Giving presents is a wonderful way to show your grandparents (or parents or even great-grandparents) how important they are to you. But for the younger generation, it can be difficult to decide exactly what to give the beloved senior in your lives; there is a generational and cultural gap that means different interests and hobbies. But even if you don’t have the same interests as your grandparents, you can still come up with some great gift ideas.

Image Source (CC BY 2.0) by Matthew Juzenas via flickr

Here are a few to help you start your quest for the perfect gift:

Food & Wine

Bringing a homemade cake, cookies, or even a full dinner to your grandparents is a wonderful way to show you care. It’s not expensive, and it shows that you invested time and effort. If you don’t have time to make something at home, you can buy some nice chocolates, a box of lovely teas, good quality ground coffee or a cup of fresh-brewed coffee from their favorite shop, take-out from their favorite restaurant, or even a nice bottle of wine. Of course, whatever food or drink you decide to bring, make sure your grandparents like it, and that they are allowed everything you’ve brought in their diets.

Gift Baskets

If you want to bring some combination of all of the above, a gift basket is a great option. Gift baskets look nice and are useful, and you have the option of buying one or making it yourself. The advantage of making one yourself is that you can customize it and include your grandparents’ favorite foods. Gift baskets don’t need to only contain sweets; they can also include fruit, vegetables, olive oil, and other health-food products.

Knick-Knacks & Technology

If you want to surprise your grandparents with a little knick-knack, there are plenty things to choose from. Cards, jigsaw puzzles, books or books on tape, magazines that suit their interests, a book of crossword puzzles, and a mug or a calendar or other accessories with pictures of their children and grandchildren are all good options.

If your grandparents are tech-savvy and you want to buy them something nice, you can opt for a smartphone, an mp3 player or even an iPad. It all depends on your grandparents’ preferences and interests.

The Gift of Time

Gifts don’t necessarily need to be something your grandparents can hold in their hands; they can be an experience. Research has shown that experiences bring more happiness than physical possessions. But many grandparents don’t just want experiences for themselves – they want experiences with you, their grandchild. So going out for dinner, for a walk, or to a museum are lovely ways to show your grandparents how much you care for them.

Other useful ways you can give of your time are to help clean their apartment, go grocery shopping for them, read a book aloud to them, or drive them to a doctor’s appointment or wherever they need to go.

Thoughtfulness Goes a Long Way

Whether you want to give a big gift or a small present just to show you care, nothing says “I love you” more than the gift of thoughtfulness. For example, if you buy a gift basket full of cookies for your diabetic grandmother, she won’t get any real use from it. She will also know that you didn’t put much thought into the gift. But if you buy that same diabetic grandmother a gift basket full of fruits and sugar-free treats, she will know that you put effort into the gift and gave it some thought. And that translates into “I love you.”