Finding the best Christmas gifts for a grandfather is all about finding his favourite places. If Gramps is always in the shed, you can get him a gift that makes his special place that little bit more comfortable. If he’s a fiend for the allotment, then a garden trowel or a gardener’s tuck box may make the best present.
You can find a range of endearing gifts for grandfathers at Not On the High Street.
Memories always make a good Christmas gift, particularly when the originals are starting to fade. For cine film or VHS to DVD transfer, or to convert documents and old photos to a more permanent format, look up Snappy Snaps. In America, Got Memories does the same thing.
The great thing about buying gifts for people who already have everything they need, is that you can concentrate on getting them things they’ll really want instead. The grandpa who doesn’t drink tea is a rare beast indeed, so you’re bound to come up trumps with a personalised tea or coffee mug. Or if you’d prefer to give him something to enjoy his favourite tipple, then an engraved hip flask or a special bottle of whisky could be just the thing. Both can be found at treathim.com.
Grandpa will always love a gift that lets him do what he loves doing best – hanging out with his grandchildren. If they have a shared hobby (like fishing), then equipment that’ll encourage them to spend days together will go down very well indeed.
If they don’t have a shared hobby, maybe now’s the time to start one up. grandparents are always keen to get their grandchildren out of doors more – and there are a number of easy to use gadgets that might encourage a grandson or granddaughter to go on a long walk with their granddad. A simple walking GPS could provoke quite a monumental post-lunch saunter!
Hunting down the family tree can be an absorbing pastime for Gramps and for the grandchildren too. A membership to one of the bigger genealogy sites could unearth some fascinating discoveries, and provide a project that grandpa can do with the kids for a couple of years. In the UK, ancestry.co.uk offers a range of membership packages for different levels of search intensity. In the US, genealogy.com performs the same function.
You don’t have to buy a Christmas gift to make grandpa’s day. Some of the longest-used, most loved gifts of all are home made: a walking stick; a hand painted mug; or even a toolbox. If it’s something that has been handmade and has a resonance with his hobbies, it’ll tick all the boxes – showing thought and time have gone into it.
Nothing makes a grandparent’s Christmas more special than seeing grandchildren. Wherever possible, the number one gift for grandpa this year will be an invitation to the family meal. If that means holding back on the Christmas bubbly until you’ve given him a lift home again – well, why not consider it? it is Christmas, after all…
