Christmas gifts for grandparents, from the grandkids

It usually comes up in a phone call in November. Before you can ask what they would like for Christmas, they want to hear about swimming lessons: which lane the kids are in now, whether the little one has put her face in yet, who won the race at the end. They want every detail.

That is the clue. What most grandparents want more of is the grandchildren: their voices, their news, an afternoon of their time. So the best Christmas gift for grandparents is usually not another thing for the shelf. It is something the grandkids make or do, a summer day out together, or something they can use up. Here are twenty ideas, with honest notes on who each one suits and what each grandchild can manage at their age.

What do grandparents who have everything actually want?

Whether they are Nan and Pop, Oma and Opa or Nonna and Nonno, most want a few simple things. To see the grandchildren. To know what is going on in their lives. To feel useful, not looked after. And not to find room for one more thing to dust.

Australian research points the same way. When the Australian Institute of Family Studies asked grandparents who look after their grandchildren why they do it, 96% agreed that they wanted to spend time with them (Families in Australia Survey, 2021).

So the ideas below lean towards words, time and things that get used. The few things to keep are there because they hold the family.

What can the grandkids make, write or record?

1. A film from all the grandchildren. Every grandchild, aunt and cousin records about a minute on their phone, wherever they live, and Warmcut puts the messages into one film in story order, with music and captions. You send one link; nobody installs an app and nobody edits anything. Each person can add photos with their clip, so old photos can go in too, and captions help if their hearing is not what it was. Send the link on Christmas morning; they can watch it again in February, when the house is quiet. Collecting the messages and watching the finished film is free, with a small Warmcut watermark. Pay once, from US$19, to share and download it. Over 10 people? The free film uses the first 10 to record, and paying makes it with everyone. Best when the family is spread across cities or states.

2. A letter from each grandchild. One page each, about one real thing: the summer Pop taught them to bowl, the biscuits that only ever exist at Nan's. Little ones can dictate. Keep the letters in a folder and add a new one every Christmas.

3. Ask them, and record the answers. A grandchild sits with them for half an hour with a phone and five questions. What was Christmas like when you were ten? How did you two meet? What was your first job? Lay the phone flat on the table so it feels like a chat, not an interview. It is an afternoon of full attention for them, and a recording the whole family will be glad of later. Save it somewhere everyone can find it.

4. A calendar of the grandkids' drawings. One drawing or painting for each month, with every family birthday marked. It goes on the fridge and gets looked at every day for a year.

5. A dated handprint bauble. For babies and toddlers: a salt-dough or clay handprint with the child's name and the year on the back. In a few years they will hold it up against the real, bigger hand.

6. A lounge-room carols concert. The grandkids choose three carols, practise in the hallway and make a programme with a drawing on the front. On Christmas Eve, put the grandparents in the best chairs, let the youngest ring a bell between songs, and record it on a phone propped on the bookshelf. The recording is the part they keep.

Which gifts of time suit a summer Christmas?

Most gift lists for grandparents are written for a cold Christmas: heated throws, sheepskin slippers, a mug for the fireside. Here, Christmas falls in the long summer holidays, so the best gifts are often a day out or a job done.

7. A standing date. One outing a month with a grandchild, written into both calendars. There is more on setting up a standing date in the sentimental Christmas gifts guide.

8. A tour of their world, led by the grandchild. Grandparents hear about the school, the skate park and the bakery on the phone all year. Let a grandchild show them. The grandchild plans the route, does the talking and chooses where to stop for lunch. Give them the money for lunch and let them pay.

9. A day out they would not book for themselves. A morning at the beach and a long lunch after, an outdoor film, a ferry ride, a day at the cricket. In Melbourne, the 2026 Boxing Day Test, Australia against New Zealand at the MCG, starts on Saturday 26 December. Go with them, and do the driving.

10. A grandkids' working bee. One Saturday morning in January, the grandchildren arrive with buckets and gloves. They wash the car, weed the vegetable patch, sweep the paths and hose down the outdoor chairs. Write the date and the job list in a card, and finish with morning tea together.

11. A patient afternoon with their phone. A teenage grandchild sets up video calls, the shared family photo album, bigger text and a louder ringtone. Then writes the steps on a card, in large print, to keep by the phone.

Which gifts get used up?

Things that get eaten, drunk, planted or used leave nothing to dust.

12. Something from your own kitchen. Shortbread, a Christmas cake, rum balls, a jar of chutney. Homemade is the point. Label it with the name of whoever made it.

13. Meals for the week after Christmas. A few dinners for the freezer, labelled and dated, for the quiet days when everyone has gone home.

14. Their favourite, three times over. The coffee, tea or wine they always buy, delivered again in February and March. A small thing that keeps saying hello.

15. Plants for the garden. Tomato seedlings, a punnet of herbs, a strawberry plant for the pot by the back door. The grandkids can plant them on Boxing Day morning, before the heat.

16. Tickets to something they used to love. A matinee, the ballet, a musical they saw the first time round, lunch at a place from their courting days. Choose the date with them so it actually happens.

Which gifts are worth keeping?

Some things earn their shelf space because they hold the family.

17. Their old photos, saved. Scanning the shoebox of prints is a big, kind job, and sentimental gifts for someone who has everything has the how-to.

18. A family photo, taken this Christmas. Every grandchild in one frame, printed and framed. Take it early, before lunch and the heat, and ask a neighbour to press the button so nobody is missing. It sounds ordinary. It is the photo they will point to for years.

19. A book of the family's recipes. One dish from each branch of the family, printed with a photo of each cook; here is how to gather the recipes.

20. A family newspaper, by the grandkids. One page from each grandchild: the swimming carnival results, the school play, a drawing for the back page, a crossword with family clues. The oldest does the layout. Print it, fold it like the real thing and leave it by their plate at Christmas lunch. It answers every question they asked on the phone all year.

What can grandkids give at each age?

What Christmas gift suits a grandparent in aged care?

A grandparent in aged care, or living with dementia, often has less space, less energy and a busier day than the family realises. Small, familiar things work best.

• Photos with names on them. A small album with each person's name and how they are related, in large print under every photo.
• Music from their twenties. A playlist of the songs they danced to, on a simple speaker the staff can switch on.
• Clothes that are easy to wear. A soft cardigan for the air-conditioning, non-slip socks, a light summer dressing gown. Label everything with their name.
• Short visits, more than once. Two short visits in Christmas week can be easier than one long, noisy afternoon.
• A way to join in. Dementia Australia suggests finding ways for the person to contribute as they used to at Christmas: hanging a bauble, writing cards together, helping with the food.

If you give a film or a recording, keep it short, play it on a bigger screen with the sound up, and sit with them while it plays. Ask the staff first what fits their room and their routine.

What should the grandkids say?

One true, specific line is enough, in a card, a letter or a recorded message. A few to start from:

• "Thank you for every sleepover at your place. You always left the hall light on."
• "Nan, your house is the only place where the biscuit tin is always full."
• "Pop, I'm in the top lane now. I wanted you to be the first to know."
• "Thank you for coming to every school concert. I always looked for you first."
• "Merry Christmas. I'm so glad I get to be your grandchild."

For small children, write their words down exactly as they say them. They are usually better than anything an adult would write.

When should you start, and when should you post?

If the gift involves other people, start two to three weeks before Christmas. Letters and messages from the whole family take longer to collect than anyone expects, so give everyone a clear last day. This guide to getting everyone to send their message has a reminder you can copy. If you are making a film from everyone, how it works shows the three steps.

If the grandparents live interstate, post cards by Friday 18 December and Parcel Post by Monday 21 December (Australia Post, metro areas, as at October 2026), but parcels to or from WA, the NT, Tasmania and regional areas close earlier, some from 14 December. Express Post and the rest are in the 2026 Christmas postage dates.

And if it is too late to post anything, a letter read aloud on a video call on Christmas morning still counts. Expect to be asked to read it twice.