Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Works-for -Me Wednesday (Backwards)
Happy Wednesday to you! It's time once again to post another WFMW tip. Once again Shannon is doing a Backwards Day edition where you ask for advice, rather than give it. I got a lot of wonderful suggestions last time for my eye makeup remover question and can't wait to see what you all come up with for this next question of mine!So, I need help figuring out a Christmas gift for my in-laws who have everything! I want a gift geared around their grandkids, whom they adore. Any idea of great grandparent gifts that I can give my in-laws for Christmas this year?
Any suggestions would be much appreciated. If you can share links on where to purchase suggested gifts, that would be fabulous! Thanks!
To see what advice others need, be sure to check out the other links at Shannon's, the creator of Works-For-Me Wednesday!
My past WFMW entries are found here.
Oh, a quick note:
My November Pay It Forward Book Exchange is now in full swing. At this point in time, there are 13 free books up for grabs and more will probably be added throughout this month!
If you want a chance to win, be sure to check out this post for more details! You don't have to be a blogger to win!
Labels: Works-For-Me Wednesday
41 Comments:
What about a digital picture frame - I've seen them at places like Sharper Image and Brookstone. I've seen one in action (at a friend's parents house - i.e. their kids grandparents house) and it was super cool!
You could have a calendar made with a different photo for each month. I've done this before for friends & family and it is a big hit. They can't wait to turn to the next month for a new photo.
One of my MIL's favorite gifts was a painting our daughter did, then we framed it.
Or a video of the little guy singing a Christmas song?!?!
Are they computer using grandparents?? How about a mousepad with the grandkids pic on it?? And then you can give them a new one next year!
My dad loved it when I had our little tiny girls "paint" a plate and bowl for him at Color Me Mine (a store where you choose an unpainted stoneware item, paint it yourself, and let them fire it for you). We put my baby daughter's footprint in the middle of the dishes (she was not thrilled with having her foot painted, but she got over it), and her toddler sister painted swoops all around the edges.
Snapfish.com has wonderful gift ideas using photos that you upload to the site. Calendars, photo flip books, etc.
Or, if they live anywhere close by, perhaps you could give them a gift certificate to a place where they could take the grandkids, like Color Me Mine! (No, I don't own stock in Color Me Mine.)
We've done lots of these. T-shirts and ornaments from Walnart Photo http://photos.walmart.com/store/t_=4587182
Fleece scarves with cut out fleece ahndprints attatched with jingle bells (idea from Family Fun magazine)
Child-painted vase set. I gave the kids a pallete of coordintaing colors and let them each paint a vase. The colors matched my MIL's new kitchen.
Photo canvas bag or sweatshirt with fabric painted ahnd angels.
A "day in the life" video for a far away great grandma
photo coasters - very popular with the grands
I'm always a fan of gifts of charity. Let your kids pick charities in their honor, or choose children to "adopt" or animals from heifer international or something like that - your kids can "check in" with their gparents all year about their gifts...
another idea is gifts of experience -- time spent with the grandkids, make certificates....
Great Q!
~Get sculpy (or some other bake-able modeling clay at craft stores) and help them make beads to string as a necklace and earrings for Grandma. Can make a keychain out of it for Grandpa.
~Buy them and yourselves webcams and set up accounts on Skype - free talking over the internet and *extremely* reasonable calling via internet (I think like $.02/min!)
~Get a photobook made of this past year's best pictures. Available numerous places such as Snapfish and Walmart.
~If they live closer and your kids are old enough, try a year of kid-made meals! Once a month for the next year, help your kids plan out, shop for, and make a meal for their Grandparents. Also teaches them how to cook :)
I would definitely have to agree with the photo coasters (done that) and the digital photo frame (did that, too). They were huge hits!
Skype is always popular, too. We use ours all the time with the grandparents.
This year we're doing personalized calendars of the kids and personalized photo albums from our recent trip to Texas.
How about a basket of homemade goodies?
Or a CD filled with pictures or home movies?
I love all the suggestions you've received! Last year, I had my boys make a poster that said, "We love you, Nana!" then took a photo of them holding it. I had one photo framed nicely, then ordered photo stamps from http://photo.stamps.com/Store/?source=si10569866. That way, Nana got to enjoy her framed photo, and she was able to "show off" her grandsons on her cards and letters. An inexpensive and unique way to show she is loved. Good luck!
Honor
Last year, the kids and I made and froze a few simple entrees for my in-laws. They both still work, and my MIL doesn't really cook much except for special occasions, so they really appreciated the meals and I had fun showing the kids how to make a few of our family's favorite recipes.
What about a picture by a photographer of all the grandkids together?
or make a nice mosaic tile with their palm prints?
I may have to check out that book paying it foward post!
We just had portraits done and a series of four framed together - that was a BIG hit.
For a cheaper idea, you can laminate kids' artwork as a set of placemats. That was my WFMW tip last week.
Hi, I'm Shannon's mom (Rocks in my Dryer), and one of my favorite possessions is a studio photo we have of my husband and I with our 6 grandchildren.....all sitting together on the floor. We were all wearing jeans and white shirts and were barefooted, though most of our feet don't show in the photo. We love this picture cause we're right in the middle of the kids. It would make a great gift!
Do they live closeby?
One of my inlaws favorite gifts was a membership to a local arboretum. They can go on their own, but there's also a great children's area. They enjoy having a special place to take the kids on fun outings!
Grandparents.....look into something electronic or maybe an oil painting of the kids.....or a scrapbook of their life together.....that would be cool.
Photo calendars are always appreciated. They are easy to make at home if you have a color printer, or most office supply stores and copy centers have a service where you can just take in 12 photos and they will make them into a calendar for you. I have done both things for years now, and actually give it to all my family members who are living on their own. Each birthday and anniversary is noted on the appropriate date, so they have a reminder of loved ones' special days.
TM
We went to a monogramming store and got sweatshirts for each grandparent. My mom's says THIS GRANDMOTHER BELONGS TO and then each child's name is monogrammed (in a cute kid font) w/ a character above their name (bicycler, basketball player, ballerina, golfer etc.) Not only do the grandparents like to wear this (b/c it's a nice sweatshirt) but the kids LOVE to crawl on their lap and find their name. (Of course, the grandparents love the lap time.)
maybe this isn't very personal, but our parents don't need any more 'stuff', so we usually send them gift certificates for restaurants. I get them online, Olive garden, etc... and they use them and seem to enjoy them. Some of them (ok, we have 4 sets of parents, don't ask!) are on a tighter budget, and so eating out is a treat for them.
Make a picture collage (find a tasteful frame with several openings) with pictures of the kids doing things that your in-laws like. EX: My grandpa loves hats, always has one on. One year I made a collage of my eldest wearing different hats. When my son was born, I made a collage of him in hats. Now my cousin plans to make a collage of her son in hats. Grandpa has them hung in his study - simple to do and he loved the hat theme.
Howdy. I'm a grandma, too. One of our favorite possessions is a book of our grandbaby's first year. My husband calls it "The Book of Cora", and takes it to work with him to show to his coworkers. They all loved it, too. I don't remember where this particular book was made, but it was an online purchase.
A couple years ago I used Crayola Model Magic to make footprints of my son. The Model Magic is light as a feather when its dry, and is not breakable (its kinda rubbery), and is MUCH easier to work with than traditional plaster. You can use several colors and swirl them together to make different designs, then have the child press their hands or feet into it. You can use more of the stuff to make a frame and a hanger for it. It worked out great, looks very cool, and my parents loved it.
A few things we have done-
Give a gift to Samaritan's Purse in their honor. The kids can pick it out- like milk for a week for a baby or a brood of baby chicks.
ArborFoundation- plant a tree in a National Park in their honor.
My in-laws used to buy the newspaper subscription for their parents. It was something they needed and they liked it.
Photo calendars have always been a hit among the grandparents. Pretty much any of those cute items where you can put Snuggle Bug's picture on it. If no one else is giving the calendars out then you're all set for many years to come.
But I can't do this for my grandparents (my mom reserved that idea) so I give them homemade goodies. They need low cholesterol, low sodium goodies so I make them some stuff they love, like pumpkin bread. Last year it was raisin bran muffins. They appreciate that I am not adding to the stuff in their house and thinking about their health at the same time.
Boy, this is challenging so I am trying to think of what all the 18 grandkids did for my inlaws... The calendar idea, which they loved.
A little booklet where each grandchildren wrote a little letter of thanks or a memory they have (or drew) a picture. The book was put together and a photo was placed on the child's page. We laminated each page for longevity.
For my Dad we put together a scrapbook and each family had 3 pages to do with what they pleased. It turned out beautifully. We had Dad's early childhood, genealogy, military, teaching careers, then the families...
One year I had a craftsman make a little wooden "flower garden" to hang on the inlaws wall. Each flower had a child's name. She loved it and it hung for years. I had extra flowers made for additional grandkids to be added.
I am going brain dead but I pray you find something that works for you!
Hugs!
I like the personalized picture frames from Personal Creations. When I've given these, they've always been a big hit. The one's I ordered came from: www.personalcreations.com - search for custom picture frames and you're sure to find one that fits with the decor style of Grandma and Grandpa.
I am also doing digital frames this year.
Linda
shutterfly has alot of neat photo ideas such as mugs, magnets, mouse pads, calendars etc.
This year we ordered photobooks from Snapfish.com. They are real, hardbound books with beautiful glossy (or matte, if you prefer it) pages. We put in pictures of each grandchild. They are so beautiful!
Martie
I admit that I have not gone and read the 29 comments before mine so I am sorry if I am repeating something. This year for the grandparents we are making a scrapbook page and framing it. I am making one that will fit in a 10x14 frame. It has different pics of the kids and then each child is surrounded by stickers and such of the things they love. Then I will put it in a nice frame for them to hang on the wall. It is a fancy way of giving them pictures of the kids. HTH!!
How about a photo book from Shutterfly? They're easy to do and look great!
We have done these as well! We got digital frames last year on black friday (i.e. the day after Thanksgiving) at best buy for $69.99 a piece, the limit was two so one set did without.
We also bought a bag of plaster of paris and ventured to the Dollar Tree and bought round pie tins, and did her hand prints embelished with her name and the year on it.
We too did the calendar for Claires first Christmas gift to grandma. It was a huge hit, and my mom still can't part with it, though it no longer hangs on the wall.
My mom has a massive office so this year we are going to Family Christian Stores and getting her their "grandma" frame that they are selling, so even while she is at work she can see her grandbabies.
On a side note I hadn't thought of the coasters so we might try that this year.
OW, we have parents (grandparents to our children) that have everything already also. It feels silly buying them knick knacky things that they won't use, so we started several years ago, having family photos, or just photos of the kids made every other year for Christmas, and then we frame them, and that is their Christmas gift every other year. The years in between we generally find a special bottle of wine, or something of that sort, or I make a basket with homemade spice blends and crocheted dish cloths or something like that. I hope that helps! :)
To the calendar idea we add for my memory challenged father the birthdays and other days he needs to remember already written in. He is grateful - it fills a need.
This year for the other grandparents we are planning to burn a CD of songs they like (hopefully) from I tunes or something, but in between songs we are recording our children saying memory verses from this past year. They will have the benefit of scripture and their grandchildren's adorable voices recorded forever.
We made my parents a music CD last year. We downloaded the song from Walmart.com and burned in onto a CD and printed a picture to put on the case. They listen to it all the time. We plan to do another for them this year.
Also, when I was a little girl, my sister and I taped ourselves playing Christmas songs for our grandparents. We also made stationary for them too. And for my grandma, who doesn't need a thing, one year I got her seasonal paper plates and napkins for the whole year. This can be cheap if you hit the after-holiday sales and it's very cute and practical.
What about a Memory Booklet with a few select photos and pages titled things like: "What I like to do with my Grandma..." "My favorite thing my Grandpa does with me is..." "A picture of me with my Grandparents..." "My Grandma always says..." Include artwork the kids have drawn and maybe even a short, corny poem. We did this one year (on computer paper, laminated, hole-punched, and tied with ribbon.) It is STILL one of my Mom's favorite gifts!
One thing my parents still use is handpainted pillowcases the kiddos made. I painted the kids hands and then let me oldest painted on it with paint pens. Another hit was painted footprints/hands prints on aprons.
A beautifully framed picture of your children would be the best gift you can give. It works for me!
You can purchase an 8 x 10 canvas at Hobby Lobby very inexpensively. Have your child use pencil and draw a picture on the canvas. Have your child paint the said picture in acrylic paint (rather inexpensive) and cover in a clear varnish. Then go to Hobby Lobby at 1/2 off open back frame day and have the picture framed. My dad about died last year when he got his. He loved it!!!!
It looks like you are getting good suggestions. Last year I went to a local store that let you pick pottery. I picked a large platter and glazed it myself and then asked when it would be ready. I arranged for myself and my sister-in-law to have our kids at the studio at the same time. There were six kids, one of which was a baby. So, we put the five older ones hand prints on the platter in a color they chose with their names under them, then the lady help me draw flower stems and we used my sons feet as the petals. We put the year at the bottom. It turned out beautifully.
Photo ornaments?
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