Grandparents are famously hard to buy for at Christmas. Most say they want nothing, and mean it. What they almost always want is more of the family: the grandchildren's faces, news from the year, proof that everyone is well. The best Christmas gifts for grandparents deliver exactly that.
Here are Christmas gift ideas for grandparents, honestly assessed, from things the grandchildren can make to a piece for the wall that lasts long after the decorations come down.
What grandparents actually want at Christmas
Time and news
A visit, a call, a card with real news in it. Anything that brings the family closer in a year when they may not see everyone as often as they would like.
Something from the grandchildren
A drawing, a letter, a photo they chose. Grandparents keep these for decades, long after shop-bought gifts are forgotten.
Nothing that needs explaining
Skip gadgets that need an app or a password. The best gifts work the moment they are unwrapped.
Christmas gift ideas for grandparents, honestly assessed
1. The year in photos, from every branch of the family
A photo collage of the grandchildren and the family's year: first steps, school photos, holidays, birthdays. A word art collage surrounds the photos with the words that belong to the family: every grandchild's name, the places you went, the things the grandparents always say. It hangs where they see it every day, not in a phone they rarely open.
2. A calendar with the grandchildren in every month
Practical and loved. Choose a photo for each month and mark the birthdays in advance. It gets looked at every day for a year.
3. Letters or drawings from each grandchild
Ask each grandchild for a short letter or a drawing about their favourite memory with their grandparents. Bind them together or frame the best one.
4. A day out with the family
A lunch, a pantomime, a garden in winter lights. Book it for after Christmas so there is something to look forward to in January.
5. Their old photos, scanned and printed
Offer to scan their albums and slides, then give them back as prints and digital copies for the whole family. It protects photos that cannot be replaced.
6. Something warm and practical
A good blanket, slippers, a hot water bottle with a knitted cover. Useful gifts are often the ones they reach for every day.
Getting the grandchildren involved
Let them choose the photos
Children have strong opinions about which photos of themselves are best. Let each one pick a few for the collage. It makes the gift theirs as much as yours.
Let them choose the words
Ask the grandchildren what they call their grandparents, their favourite things to do together, the phrases their grandparents always say. Those words make the piece unmistakably theirs.
Include the cousins
If the grandparents have grandchildren in more than one family, collect photos from everyone. A piece with all the cousins together is often the only place they appear side by side.
How many photos, and what size
An A2 print holds up to 35 photos, an A1 up to 60 and an A0 up to 100. For grandparents, fewer and bigger photos are easier to enjoy from a favourite chair. A framed print is the finished choice for a living room; a poster hanger is lighter and simpler to hang. Not every size is available in every country; our guide to photo collage prints compares the formats.
Order in good time
Every piece is printed to order, so leave time before Christmas, especially for photos coming from several families. Delivery times for your country are on our shipping page.
Frequently asked questions
What do you buy grandparents who say they want nothing?
Something made from the family: a collage of the grandchildren's year, letters from each grandchild, or time spent together.
Can the grandchildren help make it?
Yes. They can choose photos and suggest words, and you can design it together on a laptop or tablet.
Can I include photos from several families?
Yes. Collect them in a shared album and add them all to the designer. The collage arranges them for you, and you can move any photo.
Can I add the grandchildren's names?
Yes. You choose every word yourself, so each grandchild's name can go around the photos.
Where to start
Ask each family for their favourite photos from the year, then start creating the collage here. Designing costs nothing and you only pay if you decide to print it. For more ideas, see our Christmas photo gift ideas and family photo collage ideas.