Surprise her with an heirloom present she’ll treasure forever
If you’re looking for unique granddaughter gifts, skip the trendy presents and give her a gift she’ll treasure forever. Granddaughter gifts for special occasions, like birthdays, graduations, bat mitzvahs, quinceaneras, wedding or baby showers, etc., should be memorable, heartfelt and timeless.
These granddaughter gifts are suitable for granddaughters, nieces, daughters, family friends, or girls of any age:
- Meaningful pieces of heirloom jewelry that you’re ready to pass on. Be sure to write down the story of when you received it, who gave it to you, and why it’s important. Maybe share a photo of you wearing it.
- Locket necklace with a photo of you and her at the same age. Include a letter with a story about that time of your life. Recall any major events you were experiencing at her age, challenges you might have faced, or dreams you had. Granddaughters want to know you experienced the same trials and feelings they have.
- A pretty journal for her to write down her plans and dreams. Surprise her by filling a few pages with dreams you have for her. Or write some meaningful quotes that have always inspired you. One of the greatest granddaughter gifts you can give is encouraging her to dream big!
- A small wooden box with sealed letters from you to her. This is an amazing granddaughter gift! Instruct her to keep these letters sealed until the time printed on the envelope, like high school or college graduation, after her first major breakup, her first big job offer, when she gets engaged, when she’s lost someone special, or when she becomes a mother. Write letters that share your own personal experiences at those times in your life, along with lessons you learned and decisions you wish you’d made.
- Copies of your favorite books when you were her age. Write a special inscription to her in each one. Even better, give her your old childhood books if you still have them!
- Personalized memory book about her. This is a great gift for a teenager or young adult – find photos from her birth to the current year and write down your memories and favorite stories about here. Granddaughter gifts should celebrate the spirit, personality and uniqueness of young women!
- Personalized A-B-C photo book. These make fantastic granddaughter gifts for toddlers and young children who are learning their alphabets. Design and print an alphabet book using your favorite photos of her. For instance, on the A page, you could write, “A is for Apples” and use a photo of the day you took her to the apple orchard or baked an apple pie with her. You don’t have to be a designer or super creative to make this gift, simply find an online company like Mixbook that has customizable templates to quickly create and print your book.
- Framed photograph of you and her. This is a simple, but wonderful granddaughter gift. Find your favorite photo of the two of you and put it in a beautiful frame. Add a handwritten note about the day she was born and the first time you saw her.
- Recipe box or custom cookbook with your favorite family recipes. For aspiring chefs or artisan bakers, give her the gift of your best recipes. If you’re creating a cookbook to print, include photos of your family and stories about your favorite meal traditions!
- Handmade project you created for her. Embrace your hobby or passion and create something special just for her. Your talent might be music, painting, quilting, poetry, welding, carving, creating pottery, building hot rods, or designing board games. Whatever it is, celebrate it! Want to spend more time with her? Offer her one-on-one classes to learn about your hobby.
- Family time capsule kit. This is a fun granddaughter gift that you can do with her and the rest of your family. Simply purchase our digital or printed family time capsule kit and she’ll have a great memory of you and the rest of her family at this time in your lives.
- Your legacy stories on video or audio. Grandpas are known for telling their stories, but let’s get some of your stories down! It might seem a little awkward or uncomfortable at first, but your granddaughter will treasure the gift of you telling your life stories for her to watch or listen to.
Fads and trends fade away, but a granddaughter gift from the heart will grow more and more valuable as your granddaughter ages. The next holiday, birthday, or special occasion, delight your granddaughter with one of these heartfelt granddaughter gift ideas.
Granddaughter gift testimonials
You don’t have to take our word for it. We asked two of our favorite girls what granddaughter gifts they’d enjoy receiving from their grandmas.
“I would really like a box of letters from grandma, for when I break up with my boyfriend or for any event in my life. I’d like that because if I failed a grade and I found out that she did too, it would make me feel better!” – Violet, age 7
“I love the idea of getting copies of her favorite book with her writing in it. Because then you have something that you knew was special to her. Or maybe an old piece of her jewelry. I also like the idea of a journal that she wrote in because writing is really valuable and meaningful.” – Theron, age 14
If this list has motivated you to start writing down your memories or even writing an autobiography, go to our Writing Biographies page for a step-by-step guide for recording and preserving your stories. Your autobiography would make an amazing granddaughter gift!