Grandparents Day Gift Ideas

Grandparents Day is the holiday most families remember on the Friday before. It does not need a big present. It needs the grandchildren, a little effort and something that says the grandparents matter. Here are 12 Grandparents Day gift ideas the kids can help with, most of them cheap or free. Our top pick is a song for Grandma and Grandpa with every grandchild's name in it, because it can be ready by Sunday even if you start on Saturday.

Hear a song made for grandparents

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

12 Grandparents Day gift ideas

1. A song for Grandma and Grandpa ($39.90). Share what the grandkids call them, the Sunday dinners and the things they always say, and Songbond turns it into an original song, ready within 24 hours.
2. Forget-me-not seeds to plant together. The forget-me-not is the flower of Grandparents Day. Sow them with the grandkids in a pot or a border, and they come up in spring. Seeds and a pot run $10 to $30.
3. An "All about my grandma" poster. The classroom classic: her age according to a six-year-old, her favorite food, what she is best at. Free and always kept.
4. A picnic with the grandkids. Sandwiches, a blanket and a park bench for anyone whose knees prefer one. Around $20 to $40.
5. A handprint tree. Paint a trunk on a canvas and add each grandchild's handprint as the leaves, with names and ages. Around $20 to $40 for canvas and paint.
6. Garden gloves and a kneeler with the grandkids' names. For the grandparent who lives in the yard. Usually $30 to $50.
7. A coupon book the grandkids make. One sleepover, one car wash, one breakfast in bed, one hour of help with the phone. Folded paper, crayons and a stapler.
8. A backyard slideshow night. Project old family photos onto a sheet after dark and let the grandparents narrate. A small projector usually costs $50 to $100, or borrow one from a friend.
9. A teach-me afternoon. Ask them to teach the grandkids something: knitting, whittling, a card game, a family recipe. They get to be the expert for a day.
10. Matching shirts for the whole crew. Grandparents and grandkids in the same color with a family name on the back, for one very good photo. Usually $15 to $25 each.
11. Their favorite saying, framed. The line every grandchild can repeat, printed nicely and hung in their kitchen. Usually $25 to $50.
12. A lunch date at school. Many schools invite grandparents in around this time. If yours does, make sure they have the date, a ride and a seat saved.

How to choose a Grandparents Day gift

Grandparents Day is less about the gift and more about the grandchildren showing up. Choose something the kids can make, hand over or do with them.

• If the grandkids are small: the handprint tree, the poster or the coupon book.
• If the grandkids are older: the slideshow night, the teach-me afternoon or the song.
• If the grandparents live far away: the song, the framed saying or seeds sent in the mail with planting notes.

Grandparents Day in one week

In the United States, Grandparents Day falls on the first Sunday after Labor Day. It lands in the same week school starts, which is why it catches families off guard. Here is a plan that works in seven days. On Monday, pick the gift and order anything that needs time. By Wednesday, collect the kids' drawings or handprints. On Friday, confirm the plan with the grandparents, especially the time. On Sunday, show up, give the gift in person and take one proper photo of everyone together. If you are far away, schedule a video call and have the grandkids ready before you dial.

Make a Grandparents Day song

Create a Grandparents Day song. Share their names and your family's stories, and the song is ready within 24 hours. If Sunday is tomorrow, express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: Grandparents Day songs and Mother's Day songs for Grandma.