Thoughtful Christmas Gifts for Grandparents and Seniors

A good Christmas gift for a grandparent is usually smaller and simpler than we expect. Not because they are hard to please, but because most of what they need they already own, and the things that get used every week cost very little.

This guide is for adult children, grandchildren and caregivers shopping for an older relative, and for anyone shopping for themselves or a friend. It collects the screen-free gifts we come back to: a large print coloring book, a good set of pencils, something the grandkids made, and a few quiet ideas that need no shopping at all. If they already color, our large print coloring guide goes deeper on pages and supplies, coloring with grandkids covers coloring together over the holidays, and our Garden Gate page is free to print if you want to see the style first.

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Gifts They'll Use, Not Store

Most homes after seventy have enough ornaments and mugs. What they often do not have is something to do on a long winter afternoon that involves no screen and no password.

That is the case for a gift with a job attached. A book of large print pages, a set of soft pencils and good light make a complete evening, with no setup and no learning curve. It also respects a smaller home: a coloring book lives on a side table, gets used up page by page, and never becomes clutter.

A Large Print Coloring Book

If you buy only one thing, buy a large print coloring book. Large print pages use thick outlines, big open shapes and one clear picture per page instead of small repeating patterns, so the lines are easy to see and the spaces are roomy.

Our own book, Simple Pleasures, was drawn for exactly this: 50 extra large designs of familiar cottage subjects such as teacups, pie on a plate, birdhouses and sleeping cats. Every page is printed single-sided, so a finished page can go on the fridge or in an envelope, and every page carries a short conversation starter that gives a quiet afternoon something to talk about.

A Good Set of Colored Pencils

Pencils suit hands that would rather not press hard. A soft core gives rich color with almost no pressure, the color builds up slowly, and nothing dries out between uses. You do not need a large tin: twelve to twenty-four colors covers a whole book, and a smaller set is easier to hold. Look for soft leads and barrels a little wider than a standard pencil, which are easier to grip and less likely to roll off the table. It is the same pick we recommend in our Coloring Supplies We Love section.

Something Made by the Grandkids

A colored card from the grandkids beats almost anything you can order. It is the one gift on this list that cannot be bought twice, and grandparents keep them: on the fridge, in a drawer, on the shelf beside the photos.

If the grandkids are close by, hand them a card to color at the kitchen table. If they are not, the Color-Your-Own Christmas Cards printable gives you four Birdie designs to print, color and send, and it is a good job to hand a child on a video call while you color at your end.

For a grandchild who would rather receive than send, the mailed Color-Your-Own Christmas Card from Birdie is printed, personalized with the child's name and posted with free US shipping. Order by December 12 for Christmas delivery. Both fit the mail tradition ideas in our coloring with grandkids guide.

A Gift to Share

Some gifts are better when they land in two houses. The Color Together Bundle is 102 printable pages in one download: 52 Birdie Christmas pages drawn bold and easy for children, and 50 large print Simple Pleasures pages drawn for grown-ups. US Letter and A4 PDFs, for $5.99.

Print a set from each side, put the children's pages in one envelope and the grown-up pages in another, and both houses have something to work on the same week. On the next visit the two stacks meet on the same table. It is also the easiest gift to send to a grandparent far away: nothing to wrap, nothing to post.

Printable Pages for Groups

If you are shopping for a group rather than one person, printables do more work than a book. Activity directors, church groups, community centers and family gatherings print one copy per person and reprint as needed for the same group; the only thing our printables are not for is resale.

Simple Pleasures Complete has all 50 large print designs, the sensible choice for a group coloring together through the winter. Garden Favorites gathers 12 garden pages and Kitchen Favorites 12 kitchen pages, each a good size for one afternoon session.

More Simple Gift Ideas

To round out a parcel, these cost little and get used:

• A framed family photo. Print one from this year, frame it simply, and write the names and date on the back.
• A favorite tea. A tin of the one they actually drink, not a sampler.
• A cozy throw. Something washable that lives on the back of the chair they use.
• A large-print calendar. Big squares for appointments, one page per month, on the wall by the phone.
• Handwritten letters. Three from three grandchildren, tied with a ribbon, read more than once.
• Time spent together. An afternoon with the date already on the calendar, a pot of tea and a coloring page each.

How to Wrap It Up

A gift that arrives ready to use gets started that day. Four small additions do most of the work:

• Pair the book with pencils. A set of soft colored pencils in the same parcel means nothing has to be bought before the first page.
• Add a note from the grandkids. One line each, in their own handwriting, even if it is mostly a drawing.
• Include a colored page. Color one page yourself and tuck it in, so the book opens to a page someone already started.
• Tuck in a family photo. Unframed is fine. It will end up somewhere they look every day.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good Christmas gift for a grandparent who has everything?

Something with a job attached rather than another object to store: a large print coloring book with soft pencils, a framed photo from this year, or an afternoon with the date already on the calendar. Gifts that get used up are usually welcome, and so is anything a grandchild made by hand.

Are coloring books a good gift for older adults?

Yes, and mostly because of how little they ask for. Coloring needs no rules, no screen and no company, it can be picked up for twenty minutes, and a page can be finished in one sitting. Choose large print pages with thick lines and big open shapes, add soft colored pencils, and the gift is complete.

What is large print coloring?

Large print coloring means pages drawn with bold, thick outlines, big open spaces and one clear picture per page, rather than small detailed designs with tiny repeating patterns. The lines are easier to see and the shapes are large enough to fill comfortably with a light hand. Our large print coloring guide goes through pages, supplies and setup in more detail.

What can grandkids make for grandparents for Christmas?

A colored card is the classic: print a card design, hand over the pencils and let them work. Coloring a page to frame, drawing a picture of a shared memory, or writing three lines in their own handwriting all work too. Anything with their name and the year on the back becomes a keeper.

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