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Becoming a grandparent for the first time is one of life’s biggest milestones. But what exactly are the best gifts to mark the occasion? After speaking to grandparents about their recommendations, I’ve found that they generally appreciate gifts that’ll help them connect with their new grandchild, like a keepsake book for recording memories or items to make their grandchild more comfortable when they spend a weekend at grandma’s house. That said, the grandparents I talked to would still happily receive a gift related to their own hobbies and interests, like a popcorn maker for the cinephile or some kid-friendly coloring supplies for group crafting sessions.
Here, I’ve gathered all of those gift ideas. On top of covering lots of interests, our grandparents’ gift ideas come at every price point, making it even easier to find the right thing for the new grandparents in your life. If you have a specific budget, skip around with the table of contents. And if you’re looking for ideas for everyone else on your list, we’ve got dozens more gift guides for every type of person and every budget.
Update on November 26, 2024: Updated prices and checked stock for all products.
Under $25
Grandmother Mary Eckenrode says her grandchildren always ask her what she did when she was little, and these guided journals will give them even more questions to ask. They’re full of simple but creative prompts for grandparents and grandchildren to complete over time. Grandparenting writer Teresa Kindred, founder of the blog NanaHood, liked hers so much that she’s gifted it to multiple new grandparents since.
The Long Distance Grandparent founder Kerry Byrne likes this specific journal because it’s full of prompts, contains a family tree, and comes with a pocket to store small memorabilia.
For a grandparent whose passion is cooking, consider buying one of these kid-friendly cookbooks, which includes easy recipes to make together and classic cooking tips that the family chef will want to pass on.
This picture frame has a front-loading design that makes it easy to open and close whenever the grandparent wants to swap in a new drawing.
Aaron Larsen, Grandparents Academy founder, recommends personalized artwork featuring handprints or footprints. Not only will this kit make a wonderful keepsake featuring photos of the baby and their little hands, but the making of it will be a memory of its own.
This grandparent-specific journal will help them recall stories about themselves with questions and prompts, which they can later pass down to younger generations.
Grandmother Donne Davis says anything by Pulitzer Prize winner Anna Quindlen is “required reading” for new grandparents. Quindlen, who has written about family living for decades, wrote Nanaville about the dos and don’ts she learned in her first years of becoming a grandparent.
Here’s a book geared more toward new grandfathers. It’s chock-full of practical and creative ways to engage more with their grandchildren and help them get outside of their comfort zone.
Compression socks, known for preventing heavy legs or swollen feet throughout a long flight, make trips to see baby more comfortable. Go with this tight yet stretchy pair.
Jeanne Gallo is a grandmother to seven grandkids under age 6 and says, “When they come in, they go running to the books,” specifically these board-book classics. She recommends gifting new grandparents the books they read to their own children if they don’t have them anymore.
Gallo also appreciates having these kid-friendly plates, so that “when they come over, they are excited to use our stuff.” This pack includes multiple colors, so each grandchild can choose their favorite.
Grandmother Kim Ogunkeye would appreciate any gift that establishes a tradition with her new granddaughter. In my family, the holiday puzzle tradition has remained strong my entire life.
Grandmother Ronnie Green says that she’d still appreciate gifts that honor her hobbies and passions, one of which is film. If that sounds familiar, consider this no-fuss popcorn maker, so the new grandparent can host family movie nights for years to come.
Under $50
Gift them a customized wall calendar curated with family photos. Strategist writer Arielle Avila has given one to her grandparents a couple times and suggests going with a theme — like a birthday or anniversary — for each month.
This customizable photo-memory game is a more interactive gift that’s still personalized. It lets you include up to 12 images of the grandbaby, family members, and special moments.
Grandparents and grandchildren alike can enjoy seeing themselves in Wonderbly’s customizable picture books. These grandma- and grandpa-specific ones let you add up to four grandkids as characters, personalize the title with your grandparent’s nickname, and write a dedication page.
If they’re prone to misplacing things around the house, they’ll appreciate the ease of an all-in-one phone case and wallet. Grandma Marina, half of the popular Instagram account Drawings for My Grandchildren, says hers allows her to “always have my hands free, but keeps my phone close to my body — close at hand.”
If they’re coming from out of town, a hotel or Airbnb gift card means their family trip is part getaway vacation for the two of them.
For the grandparent who has taken up art classes in their retirement, consider these kid-friendly colored pencils, which are super-smooth and saturated; they can use them to teach little ones how to shade and blend.
If the new grandparent was once in a band, consider this multifaceted musical instrument for babies, so they can play out new rhythms together.
Though grandmother Carla Sloan and her husband would rather not accumulate more clutter, she says the pillow she received that read “Noni and Papa, Established 2022” was a welcome surprise. You can customize this one with the new grandparents’ preferred names and the year they became grandparents.
Sloan’s grandkids visit her often, so she says baby-related gifts are the best because “you need to build up your army of baby stuff all over again, and you don’t want to go crazy paying for it all.” This simple baby monitor is best for the grandparent who doesn’t want to fuss with a video monitor, but if you’d like to go all out, we recommend the Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro Baby Monitor.
Under $100
Like many new grandparents, Sloan is trying to cut down on clutter, so she likes the idea of this service, which compiles the grandchild’s drawings into a neat little book. All you have to do is send over your favorite art pieces in the provided box and approve the digital proof. As Sloan says, “Grandma and Grandpa don’t need 50,000 pieces of art in their downsized condo.”
This compact travel pillow prevents lateral bending in the neck and was enthusiastically recommended in our senior survey. Gift it to the grandparents with plans to visit more often.
A couple grandparents expressed their interest in documenting and passing down their family history. This virtual class from the National Genealogy Society teaches students how to do just that at their own pace within a six-month time frame.
If they’re running around with the new grandchild, they’ll appreciate the convenience of an at-home foot massage. We suggest this electric option that has multiple massage modes and an automatic shutoff after 20 minutes (just in case they’re not quite tech savvy).
Under $200
Hokas were a comfy shoe standout in our senior survey and our guide to walking shoes. They’re extra-cushioned, so the grandparent who wants to keep up with the new crawler will have added support.
Digital picture frames came up again and again during my conversations with new grandparents as a way to stay up-to-date with all the photos of the grandbaby. We recommend this one because the gift giver can preload it with photos, which Ogunkeye would appreciate because, as she says, some grandparents are more technologically sophisticated than others. Sloan has one, too, and says, “I call that the gift that keeps on giving every day.”
If their little red wagon is long gone, consider giving them a new one. Gallo and her husband “put all the kids in there, and we’ll take them for a trip around the block,” she says.
Over $200
If they’ve been helping you around the house while you keep up with the new baby, give them this robot vacuum to help lighten their own chore load.
While pricier, an exercise bike was a popular wish-list item and favorite splurge in our senior survey, and it will keep new grandparents active. This Schwinn bike has multiple adjustable settings and workout programs for a customized ride, and it displays your ride history.
High chairs are one of those expensive baby items that are actually very helpful for a grandparent who wants to have the grandkids over all the time. Gallo likes this one, which is also the Strategist’s best-in-class pick, because it grows with baby and can be reverted when there’s a new grandchild on the way.
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