Gifts for Grandparents

Buying gifts for grandparents is famously hard. They have everything, they want nothing, and they would honestly be happiest with a photo of the grandchildren.

A star map is the next best thing to that photo. It is the real night sky over the night a grandchild was born, or over their own wedding night decades ago.

Here is how to choose the night, how it works for a grandma, a grandad or both, and how to make it a gift from the grandkids themselves.

Why grandparents love a star map

Grandparents tend to measure time in family events. They remember where they were when each grandchild arrived long after they have forgotten last week.

A star map takes one of those nights and makes it something they can hang up. It says “this is when you became Grandma” without a single photo frame.

It also suits the way most grandparents decorate. They already have a wall of photos, and a night sky sits among them without looking out of place.

And it is a sentimental gift for grandparents that doesn’t require them to do anything. No app to learn, no kit to assemble, nothing to plug in.

Which night to choose

Grandparents have a long story, which means plenty of good nights. These are the ones that land best.

The night a grandchild was born

This is the classic, and for good reason. It is the night the grandchild arrived and the night the grandparents got their new title.

Use the town where the baby was born and, if you know it, the time of birth. The baby’s name and birth weight make lovely words underneath.

One for every grandchild

If there are several grandchildren, one map each is the gift that grows with the family. Three grandchildren means three prints hung in a row.

When a new grandchild arrives, the set gets a new one. Families often turn this into a tradition, with a fresh print at each birth.

Keep the same design for every print, so the row looks deliberate. One purchase covers one sky, so each grandchild is their own map.

Their wedding night

For a couple who have been together for decades, the sky over their wedding night is a beautiful choice. It is where every grandchild really started.

It works for a golden anniversary as well. Our anniversary star map ideas cover milestone years in more detail.

A night they talk about

Every grandparent has a story they tell at every family dinner. The night they emigrated, the night grandad proposed at the bus stop, the night the house flooded.

If there is a story everyone knows by heart, use that night. It shows you actually listened, all those times.

Gifts for grandma, grandad, or both

The map is the same. The night and the words change with who you are buying for.

Gifts for grandma

Gifts for grandma are searched far more often than gifts for grandad, probably because grandmas are harder to surprise. A star map of the night a grandchild was born tends to get the reaction you want.

Keep the words warm and simple. “The night you became Nana” says it all, with whatever name the family actually uses.

Gifts for grandad

Grandads often claim they don’t want anything, then quietly hang the gift in the hallway where every visitor will see it.

A darker design usually suits a grandad’s taste. If he is into maps, stars or sailing, the design with a compass ring around the sky is a strong pick.

For both, as a couple

If you are buying for the pair, their wedding night is the natural choice. It belongs to both of them, and to everyone who came after.

For a great-grandparent

For a great-grandparent, the birth of their first great-grandchild is a huge moment. A map of that night, from the new parents, is a very moving gift.

Gifts for grandparents from the grandkids

The best grandparents gifts come from the grandchildren, even when a parent does the ordering. A star map is easy to make that way.

From a baby

A gift from a baby to their grandparents is really from the parents, and everyone knows it. That is fine, because it’s the thought everyone cares about.

The sky over the baby’s birth night, with “Love from your first grandchild” underneath, is hard to beat for a first Christmas.

From older children

Let older grandkids choose the words. A line written by a seven-year-old is worth more to a grandparent than anything a card shop could print.

They can also help pick the design on screen. Children like seeing the real sky from the night they were born.

From adult grandchildren

If you are a grown-up grandchild, your grandparents’ wedding night or the night they arrived in a new country makes a thoughtful gift.

It says you know their story. For grandparents, that often means more than any present.

The practical bits

When to give it

Christmas is the big one. Christmas gifts for grandparents are searched thousands of times a month, and our Christmas star map guide has more ideas for the holidays.

Grandparents Day, birthdays and Mother’s or Father’s Day all work too. So does the first visit after a new grandchild is born.

Finding the dates

For a grandchild’s birth, the parents will know the date, the town and usually the exact time. Birth announcements and baby books have all three.

For a wedding decades ago, the date is on the marriage certificate, and often on the back of a wedding photo. The church or registry office gives you the place.

If the family only remembers the month or the season, that’s fine. Pick a date in it, because the sky changes too slowly for anyone to tell a few days apart.

Older dates are no problem either. The sky can be worked out for a wedding in 1962 just as accurately as for last week.

Light or dark

If you know their home, match it. Many grandparents have warm, traditional rooms where a dark navy sky in a wooden frame looks right at home.

For a bright, modern flat, the warm white paper designs usually suit better. When in doubt, go dark, since it reads as art almost anywhere.

What to write on it

The date and the place are fixed. The two lines of words are where the family comes in.

• “The night you became Grandma” with the birth date underneath
• The grandchild’s full name and birth weight
• “Where we all began” for their wedding night
• “Love from your first grandchild” for a gift from a baby
• “Fifty years under the same sky” for a golden anniversary

You can put in the place and the date and see the real sky with your own words before you pay anything. It’s a good way to try a few names and see which one reads best.

What you actually get

One purchase gives you twelve files of the same sky, sent by email in about ten minutes.

• Four print files, from 8×10 up to 24×36, at full print quality
• Six phone, tablet and desktop wallpapers
• Two square and story-shaped versions for sharing

You print the poster yourself, at home or at a print shop, and a simple frame is all it needs. Handing it over framed is what makes it feel like a proper present.

If your grandparents use a tablet, set the wallpaper up for them. They will see the grandchild’s sky every time they pick it up.

A family has dates worth keeping

It’s tempting to give grandparents something practical, like a nice blanket or a hamper. Those are lovely, and they are used up or folded away.

A star map is a record of a real night. The stars on it are exactly where they were over that place on that evening, worked out from real astronomical data.

We explain how in are star maps accurate, and cover the basics in what is a star map.

For grandparents, the point is simple. The family grew one night, and here is the sky it grew under.

The sky over the night they became grandparents.

Make your star map