Actually Great, Non-Boring Gifts for Grandparents

September 19, 2016

Most grandparents tend to spoil their nieces and nephews and don't ask or even accept one button from them. Well, they're special in your life so they're gonna get a gift whether they like it or not - and they're gonna love it! Read on for a bit of inspiration on what great gifts you can surprise them with.

FOR ACTIVE GRANDPARENTS

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Don't think of marathon running grandpa (although there are more and more elderly marathoners), but if your grandparents are moderately active or just like to take walks from time to time, they might enjoy using activity trackers - they're fun to track how much you walk every day and they make you want to reach goals, like 8000 steps per day. It's a healthy habit to form, right up until they get addicted to checking their stats.

FitBit is one of the most well-known trackers out there - it acts as a pedometer tracking your steps while you wear it, the distance you have traveled and calories you've burned, showing the time and daily stats on an OLED display. It also tracks your sleep if you wear it during the night. Garmin does basically the same things for half the price, sports a better battery life and it's waterproof, making it more suitable for swimming. 

A smaller budget is no hindrance whatsoever - if your grandparent knows their way around a smartphone (because this thing doesn't have a screen, you check everything on your phone), the Xiaomi Mi Band costs under $20 and does an excellent job as a pedometer and sleep tracker. I got one for the other GiftSearch founder, Victor, as a gateway to FitBit and he's been wearing it almost nonstop for 7 months, only taking it off to recharge it (about every 6 weeks).

FOR COFFEE & TEA LOVERS

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There are so many fantastic espresso machines and coffee makers out there, I wouldn?t know where to begin recommending one - but you can't go wrong with a simple French press that also doubles as a tea infuser. They're easy to use, inexpensive - even those made with top quality materials - and they always leave you with a delicious fresh cup of coffee or tea.

Bodum French presses are some of the best you can find and they come in different sizes, for example 3 cups, good for a mug of coffee or tea for a single person, or 8 cup for 2-4 people (or just one hardcore coffee fiend). Each one is about $30.

You can make it a gift box by adding coffee or tea - Kick Ass Coffee is fantastic and if your grandparents have a darker sense of humor or won't mind if you're making any jokes, Death Wish Coffee. Accompany by a pre-filled will. As for tea, loose leaf Mighty Leaf tea will delight any tea lover and this one comes in a tin box, great to reuse.

FOR MOVIES & TV SHOWS FANS

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Most people love watching movies and TV shows and grandparents are no exception. Only they might have cable - and that's it, right? They must have internet though, so a streaming device will show them a whole new world of entertainment and information. There are plenty of options.

The Amazon Fire TV is $85, it comes with its own remote, it's super fast, supports supports 4K Ultra HD and it?s all around pretty great. Requires a HDMI cable. Roku is great device for the job, it's cheaper than Amazon Fire TV at $50 (for 4K support, they have this version at $120), has its own remote as well and it's super simple to use. Great for folks who aren't too tech savvy. Also requires a HDMI cable. 

Chromecast is the cheapest, it's fast and reliable, but since it doesn't have a remote, your grandparents will have to project media from their smartphones/laptops. No HDMI cable needed, but your folks have to be comfortable using smartphones/laptops.

FOR DEDICATED READERS

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A clear giveaway for a dedicated reader is a fully stocked bookcase - or always seeing them with a book in their hands or spotting books near their beds. If your grandparents have a computer, but no ereader, they're missing out, especially now when ereaders are getting better and cheaper.

A basic Kindle perfectly mimicks book pages and it's super easy to use, while the Kindle Paperwhite has the added advantage of also providing a backlight for reading in the dark. If they'd rather get ebooks from Barnes & Noble instead of Amazon or you'd like them to read ebooks in an epub format, the Nook is a great device and it also has a backlight version, the Nook Glowlight.

Already owning an ereader means you can improve their reading experience with accessories, like a gorgeous new Gustav Klimt case or a simple LED light if needed, or you can get them a gift card with any sum you like for them to spend on ebooks.

FOR GREEN FINGERS

Beautiful gardens are a joy, but also a lot of work - you can make it easier for your grandparents by gifting them a garden kneeler at only $25 that doubles as a seat to make them more comfortable while hey work or a more expensive, $90, tractor scoot that comes with a practical bucket and a wide seat, useful for carrying things around the garden.

Plant lovers who don't have gardens might love terrariums instead, they are absolutely gorgeous and they come in numerous shapes and sizes.

FOR ALL GRANDPARENTS - EXPERIENCES

These are the best kind of gifts. If you think back on your life so far, you surely remember being happiest with family, friends, in vacations, on trips etc - we value experiences quite a bit. If you have the time and/or money, give your grandparents an experience as a gift and maybe join them for some quality time together. Think of what they'd enjoy, your time and budget and what the area they live in has to offer. Some ideas:

• Day trips to a nearby location they'd love to go to - parks, museums, reservations.
• Window shopping and having coffee/lunch together in a nearby city.
• Tickets to a movie/play/concert they'd enjoy.
• Vouchers to spas or wine tastings.

WHAT ELSE?

Still not sure what gifts to get your grandparents? Answer some questions:

• What activities do they enjoy? Could be cooking, painting, DIY projects, playing boardgames, reading books (what genres? Maybe you can get a collection), hell, riding motorcycles or building robots. Think of something that would improve their favorite activities or something to add to them.
• Do they like decorations? What kind? You can then get posters, decals, maybe gorgeous bedsheets.
• Do they have pets they're very fond of? Look for shirts, mugs or other lovely things with pet prints.
• Do they like novelty gifts? Our site is filled to the brim with them :-)

It's pretty certain your grandparents are going to appreciate anything you give them anyway, especially if it's offered with love and comes with some quality time. So enjoy gift hunting!

Your gift hunting assistant, 

Corina