70th Birthday Gift Ideas for Grandma

Most grandmothers turning 70 are nowhere near slowing down. She may have just retired, she probably still drives the grandkids to practice, and she has a list of places she wants to see. The best 70th birthday gifts for grandma celebrate the life she has built and give her something to do with the years ahead. Our top pick is a song about her 70 years, because it tells her story in a way the whole family can play at the party.

Hear a real Songbond song first

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry her name and your family's stories.

12 70th birthday gift ideas for grandma

1. A song about her 70 years ($39.90). Share where she grew up, the job she was proud of and what the grandkids call her, and Songbond turns it into an original song. Play it after the toasts and watch her face.
2. A jar of 70 reasons we love you. Every child, grandchild and old friend writes one reason on a slip of paper. She can open one a day for more than two months. It costs almost nothing.
3. The trip she keeps talking about. A river cruise, a train ride through the mountains or a week by the sea with one grandchild as her travel partner. Seventy is a good age to stop waiting for someday. Expect $300 and up.
4. A family portrait with every grandchild. Book a photographer for the morning of the party, while everyone is in town and dressed up. $150 to $400.
5. A newspaper from the day she was born. Framed, it becomes the thing everyone gathers around at the party to laugh at the prices in the ads. Usually $20 to $50.
6. A necklace with the grandchildren's birthstones. One small stone for each grandchild, with room to add more as the family grows. $80 to $300.
7. A class she never had time for. Watercolor, pottery, ballroom dancing or bread baking. Give it with a promise to drive her to the first session. $50 to $200.
8. A raised garden bed, built by the grandkids. Easier on the knees than kneeling in the dirt, and the building day becomes part of the gift. $80 to $200 with soil and plants.
9. An e-reader with adjustable text. She can make the print as big as she likes and carry fifty books on a trip. Load her first few before you wrap it. $100 to $150.
10. A quilt made from baby clothes. Collect the tiny outfits she saved from her children and grandchildren and have them sewn into a quilt. It takes a few weeks, so start early. $150 to $300.
11. Afternoon tea with the women of the family. Daughters, daughters-in-law and granddaughters around one table with scones and small sandwiches. Usually $40 to $80 a person.
12. Stationery with her name on it. If she still writes thank-you notes and letters, a box of good paper printed with her name is something she will use for years. $30 to $60.

How to choose her 70th gift

Think about the last thing she got excited about. If it was a place, give her a trip. If it was a grandchild's news, give her something that holds the family together. If it was a new hobby, feed it.

• If she is adventurous: the trip, the class or the e-reader for the road.
• If she is the family's memory keeper: the quilt, the portrait or the song.
• If she loves to host: the afternoon tea, the garden bed or the stationery.

How to collect 70 notes without her finding out

The jar of 70 reasons is the gift most families start and never finish, so give yourself three weeks. Pick one person to collect, and send everyone the same simple prompt: one thing you love about her, in one or two sentences. Set a deadline a week before the party, then chase the stragglers by phone. Ask old friends and neighbors too, not just family, because their notes often surprise her most. Fold each slip the same way and number the outside, so she can open them in order and the best ones come last.

Order her 70th birthday song

Create a 70th birthday song for Grandma with her stories, her nickname and the names of her grandchildren. It is ready within 24 hours, and express delivery gets it to you in about an hour if the party is close.

Also in the Journal: 70th birthday songs for the party and song ideas for milestone birthdays.