Christmas gift guide · Australia
Christmas gifts for grandparents who have everything
For grandparents who have everything, give time with the family and things that capture the grandkids, not more stuff. The gifts that get talked about are a day out with the grandkids, something the kids made, a meal they don't have to cook, their stories written down, and keepsakes that keep coming, like the family's photos and news printed and posted to them every month.
We make Keep Posted, so idea 8 is ours. The other seven cost little or nothing, and we'd suggest them anyway.
What makes a good gift for grandparents who have everything?
When grandparents say they don't need anything, they usually mean it. The cupboard already has the candles and the gadget from three Christmases ago. What they talk about at Christmas lunch is the grandkids. So the best gifts tend to pass four tests:
- It's about the family, not the object. Time with the grandkids beats another thing to dust.
- Nothing to set up. No app, no password, no charger, no instructions.
- Something they can show people. It goes on the fridge, the coffee table or the phone call with their sister.
- It lasts past Boxing Day. Either it keeps coming, or it's worth keeping.
8 Christmas gift ideas for grandparents who have everything
1. A day out with just them and the grandkids
Write it on a card and put a date on it: a picnic, the zoo, fish and chips at the beach. The gift is the day, and the photos afterwards. If you can, make it a standing date, once a season.
2. Something the grandkids made, framed
A painting, a handprint, a drawing of Grandpa with enormous ears. Frame it properly and write the child's name and age on the back. It costs a frame and becomes the thing visitors get shown.
3. A lunch they don't have to cook
Grandparents often end up hosting. Flip it: everyone brings a dish to their place, or you host and they put their feet up. Add one rule: they're not allowed in the kitchen.
4. A proper family photo, printed
Everyone in one photo, on Christmas Day, printed large and framed. Use a phone on a timer. Plenty of families have hundreds of photos and not one with everybody in it.
5. Their recipes in a family cookbook
Collect the dishes they're known for, with a photo and a line from whoever loves it most, and have it printed at a local print shop. More effort, but it gets used and handed down.
6. Their stories, written down
Over Christmas, ask about their first house, their first job, how they met. Record it on your phone, type it up and give them a printed copy. Grandparents don't often get asked, and the grandkids will want it later.
7. A help voucher
Gutters cleaned, the garden tidied, the TV remote finally sorted, a lift to appointments. Practical, free, and the voucher gets redeemed.
8. Their family's photos and news, printed every month
Keep Posted is the family's photos and news, printed and posted to Grandma & Grandpa every month. Everyone posts a photo and a few words from their phone, and we make it into a printed paper: an A4 booklet on thick 128gsm silk paper with the family's own title on the cover. Grandma & Grandpa don't need a phone, an app or a password. It just arrives in the letterbox.
As a gift, it's 3 monthly papers for A$57, paid once, with no subscription. You get a gift link to put in a card. Or start your own plan from A$25 a month and cancel anytime.
It's a priceless gift for grandparents, and one to keep forever: every issue goes on the pile of the grandkids growing up.
Quick comparison
| Gift | Cost | Effort for you | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| A day out with the grandkids | The outing | Medium | A day, plus the photos |
| Grandkids' art, framed | A frame | Low | Years |
| A lunch they don't cook | A dish each | Medium | A day |
| A family photo, printed | A print and frame | Low | Years |
| Family cookbook | Printing | High | Generations |
| Their stories, written down | Free | Medium | Generations |
| Help voucher | Free | Medium | Until redeemed |
| Monthly family paper | A$57 for 3 months as a gift | Low: a photo and a few words a month | Every month, and every issue is kept |
What about a gift from a baby or toddler?
Babies can't choose gifts, so give what grandparents want most: the baby. A framed handprint or footprint with the date, a photo of the baby with each grandparent, or a monthly paper so they see every change rather than the highlights at Christmas. Keep the words short and from the parents: "Isla, 1. She got more cake on her face than in her mouth."
What if they live interstate?
Distance changes the gift. A day out is harder, so give them the everyday instead: photos and news in the post every month, a printed family photo they can put up, or a set video-call time each week that the kids help choose. Keep Posted posts to any Australian address.
Timing for Christmas
Australia Post is busiest in December, so leave extra time for anything that goes in the post. Keep Posted papers are usually posted early each month, and the A$57 gift can be bought until 24 December. Because it comes as a gift link, you can put it in a card on Christmas Day even before the first paper arrives.
Questions
What do you get grandparents who don't want anything?
Time and the grandkids, rather than more things: a day out with the grandkids, something the grandkids made, a meal they don't have to cook, their stories written down, or the family's photos and news printed and posted to them every month.
What's a good Christmas gift for grandparents from a baby or toddler?
A framed handprint or footprint with the date, a photo of the baby with each grandparent, or a monthly printed paper of the baby's photos and news so they see every change through the year.
What's a good gift for grandparents who aren't on social media?
Something that arrives by post rather than on a screen: printed photos, a photo book, or a printed family paper. Our guide How to share photos with grandparents who aren't on social media compares the options.
Is a subscription a good gift for grandparents?
Only if it needs nothing from them. Keep Posted's gift is 3 monthly papers for A$57, paid once, so there's no subscription for them to manage and nothing to set up: the family posts, and the paper arrives in their letterbox.
When should I buy a Christmas gift for grandparents?
Earlier is easier, especially for anything posted, because Australia Post is busiest in December. The Keep Posted gift can be bought until 24 December and comes as a gift link you can put in a card.
Start your family's paper
Families post photos and a few words from their phones. We make it into a printed paper and post it to Grandma & Grandpa every month.
Family plan A$25 a month, up to 8 pages. Christmas offer: A$19 a month for your first 12 months when you join by Sun 15 Nov. Cancel anytime. Australian addresses only.