Gift guide · 12 ideas
Gifts for grandparents
Comfort for the armchair, a little help with the jobs that got harder, and reasons to spend time with the grandkids.
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Ask Grandma or Grandpa what they want and the answer is nearly always the same: nothing, just come and see us. So these ideas lean the way they would. Some make the house warmer and the small print easier to read, some take the bending out of the yard work, and a few give them a reason to be out with the grandkids, on the sidelines or at the kitchen window watching the bird feeder.
Each idea comes with our pick from one of our top lists, chosen with older hands and eyes in mind: big numbers, simple buttons and soles that grip. Gadgets are kept to a minimum, and the one that matters most, the photo frame, is worth setting up before you hand it over.
A Wi-Fi digital photo frame
The whole family can send photos to it from their phones, and new pictures of the grandkids just appear on the shelf. A good fit for grandparents who never took to social media.
Skylight Frame 10-inch Wi-Fi Digital Picture Frame (black)
$100–$150
Each Skylight gets its own email address, so relatives can send a photo from any phone or computer without installing anything, and it turns up on the frame within a minute. The 10-inch touchscreen shows 1280 × 800 pictures, and the frame keeps playing the photos it has stored if the Wi-Fi drops.
What owners say: Photos from family across the country just appear, often as a nice surprise, and owners say anyone can use it. They praise the sharp picture, though a few think it costs more than it should.
A closer look: Choose the frame’s email address during setup and share it with the family: anything attached to an email lands on the screen. Gift Mode lets photos go on before the box is even opened, and because it stores what it receives, the slideshow keeps going through a Wi-Fi outage.
- 10 in touchscreen
- Photos by email or app
- Photos arrive within a minute
Heads up: Videos and captions need a paid Skylight Plus plan; photos sent by email or the app stay free.
View on Amazon See our top 5 digital photo frames →A record player
The records they grew up dancing to are probably still in a closet somewhere. A turntable with its own speakers plays them the day it’s unpacked, with the grandkids asking what all those big black discs are.
1 BY ONE Bluetooth Belt-Drive Turntable with Built-in Speakers
$150–$200
A magnetic cartridge with an Audio-Technica stylus and an adjustable counterweight, the parts of a serious turntable, but with speakers built into the wood-and-metal cabinet, so it plays records the moment it’s set up.
What owners say: Turned up all the way, it fills a medium-sized room, owners report, and the controls are simple enough for a first record player. Phones pair over Bluetooth without trouble.
A closer look: Adjust the counterweight before the first record, since it sets how firmly the stylus sits in the groove. Its Bluetooth works one way: it plays a phone through its speakers, but won’t send records to wireless headphones.
- Speakers built in
- Plays a phone over Bluetooth
- Audio-Technica stylus
A heated throw
For the armchair on winter evenings, so they’re warm without turning up the heat for the whole house. Nobody has to fetch another blanket when they doze off after the evening news.
Bedsure GentleSoft Heated Throw (50 x 60 in)
$30–$50
Ribbed flannel on top and sherpa underneath give it a softer, more textured look than most heated throws. It has six heat levels, six timer settings from one to ten hours, and a preheat mode that stays warm for two hours and then eases down for six.
What owners say: Soft and cozy, and comfortable even switched off, owners say, with plenty of settings for heat and time. Warmth, size and staying power draw mixed reports, some finding it smaller or cooler than they expected.
A closer look: Preheat is the setting for a night in front of the TV: press it as you sit down and leave the controller alone until bedtime. At 3.6 lb it has a reassuring weight on the lap, and it draws just 100W from a standard outlet, far less than a space heater.
- Ribbed flannel and sherpa
- Timer runs 1–10 hours
- Preheat mode
A big-number alarm clock
Checking the time at night shouldn’t mean hunting for glasses on the nightstand. Big numbers they can see from the pillow, and a soft glow for the trip down the hall at 3 a.m.
Odokee Digital Alarm Clock with Night Light (U2)
$10–$20
Two-inch digits on a silver face, five wake-up sounds from birdsong to a siren that build from gentle to as loud as 110dB, and a night light in any of eight colors. All the buttons are on the front, so there’s no reaching around the back in the dark.
What owners say: Owners can read the big numbers across the room without their glasses, like having several brightness levels and alarm sounds to choose from, and enjoy the soft color-changing light at bedtime.
A closer look: Set the volume low for a light sleeper or near the top for a heavy one, since each sound starts soft and climbs to the level you choose. The night light dims or switches off just like the digits, and the display shows 12- or 24-hour time.
- 5 alarm sounds, 30–110dB
- Alarm works in power outages
- 8-color night light
A reading floor lamp
Bright light that bends right over the shoulder for the crossword, the library book or the knitting, instead of squinting under the ceiling light.
PACOVY Adjustable LED Floor Lamp
$20–$30
A bright task lamp for reading, sewing and crafts: 120 LEDs give 1,800 lumens through a flicker-free panel on a gooseneck head, and the pole extends from 56.7 to 67.5 in. It dims from 10 to 100%, and its light runs from a warm 2,700K to a crisp daylight 6,500K.
What owners say: Bright enough for fiber art and painting, owners say, with a head and height that adjust to the work and a remote that does a lot. Some find the base steady and others less so, and a few expected a bigger head for its height.
A closer look: Set it just behind the shoulder, on the side away from your writing or stitching hand, so the light falls on the work without a shadow. The remote is magnetic and sticks to the pole, and five preset modes, from Work to Night Light, save fiddling with brightness and color.
- Dims from 10% to 100%
- Remote and touch controls
- Gooseneck turns 360°
Electric salt and pepper grinders
Stiff fingers make twisting a pepper mill a chore, and plenty of grandparents quietly give up on fresh pepper. With these it takes one hand and a press, at every meal.
ioion Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder Set (batteries included)
$20–$30
The batteries come in the box, so these work right away: press the top to grind, let go to stop, with a light showing where it falls. The clear acrylic bodies show at a glance which is salt and when either needs a refill.
What owners say: Owners find the pair easy to use one-handed and like the adjustable grind on both the salt and the pepper, and that the batteries come included.
A closer look: The grind dial sits on the outside, so changing from fine for soup to coarse for steak doesn’t mean touching the grinding end. Simple press-and-hold controls make them easy for older cooks to use, and a cleaning brush and storage bases come in the box.
- Batteries included
- 5 grind settings
- Press and hold to grind
Warm slippers with grippy soles
Soft, warm slippers with a treaded sole, for a surer step on hardwood floors than the worn-flat pair she’s had by the bed for years.
Evshine Chenille Knit Fuzzy Slippers
Under $10
A soft chenille-knit upper with a fluffy faux-fur collar and a thick fleece lining, closed all the way around, so the whole foot stays warm whether you wear them with socks or without.
What owners say: Warm and softly cushioned, owners say, with a look they like, and more than one calls them a favorite pair. Fit and wear are less settled: some find them roomy or wide, and a few pairs lose their grip or come apart.
A closer look: Being knitted, they’re best washed in a mesh laundry bag on a gentle cycle in cold water, as Evshine suggests. The rubber sole is quiet on hard floors, which suits padding around a sleeping house, and its textured tread copes with a quick walk out to the mailbox.
- Chenille knit, fleece lining
- Machine washable
- Memory foam insole
Moccasin slippers
He still walks out for the newspaper every morning. These keep his feet warm down the driveway and back, with no changing into shoes.
shoeslocker Men’s Microsuede Moccasin Slippers (beige)
$10–$20
A tan microsuede moccasin with a soft faux-fur lining and collar, thick memory foam underfoot and a non-slip rubber sole, so it copes with the driveway as well as the kitchen floor. It can go in the washing machine when it needs freshening up.
What owners say: Comfortable and well made, with a fluffy lining, a good fit and real warmth in cold weather. They look like real moccasins, too.
A closer look: Wipe marks off the microsuede with a damp cloth between washes, and let them air-dry away from the heater rather than on it. They come in whole sizes from 8 to 14 and half sizes from 9.5 to 11.5, so most men can order their usual size.
- Microsuede, faux-fur lined
- Rubber sole, indoors or out
- Machine washable
A squirrel-proof bird feeder
Hung where they can see it from the kitchen window, it brings the birds in close and keeps the squirrels off. Something to watch with the morning coffee, and to tell the grandkids about on the phone.
Squirrel Buster Standard Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeder
$50–$75
A squirrel-closing shroud on a small, simple feeder: 1.3 lb of seed, four stainless steel perches for perching birds and a wire shroud that clinging birds can hang on, for a yard that doesn’t need six ports.
What owners say: Birds flock to it, and owners like what it saves them in seed and say it went together easily; it’s more compact than some pictured, and in a few yards the squirrels still won.
A closer look: Vents at the top let warm, damp air escape from the clear seed tube, which keeps the seed fresher through a hot spell. Perching birds use the four perches at the ports, while clinging birds can feed hanging from the wire shroud, so more birds can use it at once.
- Squirrel-proof seed feeder
- 13.3 in tall
- Holds 1.3 lb of seed
Binoculars
Small and light enough to live on the windowsill by the bird feeder, ready the moment something unusual lands. When the grandkids visit, they’ll want a turn too.
Hontry 10x25 Compact Binoculars
$20–$30
Palm-sized at about 9.6 oz, and the eyepieces close up narrow enough to fit a child’s face as well as an adult’s, so the whole family can share them on walks.
What owners say: Small enough for a pocket on hikes, they give crystal clear views that hold up in low light and work fine with eyeglasses, and birdwatchers rate them highly.
A closer look: Keep them in the car’s glove box for walks and day trips: small binoculars that are always there get far more use than big ones left at home. Fold the barrels until a child sees one round picture, not two, and they’re set up for them.
- 10x magnification, compact size
- Water-repellent body
- Weighs about 9.6 oz
Heads up: They’re splash-resistant rather than waterproof, so keep them in the bag when the rain sets in.
View on Amazon See our top 5 binoculars →A stand-up weed puller
Dandelions out of the lawn, roots and all, without kneeling or bending: step on it and lean back. With that name, it was always going to be one for Grandpa.
Grampa’s Weeder Original Stand-Up Weed Puller
$30–$50
Pulls a dandelion’s taproot from standing height: center the four claws over the plant, step on the footpad and lean back on the 45 in bamboo handle. First made in Seattle in 1913, it was revived in 1999 by an Oregon family who found one in a garage.
What owners say: Owners find it lifts dandelions out root and all with very little effort, and plenty say they enjoy weeding with it. Most expect it to last for years, though a few had one break.
A closer look: There’s no ejector, so the weed comes off the claws by hand or with a knock against the side of a bucket. Grampa’s says it does best in softer soil after rain or a watering and can struggle in hard clay or rocky ground, so water a dry lawn the evening before.
- 45 in long, bamboo handle
- Four steel claws
- Claws pinch the root out
A rocking camp chair
The grandkids’ soccer and baseball games mean whole Saturdays on the sidelines. A gentle rock and solid armrests make a long afternoon in a folding chair far more comfortable.
GCI Outdoor Freestyle Rocker
$75–$100
A folding chair that rocks: spring-loaded shock absorbers let it rock gently on grass, sand or a patio, and a push out and down on the seat frame opens it. The armrests are solid, with a drink holder built in, and the mesh back lets air through on hot afternoons.
What owners say: The gentle rock is what wins people over, along with how comfortable it stays through a whole game or an evening by the fire and how easily it folds; opinions split on its weight, and a few had a weld give way.
A closer look: To fold it, put a foot on the base of the leg and pull the closure handle up; it flattens to 4.9 in thick and slides in beside the cooler in the trunk. At 11.8 lb it’s a chair for the car, the sideline and the backyard rather than one to carry far.
- Rocks on springs
- Holds up to 250 lb
- Folds 4.9 in thick
Choosing for grandparents
- Set up anything electronic before it’s wrapped: the clock’s time and alarm, the photo frame’s Wi-Fi and the family’s phones, so it works the moment it’s opened.
- For slippers, check the size inside a pair they already wear, and read the sizing note on our pick: some run large and some small.
- Add a promise of time to the gift: a note offering to bring the grandkids over for the first record, or to come over and hang the bird feeder.
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