Good Christmas gifts for grandchildren are the ones only a grandparent can give: time with you, a yearly tradition, and something with their name in it and your words inside. If your grandchildren already have everything, skip another toy and give a day out, a family story, or a book that stars them and opens with a message from you.
We make personalised books, so we’re biased about that last idea, and it’s far from the only good one here. If you’re buying for other children too, our guide to personalised Christmas gifts for kids sorts ideas by age and by who’s giving.
The short version
- Give time, with a date on it, so it actually happens.
- Start a tradition you’ll repeat each Christmas.
- Make the gift about them: their name, their town, the thing they’re mad about.
- Write something in it. A message from you outlasts the wrapping paper.
- Ask the parents what’s already coming and what they’ve got room for.
- If you live far away, post it to their door and be on a video call when they open it.
Gifts for grandchildren who have everything
When a grandchild already has everything, give them something they can’t get twice, like an afternoon with you or a few words they’ll keep. Most of these won’t take up an inch of shelf space.
- A ticket for a day out. Make a ticket for the zoo, the pantomime, a steam railway or the beach, and write a date on it. A date turns “we must do that sometime” into a plan.
- An afternoon at yours. Baking, den building or planting bulbs for spring. Put the ingredients or the seeds in a box with a note of what you’ll do together.
- A box that lives at your house. Dressing-up clothes, a board game and a torch for reading in the dark, kept for visits. It’s a present that doesn’t take up any room at home.
- A family story. Make a photo book of the two of you, or a few pages about what their mum or dad got up to at their age. We’d put the embarrassing bits in.
- Your voice. Record yourself reading a bedtime story, so they can hear you on the nights you’re not there.
- A book that’s about them. Their name in the story, a character they’ve picked, and a few lines from you printed inside.
If you can only choose one, we’d choose the one with your words in it somewhere. That’s the part they’ll go looking for when they’re grown up.
Start a Christmas tradition
We reckon a tradition is the best answer to “they’ve got everything”, because it gets better every year instead of older. Our favourite is a book from you every Christmas, with the date and their age written in the front. By the time they’re nine, there’s a little shelf of Christmases with you on it.
Here’s how we’d set it up:
- Pick one book each December, chosen for the age they are that year.
- Write the date and their age in the front, with one line about their year: ‘the year you learned to swim’, ‘the year you lost two teeth in one week’.
- Sign it the same way every year, so they know who it’s from before they’ve read a word.
- Keep a list on your phone of what you’ve given, so you never send the same title twice.
There are smaller traditions too. A height chart on your kitchen door, marked at every Christmas visit, works at any age. If the family does a Christmas Eve box, offer to fill the book slot each year, and that slot becomes yours.
Christmas gift ideas for grandchildren, by age
What makes a good gift changes fast between nought and nine. This is how we’d approach each stage if we were the ones buying.
Babies and toddlers, 0 to 2
For a baby, the present is really for later. A book you read aloud on your knee this year is one they’ll pick up on their own in a few years. The message in the front will tell them which Christmas it arrived, and who from. There’s more on this in our guide to first Christmas gifts for a baby.
More Than I Can Count is made for ages 0 to 5. It’s a counting adventure that shows a child how much they’re loved, which is a lovely thing for a grandparent to say. The printed books are A4, in softcover or hardcover, so with an under-two it’s one for your lap while you turn the pages.
Ages 3 to 5
Children this age love finding things and doing things with you. Teddy hides on every page of every one of our stories, so reading one turns into a hunt. Once they’ve found him on the last page, hide a real teddy somewhere in your house and send them after that one too.
Pair a book with something that gets you both on the floor, like a jigsaw, a den kit or dressing-up clothes to act the story out.
Ages 6 to 9
Older grandchildren like a puzzle to crack, and a bit of freedom. A bigger day out works. So does a hobby you can start together (fishing, knitting, a magic set), or a book with a page or two they can read to you.
My Incredible Name is made for ages 0 to 8, with puzzles to decode and incredible people to discover. For a grandchild who’s horse-mad, My Secret Unicorn has them rescue a hurt unicorn and find out their own horse is magical.
If you live far away
When your grandchildren live in another town or another country, post the present to their door and plan to be on a video call when they open it. You still get to see their face, and they get to say thank you while the paper’s still on the floor.
Posting a parcel abroad yourself means filling in a customs form and checking what’s banned. There’s more on both in our guide to sending a Christmas present to Australia, and the same two checks apply wherever they live.
A story that ends where they live suits a grandparent who can’t be there. My Way Home takes your grandchild around the world and back to their own home town and country. There are versions for Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore and the USA. Keep the free digital edition on your own tablet, and you can turn the pages together on the call.
What to write in the front, from Nana or Grandad
The message is the part only you can write. On our books it’s printed in the front for free. That makes it part of the book itself, and it’s there every time the story’s read.
Two to four short lines is enough. Use the name they actually call you (Nana, Grandad, Oma, Pop), add the year, and include one detail nobody else could write. Three examples to borrow and change:
- ‘Merry Christmas, Ellis. This is the first book on your Grandad shelf. One every year, for as long as you’ll have me. Grandad, Christmas 2026.’
- ‘Harriet, a hug won’t fit through the letterbox, so we’ve sent you a story instead. Squeeze it tight and we’ll count that as one. Love, Granny and Grandpa.’
- ‘Noor, you asked us why the sky goes pink at bedtime. We still don’t know. Let’s find out together. Love, Nana and Gramps.’
Before you order, try saying it to them in your head, the way you would on the phone. If it sounds like something you’d actually say, it’s ready.
Ask the parents before you buy
A quick message to the parents saves duplicates, and it’s kinder than adding to a pile they’ve no room for. Ask what’s already on the list, whether there’s space, and whether anything’s off limits this year.
If there are two sets of grandparents, compare notes with the other side too. You can split it between you, with one of you giving the day out and the other the book, so nobody turns up with the same thing. If there are godchildren on your list as well, their parents will be glad of the same quick message.
How The Kids Book Company helps
You can add a personal message to any of our books, and we print it into the front of the book for free. We ship anywhere in the world, and you can send a book to a different country from your billing address, so it goes to their address rather than yours.
Every title also has a free personalised digital edition through the Free Book Project. It’s made in under five minutes, with no credit card; you create an account with your email so we can send the file.
Create their free book.
Related questions
How do I make my grandchild feel special?
Give them your full attention when you’re together, and remember what they told you last time. A ritual that’s only yours helps too, like the same walk on every visit or a book from you each Christmas with a line about their year.
What can grandchildren make for their grandparents at Christmas?
Anything made with their hands or their voice works. Think of a drawing, a card with their handprint on it, or a recording of them reading a page of their favourite book. When you live far away, a short video of them opening your present means you were there for it too.
When do grandparents stop giving Christmas presents?
There’s no set age, and we wouldn’t stop. What changes is the present: books and toys when they’re small, then days out and shared hobbies as they get older. If you’re unsure what’s expected, ask the parents how their family does it.
What are small but special gifts for a grandchild?
Small gifts work when they carry something of you. Think of a ticket for a day out with the date on it, or a torch for after lights out. A recipe card for the biscuits you bake together fits in a stocking, and so does a book with your message in the front.
