Anniversary Gift Ideas for Grandparents

When grandparents reach another anniversary, the thing they want most is usually sitting around their table: the grandchildren. The best anniversary gifts for grandparents come from the grandkids themselves, made or organized by them, even if a parent quietly pays. The 12 ideas below work for any year of marriage and for grandchildren from toddlers to adults. Our top pick is a song from the grandchildren, because every one of them can put a memory into the same gift.

Hear a song another family made

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry their names and your stories.

12 anniversary gift ideas for grandparents

1. A song from the grandchildren ($39.90). Each grandchild sends one memory, like Grandpa's Saturday pancakes or the way Grandma answers the phone, and Songbond turns them into an original song within 24 hours.
2. Lunch at their old favorite restaurant. The place they went every Friday for years, with the adult grandchildren picking up the bill and the little ones making the place cards.
3. A portrait drawn by a grandchild. Have the youngest artist in the family draw the two of them, then frame it properly with a mat. A good frame costs $30 to $60 and makes a crayon drawing look like it belongs on the wall.
4. A notebook of questions the grandkids wrote. Each grandchild writes three questions: How did you meet? What was your first car? Who danced first? The grandparents answer in their own time. Around $15.
5. Their old slides and photos, scanned. Boxes of slides and prints turned into files the whole family can see and share. Usually $50 to $200, depending on how many there are.
6. A night away while the grandkids take over. Book them a hotel and have the older grandchildren water the plants, feed the dog and bring in the mail. Usually $120 to $250 a night.
7. A garden bench with a small plaque. Engraved with their names and wedding year, placed where they drink their morning coffee. Usually $80 to $250.
8. Shirts with every grandchild's name. Matching shirts for the two of them, with all the grandkids' names printed on the back. Around $30 to $60 for the pair.
9. One word from each grandchild. Photograph each grandchild holding a card with a single word, so the row of photos spells a sentence about the anniversary. Frame them side by side. Around $30 to $60.
10. A small recital after dinner. A piano piece, a poem, a song on the ukulele. Grandparents never tire of watching their grandchildren perform, and it costs nothing.
11. Their wedding photo, restaged by the grandkids. Two older grandchildren copy the pose and the outfits as best they can, and you frame the old and new photos together. Free to $50.
12. A calendar of visits. Each grandchild claims a month to visit, call or take them out, and you print it as a wall calendar with their photos. Usually $20 to $35.

How to choose for your grandparents

Think about what they miss most. For many grandparents it is not things but time with the grandchildren, so the best gifts create more of it or capture what they already have.

• If they love having everyone over: the recital, the lunch or the calendar of visits.
• If they are homebodies: the bench, the scanned photos or the notebook of questions.
• If the grandchildren are spread out: the song, the one-word photos or the shirts, which can all be made from far away.

What grandchildren of every age can do

Every grandchild can take part, whatever their age. Toddlers can press a painted handprint onto the card or scribble the portrait. School-age children can write the questions, hold up their word for the photo or practice a piece for the recital. Teenagers are good at scanning photos, filming the day and setting up a phone so the grandparents can see the pictures. Adult grandchildren can do the organizing: book the lunch, collect everyone's memories for the song and make sure the cousins who live far away are included. Put every name on the card, including the babies.

Make a song for their anniversary

Create an anniversary song for your grandparents from the memories the grandchildren share. It is ready within 24 hours, and express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: songs for a golden anniversary and songs for Grandparents Day.