Christmas gifts for grandparents from the grandkids
The best Christmas gifts for grandparents from the grandkids are ones the children make or take part in: a handprint ornament, a drawing calendar, a recorded interview, a letter, or EverTold, where the grandkids choose the first questions and then hear their grandparents’ stories told for them. The ideas below are listed with the ages they suit.
Grandparents want one thing more than anything in a box: to be close to their grandchildren, and to be known by them.
These gifts are ones the children can make or help give, with a parent organizing. They are listed with the ages they suit best.
Ideas the grandkids can give
EverTold: Grandma’s and Grandpa’s stories, told for each grandchild
Let the children pick the first questions ("What was your dog’s name when you were little?"). Grandma and Grandpa talk; EverTold asks and listens. Each grandchild hears every story told for them, and young children get a story time version with simpler words and a gentler pace, perfect at bedtime. All ages.
A handprint ornament with the year
Salt dough or clay, a small hand pressed in, the child’s name and the year on the back. Ages 1 to 6.
A grandchild interview
Help your child write five questions and record the conversation on a phone over the holidays. Ages 6 and up.
A calendar of the kids’ drawings
Each child draws a month. Print it and mark every grandchild’s birthday. Ages 3 to 12.
A storybook about Grandma
Your child writes and illustrates "My Grandma" or "My Grandpa" in a blank book. Spelling mistakes welcome. Ages 5 to 10.
A letter from each grandchild
One page each about a favorite day together. Teens included: theirs are often the ones that get read again and again.
A song or a carol, recorded
The kids sing Grandpa’s favorite carol and you send the video on Christmas morning. All ages.
A "teach me" coupon book
Coupons the grandkids write for lessons only a grandparent can give: how to fish, how to knit, how to make the pancakes. Ages 6 and up.
A year with the grandkids, in photos
Older grandchildren can choose the pictures and write the captions for a small printed book. Ages 10 and up.
A cooking afternoon with Grandma
The grandkids give Grandma an apron and an invitation to teach them her cookies. Ages 4 and up.
Hear what it sounds like: one story, two listeners
Grandma told this story once. Here is how two people in her family hear it.
as she grew up hearing it, heard by Sarah, her daughter
The cow that followed Uncle Jimmy home
The summer your mom turned eleven, your uncle Jimmy came walking up the farm road at dusk with a brown cow behind him. He swore she had followed him home. Your mom knew better: she had seen the bucket of feed swinging from his hand.
at story time, heard by Noah, her grandson
Great-Uncle Jimmy and the cow
A long time ago, when Grandma was a little girl, her big brother, your great-uncle Jimmy, came home with a cow! “She followed me,” he said. But Grandma saw his bucket of cow food. The cow was following the bucket!
What Grandma actually said: Jimmy swore that cow followed him home. She did not. She followed the bucket.
Ideas for every kind of parent
- For a grandpa who loves to tell stories: EverTold, so every grandchild hears his stories told for them.
- For a grandma who has everything: the storybook about her, written by your child.
- For grandparents far away: the recorded carol, sent on Christmas morning.
- For great-grandparents: a letter from each great-grandchild, read aloud on a video call.
How to choose
- Toddlers and preschoolers: the handprint ornament or the drawing calendar. Grandparents treasure the small hands.
- School age children: the interview, the storybook or the coupon book. They love being the one who asks.
- Teens: a letter or the photo book. They will roll their eyes and then write something wonderful.
- Grandchildren of every age: EverTold, so each child hears the stories told for them, now and as they grow.
What only EverTold does
Each relative hears the story from their own place in the family
When Mom tells a story about her brother, her daughter hears it as a story about "your uncle" and her grandson hears "your great-uncle", read aloud in a warm storyteller’s voice. Every listener gets the version that makes sense to them.
Story time for the grandkids
A grandchild can tap a story at bedtime and hear it retold for a child: the same true story, simpler words, a gentler pace. Adults get the faithful telling.
A real conversation, not a writing assignment
EverTold asks a question out loud, listens, and follows up, like a patient grandchild on a phone call. It waits for them to finish. Nobody has to write a thing.
Their real voice, kept
The recordings of their answers are saved privately for the family, right next to the written stories, so you keep the way they actually sound.
Handed down for generations
A family library that keeps growing, paid for once. No subscription, no renewal, nothing to cancel.
The family can ask for more
Anyone in the family can send a question like "Mom, tell me about the farm". It goes to the real person, and their answer comes back as a new story.
The EverTold Forever Promise: One payment, no renewals, for as long as EverTold operates. Download everything any time. If EverTold ever closes, you get at least 6 months’ notice and then 90 days to download everything before anything is deleted. Read the full promise
A note from Dustin and Gabi
We are a husband and wife, and our family speaks two languages: Gabi’s side Portuguese, Dustin’s side English. When our kids asked about their great-grandfather in Brazil, who left home for the city as a teenager to build a life from nothing, we realized the details that make a person come alive had already been lost. He passed away before we asked him the questions that mattered most.
We still have parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles on both sides, with decades of stories we had never thought to ask about. So we built EverTold for our own family first, and we write these guides the way we choose gifts for them.
Our kids are the reason EverTold exists: they asked about their great-grandfather, and we could not answer.
Give EverTold
One storyteller, a lifetime family library, paid once.
Two storytellers, usually Mom and Dad, sharing one family library, paid once.
One payment, no subscription. 30 day refund. Delivered by email on the day you choose.
Give EverToldQuestions
What can grandkids give their grandparents for Christmas?
Something they made or took part in: a handprint ornament, a drawing calendar, a letter, a recorded interview, or EverTold, where the grandkids choose the first questions and then hear their grandparents’ stories told for them.
Can young children listen to the stories?
Yes. Every story has a story time telling for children, with the same true facts, simpler words and a gentler pace. Adults hear the faithful telling.
Can every grandchild listen?
Yes, as many relatives as you like, at no extra cost. Each listener says who they are once, and every story is told from their place in the family.
Do grandparents need to be good with phones?
No. They open the gift email, tap Start, and talk. EverTold asks the questions out loud and waits for them to finish. There is no app and no password.