photo by flickr
Buying presents is something I like doing. Even though I live overseas, I like coming up with ideas for my nieces and nephews. Sometimes this is done online, but most of the time it is at the local market.
What I do find hard is buying for the grandparents. My husband’s parents lived here and have every little trinket and painting that they have to offer in this Asian country. My mother doesn’t need another trinket, table covering, wall hanging, etc. So, a few years back I began to think about this dilemma. What do you buy them? Do I just add money to the gift fund that all my sibs are doing and let them buy the gift for us? Do I try to find a new book that they haven’t read?
A light went on. The one thing they don’t have is seeing my kids on a regular basis. I decided to make something with them as the focus. So, here are just a few gift ideas that I have given in the past.
Note: I’m not mentioning this year’s idea because they might read this. But, I’ll post a picture of it AFTER Christmas.
1. Home DVDs of the kids.
2. Calendars with the kids’ pictures for each month. I’ve used Shutterfly, which has been great because they mail all over the world.
3. Album of specifically of our time with them that previous summer/winter. This I also did with Shutterfly.
4. I’ve had the kids trace their hands to make various craft projects. This was a visual for them to see how big they really were getting. I’ve made Christmas trees and Christmas wreaths. Pinterest is a good resource for finding ideas of this sort.
I have this year’s gift almost completed, which is a good thing since I’m about out of time to get it there before Christmas Day!
What are some gift ideas that you have for the grandparents? Any favorite that they really liked the best? Please share in the comments below.
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raisingTCKs 
My folks and my hubby’s folks love the calendars. I do too, as I can give them something they enjoy for the whole year! I usually keep one for myself so that my kids enjoy it as well.
Do you use shutterfly or something different? I have to watch on the calendars, because I know some our siblings also do that for gifts. Last year I did a desk calendar, just so it could be put somewhere different. 😉
In the past we’ve also given the Grandparents DVDs, calendars and small scrapbook photo albums. Unfortunately this year we haven’t prepared anything 😦 I did have an idea of making a Christmas tree ornament especially for them, but … had no time to sit with the kids and make it in time for the Holidays. Maybe next year?
Well, I haven’t gotten our mailed out yet, but hope to get that done by Friday at the latest.
I like the idea of a Christmas tree ornament…I’ll have to remember that one. Might do that for next year….
Hi! New to your blog. I just read about a digital frame that you can update by emailing the pictures to it. Perfect for “long-distance” grandparents. It’s called the Kodak pulse.
I need to look into that for next year. Sounds like a really good gift idea that you can just keep adding to at various times to surprise them with. Thanks for the idea!