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Every moment you spend with your grandfather is a gift. So when a holiday or special occasion rolls around, you might wonder what you can give back to show him your appreciation. If you’re unsure where to start your gift hunt, consider practical, useful gifts to make his daily life or hobbies easier. We rounded up eight holiday gift ideas for grandpas that are useful, thoughtful, and designed to enrich your grandpa’s life.
Shopping for someone you care about? Check out the best hearing aids and best medical alert systems on the market today.
If your grandpa has limited time or finds it hard to shop for groceries, Hungryroot can make it easier for him to eat healthy meals at home. The service offers weekly grocery deliveries, which include meal recipes and all the ingredients needed to make them. He can also add healthy premade meals, snack items, and supplements to his deliveries.
On the custom grocery plan, your grandpa can fill out a quiz describing his food preferences and dietary goals to receive a preselected list of grocery items for delivery. But if he doesn’t like the included foods, he can edit the cart and choose from other available grocery items on his plan.
Digital gift cards come in pre-selected amounts ranging from $5–$500, but you can also enter a custom amount.
Everyone needs enough sleep to support their immune system and mental health and lower their risk of disease. But if your grandpa is one of the 75% of older adults with insomnia, a new pillow, like the Brooklinen Marlow, could help him get more comfortable in bed.
The pillow features an allergy-friendly cotton shell and a cooling and supportive memory foam interior. “[Memory foam] offers excellent support and conforms to the shape of your head
and neck, providing a personalized sleeping experience,” said Peter Hinz, DC, chiropractor at Cool Springs Chiropractic in Franklin, Tennessee.
The pillow also features zippable sides, which your grandpa can zip or unzip to adjust the pillow’s firmness level. Unzipping both sides provides a soft feel, unzipping one side provides medium firmness, and zipping both sides gives the firmest feel.
“It supports my neck, and I enjoy how my head sinks into the cushion with both sides unzipped.”
Some research suggests over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids can be effective for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. If you think your grandpa could benefit from a hearing aid, the Audien Atom 2 offers an affordable way to try them.
The basic pair costs $189 and fits in the ear like a standard earbud headphone. They’re compact and barely visible in the ear, and the battery is rechargeable and lasts for 24 hours. Learn more in our in-depth review of Audien hearing aids.
Some research connects warmer room temperatures with poorer sleep quality in older adults. If your grandpa lives in a hotter climate, sleeps warm, or has a partner who turns up the thermostat before bedtime, the Evercool Comforter by Rest could help him stay cooler at night.
The comforter features cool-to-the-touch fabric, which the brand claims is twice as cool as silk and wicks three times as much moisture as cotton. It also doesn’t feature any chemicals or additives and is safe for pets in case a furry friend wants to cuddle up with your grandpa. It comes in three sizes and six colors and features a one-year limited warranty.
This water bottle from YETI can make it easier for your grandpa to stay hydrated wherever he goes. The bottle features a screw-on cap with a handle that your grandpa can carry by hand or attach to a clip. The cap is also interchangeable with Yeti’s straw-style caps, which are sold separately. The stainless steel bottle is insulated and can keep cold or hot drinks at the temperature he wants for hours.
The YETI water bottle comes in sizes from 18–64 ounces and 15 different colors. You can also customize it with text, monograms, art designs, team logos, or even your own designs. This makes it a great personalized holiday gift idea for grandpas.
The Parkit Voyager is a luxurious outdoor chair that can keep your grandpa comfortable at sporting events or other outdoor activities. The chair sits 16 inches off the ground for a more natural sitting position, so your grandpa won’t need to squat or bend down too far. The chair is sturdy, with an industrial aluminum frame and woven webbing that promotes breathability and comfort.
If your grandpa wants a convenient place to store his drinks, the chair also comes with an insulated cooler built into the bottom, which can store 15 12-ounce drinks for up to eight hours. The Voyager comes in eight colors and features a detachable cup holder that can be placed on either side of the chair. It also comes with backpack straps so it is easier to carry.
If you want to give your grandpa a convenient way to protect himself while gardening or working in the yard, a pair of sleeves from Farmers Defense could make a great gift. The sleeves cover the hands and arm up to the shoulder and can be worn with any short-sleeve shirt.
They’re made with a lightweight, moisture-wicking fabric that offers UPF 50+ protection from the sun without the heaviness of a regular long-sleeve shirt during hot weather. While they’re designed for gardening and yard work, they can offer sun protection during any outdoor activity. The sleeves come in four sizes and more than 40 colors.
If your grandpa enjoys learning new skills, a subscription to Masterclass could help him broaden his horizons. Masterclass offers more than 200 self-guided courses on a variety of topics, including cooking, science, writing, art, photography, wellness, and more. Courses are often led by industry experts or celebrities like Gordon Ramsey, James Patterson, Steve Martin, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and more.
Masterclass costs $120 per year for a Standard membership, $200 per year for a Plus membership, and $240 per year for a Premium membership. Each one gives access to the full course catalog, which your grandpa can complete at his own pace. The main difference between the subscriptions is the number of devices you can use and whether you can download courses to watch offline.
Our Reviews Team created this gift guide by considering the needs and preferences of NCOA readers and people looking for gifts for a grandfather. We want to honor grandfathers by showcasing items that could be useful or delightful to receive from a loved one. We selected the products and brands in this roundup through careful research, mystery shopping, and our own experiences.
We wanted to select gifts for grandpas at a range of prices for different budgets. We also considered the value of each product along with its quality to assess whether you are getting the most for your money.
Consider what your grandpa likes to do day-to-day and think of things that could make his life easier. If he doesn’t like to grocery shop, a meal or grocery delivery service could provide healthy, low-effort meals. If he spends a lot of time outside, a special chair or sun-protective sleeves could be a welcome gift.
If you want to gift your grandpa something that’s one-of-a-kind, look for gifts that you can personalize. For example, thermos cups or water bottles that allow you to add custom designs or text.
Sometimes, even the most thoughtful gifts can miss the mark. When possible, look for brands that offer trials, return windows, or exchanges for items or services. If your grandpa doesn’t like the gift, he can swap it for something else he’d prefer.
We hope these holiday gift ideas for grandpas help you find the right present for a special occasion. Remember that everyone has different tastes and needs. Don’t be afraid to ask your grandpa for a hint, and keep looking if you haven’t found quite the right gift just yet.
For more holiday resources, check out our guide on handling loneliness in older adults during the holiday season.
If you prefer to share your love with your grandpa with a homemade gift, think about your favorite hobbies and activities. You could bake a treat, knit a sweater, or create any do-it-yourself (DIY) craft.
Sometimes, spending time together is the ultimate gift. So, consider inviting your grandpa along for the DIY process so he can learn something new and you can bond over making something together.
Some of our favorite affordable gift ideas for grandpas include customized water bottles, sun-protective sleeves for the garden, and adjustable pillows.
When selecting a useful holiday gift, think of the activities your grandpa likes to do. For instance, if he likes to tailgate at sporting events or watch the grandkids’ soccer games, a comfortable and durable portable chair might make the ideal gift.
Have questions about this review? Email us at reviewsteam@ncoa.org.
