21st Birthday Gift Ideas for a Grandson

Your grandson is turning 21, and you want to give him something better than a card with a check folded inside. The best 21st birthday gift from a grandparent is one he could not get from anyone else: a piece of your history, your hard-won advice, or your time. Below are 12 ideas that fit a young man at the start of his adult life, at every budget. Our top pick is a song about him, made from the stories only his grandparents can tell.

Hear a real Songbond song

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry his name and your stories.

12 21st birthday gift ideas for a grandson

1. A song about him from his grandparents ($39.90). You share the stories: the summers at your house, the nickname you gave him, the first fish he caught off your dock. Songbond turns them into an original song he can keep on his phone and play long after the party ends.
2. A bottle from the year he was born. A vintage port or a good wine from his birth year marks the first birthday he can legally raise a glass. Expect $60 to $150, and write the year and your names on the tag.
3. A family heirloom, handed over now. Your father's watch, your wedding cufflinks, the signet ring you wore for forty years. Giving it at 21, while you can still tell him the story behind it, means more than leaving it in a will.
4. His first legal drink, with you. Take him to the bar or the old hotel lounge where you used to go at his age and buy the first round. It costs the price of two drinks, and he will tell that story for years.
5. Money with a letter about money. A check is still a welcome gift at 21. Pair it with one page on the best and worst money decisions you ever made. Some grandparents tie the amount to the age, such as $21, $210 or $2,100.
6. His first investment. Help him open an investment account and put in the first $50 to $500. Choose a simple index fund or a few shares of a company he knows, and it keeps growing long after the cake is gone.
7. A leather weekend bag. Something he will carry to job interviews, weddings and trips home to see you. A good one usually costs $80 to $250 and looks better with every scuff.
8. A written family history. A few typed pages on where the family came from, who crossed the ocean, who ran the farm, who served in which war. Add old photos and have it bound at a print shop for about $30.
9. A suit that actually fits. Most young men own one bad suit or none at all. Take him to buy a navy suit and have it tailored properly. Expect $200 to $500 including alterations.
10. A day at a race track. A driving experience or a ride-along in a race car is the kind of thrill most 21-year-olds would never book for themselves. Usually $100 to $300.
11. A proper shave. A safety razor, a brush and a tin of shaving soap, plus a hot-towel shave at an old-fashioned barber. Usually $40 to $90 for the kit and the visit.
12. A start on his first big trip. If he is saving for a trip abroad or a road trip with friends, pay for the flight or the first few nights. Put a paper map in the card with his destination circled.

How to choose the right one for him

Think about where he is right now. A grandson still in college needs different things from one who just started his first job, and both need different things from one who has moved across the country. When in doubt, give one thing he can use and one thing that carries the family with him.

• If he is still in school: the money and letter, the trip fund or the suit for interviews.
• If he loves family stories: the heirloom, the written family history or the song.
• If he just wants a good time: the first drink with you, the race track or the bottle.

What to write in his 21st birthday card

A card from a grandparent is the one he is most likely to keep, so give it some thought. Tell him one thing you saw in him as a small boy that is still there today. Tell him what you were doing at 21: where you lived, what you earned, who you were courting. Then give him one piece of advice you learned the hard way. Three short paragraphs are enough. Sign it with the name he calls you, not your formal names.

Make his 21st birthday song

Create a song for your grandson from the stories only you can tell. It is ready within 24 hours, and if the party is tonight, express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: songs for a 21st birthday party and song ideas for milestone birthdays.