Gifts for grandparents
that mean something.

By the time someone is a grandparent, they often own most of what they need. What they rarely have is the family’s photos somewhere they can see them, or enough time with the people in them. Four questions help you choose:

Dementia UK says that whatever the stage of dementia, “the best gift you can give is quality time together”, and suggests a trip to a special place, such as a park they love, a zoo, the cinema or the theatre (some run screenings for people with dementia and other disabilities). Age UK Norfolk’s pack suggests sharing a favourite activity: cooking, gardening, a card game or a favourite film.

Turn either into a gift by putting a date on it: a homemade voucher for Sunday lunch, a day out, or an afternoon going through old photos together with a recorder running.

Ofcom found that 74% of UK online adults used WhatsApp every day in May 2025, up from 64% a year earlier. If your grandparents are among them, small, regular things travel well:

The oldest generation is growing: the ONS estimates that 625,000 people in the UK were aged 90 or over in 2024, up 53.7% since 2004. If a grandparent or great-grandparent has moved into a care home, Dementia UK suggests reminiscence gifts such as photobooks with large prints and captions, or memory boxes with simple items that link to pleasant memories. Ask the home how much space there is before buying anything large.

A life story is worth making here too. Dementia UK calls it a “fact file” about the person, to share with family, friends and carers, and says it is particularly helpful when someone has a new carer, is moving into a care home or is in hospital.

In the UK, Grandparents’ Day falls on the first Sunday of October, and has since October 2008. Age UK Norfolk explains that Age Concern introduced the day in the UK in 1990, borrowing it from America, where Marian McQuade wanted a day for grandparents after finding that many nursing home residents had no visitors.

The US Census Bureau records that McQuade began her campaign in 1970, and that in 1978 President Carter signed a proclamation making the first Sunday after Labor Day National Grandparents Day. Age UK Norfolk adds that West Virginia had recognised the day first, in 1973.

If the gift is a printed one, Ancestorii turns the family’s photos into a Memory Book: an A4 landscape hardcover with 24, 36 or 48 printed pages, from £44.99 plus delivery. For the wall there is a Memory Canvas or an Acrylic Print, both from £99.99 plus delivery (the six-foot Heritage canvas ships to UK addresses only). Prints ship to 20 countries, standard delivery takes 10 to 14 working days, and Premium families, at £3.99 a month, get 10% off.

Alison made a Memory Book for her dad from years of family photos. “I walked past my dad’s room and caught him looking through his memory book again,” she says. “That’s the third time this week.”

The gift that keeps going costs nothing. Invite your grandparents into a private family space, then send them questions about their own life from the app, one at a time: any of 46 ready-made questions, or one you write. They answer in the free iPhone or Android app, and each answer becomes a memory the whole family can see. Here is how family questions work.