Stress Free Gift Giving Ideas

Dear Grandma,

Don’t stress, we live in a world of Amazon and other fast gift delivery systems. You’ve got this! 

My husband and I have a combined family of six children, nineteen grandchildren, and eleven great-grands so I have LOTS of experience to impart. 

Here’s my giving philosophy. My rule of thumb is pre-teen grands get gifts. Great-grands get one small gift (the same category for each like a book or a stuffed animal). It’s gotten to be too much for us to do more for greats but they have two sets of grandparents who have stepped up to the plate. 

Teenage grands get one gift and money. Even if they’re old (obviously, some of our grands are parents themselves), they still get something small to open. It’s a personal hang-up. I was an only child with one parent. I love gift giving! 

Our big kids (some are obviously grandparents) get money although I do give small gifts to all the girls (I should say women but they’re still girls to me). Choosing gifts for boys/men is difficult so sometimes I just don’t.

This is just my system and it works for us. Your circumstances are different so you need to establish your gifting traditions accordingly.

On to ideas. I like to give experiences. For instance, a season pass to the zoo or tickets to a concert. My favorite is a cooking class with grandma (me!). This has become a popular item and my grands are taking their turn as they turn about ten (a good age to be trusted with a knife). This year Marcella, age ten, will get a personalized apron (Etsy) along with her certificate. The class includes cooking a full dinner then serving it to their family at our house. In years past, I gave our first grands child-sized chairs (Amazon) for the living room. They passed them down to their sibs and some are still using their chairs years later. Tweens seem to like things for their hair (straighteners, curlers, bows, etc.) and journals.

I also like joint gifts. Two of my granddaughters who are sisters are both in cheerleading and gymnastics so I got them a practice mat last year. It’s used daily and they’re still delighted with it. One year the same sisters got a treehouse that their dad (my son) installed. These weren’t my great ideas but came from their parents - I just implemented. 

Crafts are always a favorite with my crafty/artsy grands. There are tons of ideas on Amazon like String Art and a Friendship Bracelet kit. August, my artsy grandson who is a high school freshman, is getting a really cool 3-D printing pen this year for his one gift. 

For the adults I like to use Etsy. This year I bought at least a dozen pairs of sea glass earrings in different colors. Light, lovely, and inexpensive. Plus, the purchase supports a woman entrepreneur!

One year I got monogrammed tote bags for all girls big and little (they had different sized bags). I bought about 40 bags in all different colors. Believe it or not, all the three-letter monograms came out correct. I bought them at Best of Everything. They were inexpensive but well-made and the monogramming was free. I REALLY had to plan ahead on that one.

This year I’m embroidering small pictures for my friends. The wooden frame is also the hoop (Amazon) so the finishing is easy. Some years I give gifts made in the kitchen like glazed and spiced nuts or jam.

My husband and I love the dinner cruise on the Marco Island Princess so this year he’s going to get a cruise certificate (don’t tell him). A certificate for a road-worthy golf cart for the day could be fun. 

I use Amazon free delivery to send most gifts to my daughter’s house in Illinois. When I arrive before Christmas, her daughter helps me with the wrapping. Easy peasy!

I hope this gave you at least one good idea. Happy shopping, and next year start earlier. Trust me, if you have a big family, it will save you a lot of gray hairs.