Gift Ideas for Great-Grandparents

A great-grandparent has watched their family grow into four generations, and there is not much left they need. What they want most is to see the family, keep track of all the new names, and feel part of it. The best gifts for great-grandparents are simple, easy to see and hear, and full of the people they love. Here are 12 ideas that suit their age and pace. Our top pick is a song about the family they started, because it gathers every generation into a few minutes they can play again and again.

Hear a song made for one family

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

12 gift ideas for great-grandparents

1. A song about the family they started ($39.90). Share how they met, the names of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and the saying the whole family repeats. Songbond turns it into an original song, ready within 24 hours.
2. A four-generation photo. Great-grandparent, grandparent, parent and baby in one frame. Take it on the next visit and print it large. Usually $30 to $80 for the print and frame.
3. Baby visits on the calendar. A new great-grandchild is the gift. Write a monthly visit on their calendar in pen, and keep it.
4. A who's-who photo book. One page per great-grandchild, with a big photo, their name, their age and which grandchild is their parent. It helps them keep a growing family straight. Usually $25 to $50.
5. The birth announcement with their names on it. Frame a copy of the new baby's announcement and add a line underneath: "Great-grandchild of" and their names. Around $20 to $40.
6. Their favorite takeout, brought to them. The fried chicken, the chow mein or the fish supper they cannot get out for anymore. Eat it with them. Usually $20 to $40.
7. A card a week from the great-grandkids. A drawing, a sticker, a short note. Something in the mailbox every Monday for a month.
8. Their life story, typed and printed. Ask three questions on each visit, write down the answers, and print them as a short booklet for the whole family. Under $30 to print.
9. A home visit from a barber or hairdresser. Many will come to a house or care home. A fresh haircut does a lot for a person's week. Usually $30 to $60.
10. A great-grandchild's drawing, framed for their room. Put the child's name and age on the back. Swap in a new one each year.
11. Their hometown, then. An old postcard or photo of the main street where they grew up, framed. It starts an hour of stories. Usually $20 to $60.
12. A lap tray with family photos under the glass. Useful for meals and puzzles, and they see the family every time they use it. Usually $30 to $50.

How to choose for a great-grandparent

Start with where they live and what they can comfortably see and hear. Keep gifts light, easy to hold and easy to find a place for. If in doubt, choose something with faces in it.

• If they live in a care home: the barber visit, the lap tray or the card a week.
• If they still live at home: the takeout visit, the hometown print or the baby visits.
• If their eyesight or hearing is fading: the who's-who book with large print, or the song played on a good speaker.

How to give a song to someone in their nineties

A phone speaker is too small and too quiet for most great-grandparents. Bring a simple speaker, sit beside them rather than across the room, and turn it up more than you think you need. Tell them what it is before you press play, and tell them which names to listen for. Play it twice. The first time they are working out what is happening, and the second time they hear it. Then leave a way for staff or family to play it again, written on a card by their chair.

Make a song for your great-grandparents

Create a song for a great-grandparent. Share the family's names and stories, and the song is ready within 24 hours. If you are visiting tomorrow, express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: songs for an 80th or 90th birthday and songs for announcing a new baby to grandparents.