Present for grandparents

izzieuk

I *always* have trouble with my grandparents. Here are a few ideas that have been swimming around in my head for both sets of grandparents this year, they may or may not be helpful to you too:
- Photo album/book- my grandparents, both mums side and dads side LOVE photos of me and my siblings and family. There are loads of cheap/free photobook offers so I'm thinking of putting together a set of photos into a pretty album. Get a really good selection, and if you don't have prints load some photos from your archives into a print website as you can usually get 40 free prints, especially if you're a Virgin customer, you get 40 a month. You could stick some in a blank calender as well.
- Marks & Spencers is brilliant for my grandparents, they have a lot of things there like posh toiletries, books, scarves and gloves, etc and it's 3 for 2 again this year. Last year I got my grandparents a selection and sent it along and they were ecstatic.
- You could find a big selection of diabetic sweets and chocolate, find a pretty jar or other recepticle, put on some posh ribbon or a bow and arrange the sweets inside. Or put together a diabetic themed hamper along with some bath stuff.

I hope this helps. I feel your pain in trying to find grandparents stuff, but my experience is even if I dont think its a very good present theyre always delighted because they dont get much post anyway, and it shows you care.

travelgran

Just a word of warning from a long-term diabetic - please don't go overboard on diabetic sweets and foods. The substitute ingredients can make the recipient spend a long time in the loo(!), besides which most of them taste pretty foul, in my experience anyway, and nothing like the 'real thing'!

izzieuk

travelgran wrote: »

Just a word of warning from a long-term diabetic - please don't go overboard on diabetic sweets and foods. The substitute ingredients can make the recipient spend a long time in the loo(!), besides which most of them taste pretty foul, in my experience anyway, and nothing like the 'real thing'!

Hiya- I did not know this! Thanks for letting me know!
I have the same problem with finding dairy free chocolate (am vegan), it always gives me a tummy ache.

mr_knight

I bought my grandad one of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dear-Grandad-you-Journal-Lifetime/dp/1907048030/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1290620811&sr=8-1

He loved it. Also did the digital photo thing and he loved that too and I made him a photobook but with articles and stories about him in it, like a this is your life. Took me ages but it was really good (IMO of course )

Gemzie121

I've got my grandad a fleece blanket which is being embroidered with a motorbike for him. I've also got him a 'best grandad' washbag which Im filling with toiletries for him. Both useful things that he will use.

My gran likes socks, gardening things, a good book, pretty things for her house.

Hope that gives a few ideas.

jackomdj

LEJC wrote: »

we bought a good digital photo frame with lots of memory staorage!

we got MIL one of these a couple of years ago & loaded it with photo's. We took the presents down before Xmas & it was sat unused when we next went down (only a few weeks after) so we set it up for her. We watched them go through once, then she turned it off....& I don't think she has put it on since. She has now told me that she has put it away!?!

Rubynewshoes

jackomdj wrote: »

we got MIL one of these a couple of years ago & loaded it with photo's. We took the presents down before Xmas & it was sat unused when we next went down (only a few weeks after) so we set it up for her. We watched them go through once, then she turned it off....& I don't think she has put it on since. She has now told me that she has put it away!?!

This happened with a digital photoframe I got my grandparents a couple of xmas's ago. Maybe I could get them a new usb stick with some more recent photos on.

These are all fab ideas, thanks everyone. Think I'll avoid the diabetic sweets though!

HelenDaveKids

jackieb8man wrote: »

I found a lovely notebook in a national trust shop that I gave to my elderly Mum. It is full of questions about the past and encourages them to write down their memories and feelings about alsorts of things, then it is passed back to the giver later on as a sort of memoir record. Try googling "Memories For My Grandchild". You could even have a look at one in the shops and see if you can make one of your own. My mum was really pleased with hers as she had seen my Mother In Law decline with Alzhiemers and was worried she would forget lots of things herself. If your Grandma has trouble with her eyesight you could sit together and talk then you could write in the book for her. It is a lovely way to spend time together and you find out lots of things you may not have thought to ask before.

Thats a lovely idea. Have ordered 2 (each grandma!!) On amazon about 4 seconds ago!:j so big thanks for that!!!!!!

Bought my dad a digital photo frame last christmas and he loves it (but loves gadgets~)

On a sad note (!!!!) I bought my FIL a plug in heated pad (for aches and pains) years ago and he still raves about it, and hes a true Victor Meldrew!

Little_Miss_Uni-Debt

Hi all,

Me & my boyfriend have had a thread on here as we have been offering photo restoration - for free of course! We've done a few on here for fellow MSE'ers to give as Christmas presents. You can just e-mail us a scanned image & we'll e-mail it back when complete!

If anyone wants to send me a PM, we can help anyone out if they think it would make a nice present!

Thanks!