Five Dolla’ Make You Holla’ Holiday Series: Grandpa
Grandfather’s seem like another difficult gift to me – they’re like fathers, so you fall back on the defaults of golf balls and ties (and how many of those could they possibly need?), but they’re also even older and have had more time to accumulate stuff, so he seems like someone who really does already have everything he could possibly need.
My grandfather was pretty much the coolest guy I knew (I only grew up knowing one of them). He was pretty much a picture perfect image of The Greatest Generation. He had fought as a Marine in World War II. Then he came home, met this hot chick on the beach while he was life-guarding and married her. They adopted two beautiful and awesome daughters. When times were tight, he picked up an extra job he hated delivering furniture to make sure his family was taken care of, and later on, he spent most of his career with a giant oil/gas company that wound up taking really good care of him and my grandmother. All my memories of my grandparents are of them traveling through their retirement. They were snowbirds who would disappear to Florida every winter. They road-tripped all around America twice with a couple who were their best friends. They found great travel deals to different cities all over Europe and the Caribbean. They even took the whole family on my first cruise when I was 12.
So really, what do you get a guy like that for Christmas that he’ll actually want? Especially when you know he will so convincingly lie and say he loves it no matter what it is.
1.) Chore Coupons – I don’t know about you, but my grandfather mowed the lawn and mended things in my grandparents house right up until the end. A coupon book for those chores would’ve been a great gift – stuff like mowing the lawn, cleaning out the gutters, washing the car, weeding, etc. You can find some cute templates here.
2.) Cookies – Bake up a plate of your grandfather’s favorite cookies. If he’s a traditional kind of dude, how about these so called Best Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies in the Entire World or if he’s a little more adventurous, show him some love with Sweetheart Jamwiches.
3.) Mug Set – pick up a set of mugs at the Dollar Store and decorate them for Grandpa. Beg, borrow or steal a Sharpie. If you have kids, let them go wild. If you don’t, you can find some great quotes about grandfathers or write a memory you two share on the mug. This blog has some great tips for making sure your design lasts on the mug and you can find some nifty design ideas here. You can even fill it up with free samples.
4.) Vintage Picture Frame – you can pick up an unfinished wood frame from Hobby Lobby or Michael’s for about $3 and stain it with coffee grounds, vinegar and steel wool. If you can find an old picture of grandpa lying around it would be the perfect touch – or a nice picture of grandma in her 20’s or 30’s.
If DIY is not your thing, you can still show Grandpa some love with these inexpensive treats he can put to good use:
1.) Car Wash Coupon – my grandfather really prided himself on what good shape his car was always in. With the wide variety of car washes in town, it would’ve been easy to find him a gift certificate for a single car wash under $5.
2.) For Golfing Grandpa’s – this tee caddy is pretty cool for $3.97 or ball markers for $3.99
3.) Sudoku or Crossword Puzzle Book – this is only a good gift if grandpa actually likes these, but if he does, you’re in luck. You can pick up 2 or 3 for under $5.
4.) Because all of my old professors were probably someone’s grandfather – if your Pop-Pop is more of an intellectual, you can check out some of these kitschy items like Stone Cold Stonehenge for the anthropologist, William Shakespeare Air Freshener for the literati, or The Gift of Nothing for philosophers.
Also, some of the ideas for dad or your husband could totally work for Grandpa too (although you probably want to skip the pick-up line cards in this case).
If you’re still looking for more ideas to keep your holiday spending in check, enter for a chance to win a copy of Zero Budget Christmas by Jason Anderson and this awesome bottle of ModPodge, to jump start your DIY projects. Contest ends on November 30th.
brokeGIRLrich readers, what’s your favorite holiday memory with your grandparents?
And check out one of the few (and definitely most awesome) personal finance link up parties where this post is linked up:
If grandpa golfs, maybe a round of golf? Or maybe a concert/opera/theatre ticket if he likes that? I’m all for the experiences. I haven’t had living grandparents for years, so I was never old enough to have to do Christmas shopping for them while they were still around.
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His last few Christmases I definitely went the round of golf route and it seemed legitimately appreciated. The only problem with adding that was keeping it under $5 for the post theme, but it’s a great idea. And theater and sporting event tickets are another great one when times are good and you can afford to spend a little more. I totally agree that grandparents would rather have an experience and some time with you than another thing.
Mel @ brokeGIRLrich recently posted…Five Dolla’ Make You Holla’ Holiday Series: Grandpa
As a high school student taking an art class I have an advantage. I did a drawing of a clown fish in class and my Papa loves them. I was able to go to the dollar store and get a plain black frame. I went ahead and gave it to him for his birthday but I might do another one to match for Christmas. Great ideas!
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That’s awesome. I wish I had actually art skills. I think I’m much better at assembling things than trying to create from scratch.
Some of these ideas are really cool. The mug thing is neat and as a photographer, I really like the frame idea. Visiting from the Northeast Bloggers weekend wander hop.
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These are great! Very creative, and can’t beat the price 🙂
How about a coupon for a home cooked meal? I think this will spending time with him will make a great gift!
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Definitely! I can’t believe I didn’t even think of that.
My grandparents have both been gone for years, so I am going to look at my husband and his three nieces as an example. Once year one of them a collage of photos of the two of them in a frame. He loved it. He also received quite a few coffee mugs (photos of golf, dogs, and their collage teams). He likes them and uses them. Also just reaching out from time to time means so much. A call or an email out of the blue means more than a carwash gift certificate. Last year the three of them put a gift basket together of different local foods, he liked it but thought it wasn’t necessary.
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A call or email out the blue is definitely a great idea – all year round! The coffee mugs are great too, as long as grandpa’s a coffee drinker. Practical gifts often seem to be the best route.
Great ideas! Sometimes when you check out the “don’t break the budget” gifts they are really lame, but I think you did a fabulous job suggesting things that would truly be appreciated. In my 40’s now, I have the same issue with what to get my mom- she doesn’t really want more “stuff” and she isn’t the easiest to buy for! Many of these things would translate well for her too (well, not the golf stuff, but you know what I mean.) GIfts done by the kiddos are always a hit. We did do a budget breaker with a laptop one year (ALL the gifts, rolled into one big purchase- I mean mothers day, birthday, christmas, grandparents day- it was just THAT gift) so that my kids could video chat with her a few times a week. Four years later, that was the best gift ever- not so much the computer, but the ability to video chat, and making time for the littles to do it- frequently!
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Glad you liked the suggestions – I agree about a lot of the other lists being pretty lame. I started out this series trying to avoid my suggestions being too ridiculous, but I also have some sympathy for the ones that are. It’s difficult to find a good gift for under $5 these days!
I think the laptop is great. I don’t have a problem with splurging on a gift if you know it’s the perfect one. We talk so much about saving money and being thrifty, but once in a while money is made to be spent.
I love the idea of decorating a mug from the dollar store! It’s creative, inexpensive, and useful. Great ideas!
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