70th Birthday Gift Ideas for Grandpa

At 70, many grandfathers have just retired, or are finally doing the things work never left time for. He may golf twice a week, fix everything in the neighborhood or be planning that road trip at last. The best 70th birthday gifts for grandpa fit the active life he has now and honor the one he has lived. Our top pick is a song about his 70 years, because it lets the family say what he means to them without a single speech.

Hear a real song before you pick

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

12 70th birthday gift ideas for grandpa

1. A song about his 70 years ($39.90). Share his hometown, the work he was proud of and the saying the grandkids imitate, and Songbond turns it into an original song. Play it at the party right after the cake.
2. A round at a course he has always wanted to play. Go with his sons and grandsons and make a day of it. $60 to $250 a player.
3. A drive in the car he had at twenty. Rent a classic of the same make and model for an afternoon, or find a local collector willing to take him for a ride. $100 to $300.
4. A leather wallet or belt, engraved with the date. A quality everyday piece to replace the one he has carried for years. $40 to $100.
5. A 70-question quiz about his life. Guests guess his first job, his first car and where he proposed. He plays quizmaster and corrects everyone's answers. It costs nothing.
6. A smoker or pizza oven for the backyard. A new project for the man who loves to feed a crowd. $150 to $400.
7. A good pair of binoculars. For birds, ball games or the boats on the lake. $80 to $200.
8. A map of every place he has lived. Framed, with a pin for each town and a small label with the years. $40 to $90.
9. A weekend away for him and Grandma. A cabin, an inn or the place they went on their honeymoon. $300 and up.
10. A record player and the albums of his youth. Find the records he played at twenty and let him show the grandkids how to drop the needle. $100 to $250.
11. A team jersey with his name on the back. GRANDPA and the number 70, from the team he has followed his whole life. $60 to $120.
12. A tree planted with the grandkids. Pick a spot in his yard, dig together and take a photo there every birthday as it grows. $40 to $100.

How to choose for his 70th

Ask Grandma, or whoever knows his week best, what he does on a free afternoon. Then pick the gift that gives him more of that.

• If he is sporty: the golf round, the team jersey or the binoculars.
• If he loves his memories: the classic car drive, the record player or the map of every home.
• If he is a family man first: the quiz, the tree with the grandkids or the song.

What the grandkids can write in his card

Grandpa will keep every card, so help the children write something he can reread. Toddlers can press a painted handprint and add one word, like their name for him. Kids from six to ten can finish the sentence "My favorite thing to do with Grandpa is" in their own spelling. Teenagers can write one memory and one thing he taught them. Adult grandchildren can thank him for something specific, like teaching them to drive or showing up at every game. Put all the cards in one big envelope so he reads them together.

Make his 70th birthday song

Create a 70th birthday song for Grandpa with his stories and the grandkids' names in it. It is ready within 24 hours, and express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: 70th birthday songs and Father's Day songs for Grandpa.