Gift Ideas for Great Grandma

Struggling to find that perfect Christmas gift for your Great Grandmother? Here's a list of ideas that may help...

• New bath towels or bed linens. Depending on her age, your great grandma either grew up during the Great Depression or shortly thereafter. She may still live with the depression era mentality, following the unspoken motto of, "only replace what no longer works." Yes, thread bare towels still technically work, but doesn't your grammy deserve a nice plush towel to dry off with?
• Stationary, cards, and stamps. If your grandmother likes to keep in touch with friends and family through writting letters, consider stocking her desk full of paper, stationary, cards, pens - and most importantly- stamps.
• A year's subscription to her favorite magazine. 
• An indoor potted amaryllis bulb. These are often seen in stores around Christmas time. Sold in small decorative pots, these plants go from bulb to bloom in a matter of weeks. These big, bright, long lasting flowers provide a cheerful glimpse of spring during long grey winters.
• A CD of favorite songs from her youth. Unless your grandmother still has an old record player, she is probably no longer able to listen to her favorite bands from her youth. Find out which bands she enjoyed as a teenager/young adult and look for a digital version (assuming she has a CD player.) Whether she likes Sinatra or The Kingston Trio, she will enjoy being able to once again listen to her favorite music. (I did this for my grandma last year and she loved it!)
• Consumable gifts. Look for items that she considers luxury and wouldn't purchase for herself. For example, specialty jams, lotions, exotic flavored coffees, or her favorite chocolates (unless, of course, she's diabetic.) Or how about some individually wrapped nutritious snacks paired with pretty paper plates and napkins to eat them on?  
• Pillow Pet Pee-Wees. These miniature versions are just as cute as the original. The smaller size is perfect for grandma to place behind her back while watching tv, or to support her elbow as she reads the morning paper. And they are just so darn cute! 
• Handheld video games. The simple $15 versions sold at Target provide hours of entertainment. Hearts, Solitaire, and Tetris are classic favorites.
• An activity puzzle book.  Wordsearch, Sudoku, and crossword puzzles also provide hours of mind stimulating entertainment.
• A digital picture frame. This is an electronic photo frame that alternately displays digital pictures, showing a new image every few moments. Preload the gift with favorite family photos from both the present and the past. Try to include an image of each family member. 
• A Grandmother's Legacy book. This is a journal type book found at Hallmark with pre-printed interview questions about life. The idea is that over the next several months, Nana will take the time to answer the questions, filling the book with the stories of her life. Ideally she would then return the book to the original giver. My husband did this a few years ago with his Grammy. He then surprised her the following year by typing, printing, and binding the questions and answers in the legacy book to provide copies for each family member. The following Christmas he gave her the duplicate copies he had printed and she was able to give copies to the other members of the family. 
• The gift of time. Grandmothers love spending time with their grandchildren. Make a commitment to spend more time together. Start a recurring lunch date, a monthly shopping outing, drive her to church each week, or even something as simple as a regular phone call. Nothing would please her more than to frequently enjoy your company.

Linking up with Lines Across My Face and Family Ever After and Positively Splendid, Cowgirl Up!