyday family moments lists the ordinary moments that make the best stories.

The grandparents form is at /create/grandparents. It does not ask for a child age. You choose the details before you pay. On the holiday, bedtime, and grandparents forms, the story and art are created after checkout, and you approve the proof before anything prints.

When should we order?

Prices, shipping and any tax are on the pricing page and are shown before you pay. A printed copy has to be approved and mailed, so leave time for that before the day you plan to give it.

Journal articles are drafted by AI, checked against their sources and our live pricing pages, and are not reviewed by a named human reviewer.

More related guidance:

Sources

  1. How family stories help children weather hard times — Emory University

  2. Tips for Video Chatting with Infants and Toddlers — American Academy of Pediatrics

  3. Tips for Grandparents Who Provide Child Care — American Academy of Pediatrics

  4. Storybook Studio pricing

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