"Oh, don't get me anything — I've got everything I need." Every family has heard it. And it's usually true: most grandparents have enough jumpers, candles and boxes of biscuits to last a lifetime. So what do you give someone who really does have everything?
The answer is almost always the same: something that's about them, or about time together. Here are our favourite Christmas gift ideas for grandparents who have everything — from experiences and personal touches to keepsakes the whole family can be part of.
What do grandparents actually want for Christmas?
Ask most grandparents and the honest answer is: more time with family, and to feel that their life and stories matter. The best gifts tend to do one of three things:
- Create a memory — a day out, a shared meal, a new tradition.
- Keep a memory — photos, stories and family history, written down for good.
- Make everyday life a little nicer — small comforts chosen with real thought.
1. A memory book that tells their life story
For grandparents who have everything, this is the gift that can't be bought off a shelf — because the most valuable part is what they write in it. A guided memory book asks the questions you've always meant to ask: where they grew up, how they met, their first job, the best advice they were ever given. Once it's filled in, it becomes a family heirloom.
Our Tell Me Your Story books are 44 beautifully designed pages, with photo spaces and lighter fill-in pages so it never feels like a form:
Gift tip: print it, slip it into a nice folder or have it bound at a local print shop, and add a handwritten note on the first page.
2. A matching gift for both grandparents
Buying for a couple? Rather than two separate presents, give them something they can do together — and compare notes on. The Grandparents Collection includes matching Grandma and Grandad memory books plus the full set of keepsakes, so both sides of the story get told. Expect a few "that's not how it happened!" moments.
3. A new family Christmas tradition
Traditions are the gift that keeps giving. Start one this year that the whole family can return to every December: who hosted, what was on the table, the best present, the funniest moment, a photo of everyone together. Christmas At Ours is a family Christmas book with space for ten Christmases — fill in a page together each year and watch it become the most treasured thing in the house.
4. The full keepsake collection
If you want to go all out, the complete bundles add conversation cards, a family tree, a letter page, photo pages and more alongside the memory book — perfect for sharing out among the grandchildren so everyone contributes something.
- Tell Me Your Story, Grandad — Bundle Collection
- Tell Me Your Story, Grandma — Bundle Collection
- Tell Me Your Story, Nan — Bundle Collection
5. A letter from every grandchild
Completely free, and often the gift that makes them cry. Ask each grandchild — whatever their age — to write (or draw) what they love about Grandma or Grandad. Little ones can dictate it to a parent. Gather them in an envelope or a folder and hand it over on Christmas morning.
6. A day out together
Book something you can do with them, not just for them: afternoon tea, a garden or stately home visit, a matinee at the theatre, a heritage railway, or a trip back to the town where they grew up. The day itself is the gift — and it's one more story for the memory book.
7. Their old photos, brought back to life
Most grandparents have a shoebox of prints, slides or negatives somewhere. Getting them scanned, sorted and labelled — with their help naming who's who — is a thoughtful gift and a lovely afternoon spent together. Pick the best few for a frame or a small printed album.
8. A recorded conversation
Sit down with a cup of tea and record a chat on your phone. Not sure what to ask? Our list of 75 questions to ask your grandparents covers childhood, love, work and life lessons. Years from now, hearing their voice tell those stories will mean more than almost anything.
9. A "time with you" voucher book
Make a little book of promises: Sunday lunch cooked for them, a lift to the shops, a garden tidy, help setting up their new phone, a film night. It costs very little and it's what many grandparents really want — more of your time.
10. Small comforts, chosen with care
If you still want something to unwrap, go for quality over quantity: their favourite tea from a proper tea merchant, a good reading light, a cosy blanket, a bird feeder for the window they sit by, or a subscription to a magazine about something they love.
Last-minute? Instant downloads have you covered
All our memory books are instant digital downloads, so there's no waiting for the post and no worrying about Christmas delivery cut-off dates. Buy, download, print at home or at a local print shop, and it's ready to wrap the same day. Each book comes in two versions: a print edition to fill in by hand, and an interactive edition you can type into on a computer or tablet.
Browse the full Christmas gift collection, or shop by grandparent: for Grandad, for Grandma and for Nan.
Frequently asked questions
What do you buy a grandparent who says they don't want anything?
Choose something that's about them or about time together rather than another object — a memory book of their life story, a letter from each grandchild, a day out, or a new family tradition. These are gifts they can't buy for themselves.
What is a meaningful Christmas gift for grandparents?
A gift that captures their memories or creates new ones. A guided memory book is one of the most meaningful options, because once it's filled in it becomes a family keepsake that's passed down for generations.
What's a good last-minute Christmas gift for grandparents?
A printable gift you can download instantly. A printable memory book can be bought, printed and wrapped on the same day, with no risk of missing Christmas postage dates.
What's a good gift for grandparents from grandchildren?
Handwritten letters or drawings from each grandchild, or a memory book that the grandchildren help fill in by asking the questions themselves. Grandparents treasure anything the grandchildren have made or written.
This Christmas, give them the chance to tell their story. — The Memory Store Co