Gifts for grandparents who have everything (2026)
Six kinds of gift that aren't another thing for the shelf, with prices checked on each company's own site.
Who wrote this: Memolio. We make one of the gifts on this list, so we're not neutral. We've tried to be fair anyway: every price below was checked on each company's own website in September 2026, and each entry says who it suits and one thing worth knowing before you buy.
When grandparents already have everything they need, a new object is mostly something to find a place for. What they usually don't have is one of three things: more time with the family, a way to keep what they've lived through, or something that comes from the grandchildren themselves. The gifts below fall into six groups, sorted by which of those they give.
Quick picks
- For time together: an experience voucher, from under £50 (Virgin Experience Days) or about $40 (Virgin Gifts).
- For their own story: Memolio, watercolour paintings of their actual life, from around 30 minutes of questions, .
- If they'd enjoy writing it themselves: Storyworth, from $59.
- For keeping their voice: the StoryCorps app, free, or Remento, $99 for a year including a book.
- From a young grandchild: a picture book like Wonderbly's I Love Grandma This Much, from £29.99.
- For keeping up with the family: an Aura digital frame, from £149 or $149, no subscription.
- If they'd rather have something that gets used: a flower subscription, from £22 a box (Bloom & Wild) or $60 a delivery (UrbanStems).
1. Time together
A day out is the one gift that can't end up in a cupboard. The catch is that someone has to book it, so the best version is one you book together, or one that includes you.
Virgin Experience Days (UK)
Vouchers for everything from afternoon tea to a hot-air balloon flight.
- Best for: a grandparent who likes an outing, especially one the family can join
- Price: from under £50, up to £500 and more
- Worth knowing: offer to book it with them, so it becomes a date rather than a voucher
Virgin Gifts (US)
The same idea in the United States, formerly Virgin Experience Gifts.
- Price: experiences from about $40
2. Their own story, as a book
The gift most grandparents have never been given: their life, written down. The difference between the options is who does the work.
Memolio
Our product. A set of questions about the grandparent's life, answered in around 30 minutes, by the grandparent themselves or by the family, typed or spoken, plus a photo. The story is written from the answers and every page is painted in watercolour, with their face taken from the photo.
The whole family can be in the story: grandchildren, children, partner. With a photo we paint them true to life; without one, a few words will do. You only need a photo of the person the book is about.
- Best for: a real life story, told quickly, by them or by the family, and painted in watercolour
- Price: including VAT, plus shipping
- Speed: about 2 weeks end to end
- Worth knowing: the pictures are painted by AI and the book is short, 24 pages. You review every page first, and nothing prints until you approve it
Storyworth
Storyworth emails the grandparent a question every week for a year and prints their written answers as a book.
- Best for: a grandparent who enjoys writing and will keep it up
- Price: from $59, colour $99
- Worth knowing: they write most weeks for a year
StoryTerrace
A professional writer interviews them and writes a full memoir.
- Best for: a long memoir, when budget isn't the main concern
- Price: Classic from £2,600 in the UK, $3,250 in the US
- Worth knowing: around five months, and by far the most expensive option here
For a full comparison of books like these, see our roundup of personalised books for grandparents.
3. Their voice
Nothing else keeps the way someone actually talks.
StoryCorps app
A free app for recording a conversation with them on your phone, which you can add to the StoryCorps archive at the Library of Congress if you like.
- Best for: an afternoon where a grandchild asks the questions
- Price: free
Remento
Remento turns recorded answers into a written book, with QR codes back to the audio.
- Price: $99 for a year, including one hardcover
- Worth knowing: English and Spanish only; ships to the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand
4. Something from the grandchildren
For a young grandchild to give: a picture book where grandparent and grandchild are the characters.
- Wonderbly: for example I Love Grandma This Much, from £29.99
- Hooray Heroes: rhyming books drawn by human illustrators, from £46.99
- Worth knowing: these are fixed stories with your names in them, and the grandchild is the hero, not the grandparent's own life. That's the point: it's a gift from the child
5. A frame the family keeps filling
A digital photo frame that the whole family can send pictures to from their phones, so it keeps changing.
- Aura: from £149 or $149, and Aura says there are no subscription fees
- Nixplay: $189.99 (on sale for $169.99 when we checked)
- Best for: grandparents who live far from the grandchildren
- Worth knowing: it only works if the family actually sends photos, so set it up with them and add the first batch together
6. Something that gets used up
If they really don't want more things, give something that's gone in a week and comes back next month.
- Bloom & Wild (UK): letterbox flower subscriptions from £22 a box
- UrbanStems (US): flower subscriptions from $60 a delivery, with free shipping; you can pause, skip or cancel anytime
At a glance
| Gift | What they get | Price from | They have to do anything |
|---|---|---|---|
| Experience voucher | A day out | under £50 / $40 | Book and go |
| Memolio | Watercolour paintings of their actual life, as a book | Only if they want to answer the questions | |
| Storyworth | A book they write | $59 | Write weekly for a year |
| StoryTerrace | A ghostwritten memoir | £2,600 | Interviews |
| StoryCorps / Remento | Their voice, recorded | free / $99 | Talk |
| Picture book | A story starring grandparent and grandchild | £29.99 | No |
| Digital frame | A stream of family photos | £149 / $149 | No, the family fills it |
| Flower subscription | Fresh flowers every month | £22 / $60 | No |
How to choose
If they're lonely for the family
Time together, or a frame the grandchildren keep filling.
If they're the family's storyteller
A book of their life. Storyworth if they'd love to write it, Memolio if you want it told in an afternoon and painted, StoryTerrace if you want a full memoir.
If the gift should come from a small child
A picture book.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do you get a grandparent who has everything?
Something that isn't an object: time with the family, their own story written down, a recording of their voice, or something from the grandchildren. Most grandparents who have everything have never been given a book about their own life.
What's a good gift for grandparents from the grandchildren?
For a young child, a picture book where grandparent and grandchild are the characters. For older grandchildren, recording a conversation with the free StoryCorps app, or helping make a book of the grandparent's life.
Is a personalised book a good gift for grandparents who have everything?
It depends on the kind. A picture book with their name in a fixed story is a sweet gift from a young child. A book of their own life is different: it's the one thing they can't have bought themselves, because it didn't exist until someone asked.
Who wrote this list?
Memolio, which makes one of the gifts on it. Every competitor detail comes from that company's own website, checked in September 2026. If something has changed or we've got it wrong, email hello@memolio.io and we'll fix it.
Give them their own story
Answer the questions, add a photo, and review every page before it prints.
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Prices and details were checked on each company's own website in September 2026. Several run sales, so check theirs before you buy. If we've got something wrong, email hello@memolio.io and we'll correct it.