Gifts for Grandmothers :: In and out the box.

It’s my mum’s birthday this week and Grandparent’s day (which we don’t celebrate – you can read my thoughts on it in this blog post) so we’ve been thinking about great gifts for Grandmas.

As we now have three little bodies that are exclusively reliant on us for their upkeep, buying gifts for Grandparent’s has really gone on the back burner. We agreed when we had Toby that we wouldn’t spend a fortune, if anything, on our parent’s birthdays but rather that we would make things for them or just do cards. Same principal at Xmas really! That being said, every so often, a “big one” birthday comes along and really I feel that something more is in order.

So gifts for Grandmothers, Nanas, Nannies and the proverbial matriarch of the familia…

1.) Homemade smellies £

Never let it be said that something homemade doesn’t have joie de vive! We have made a range of smellies in the past from hand soap to hand cream/face masks. It’s something that comes from the children with their hard work put in and you genuinely have to be one huge asshat not to appreciate it. Using essential oils, food stuff that you know will smell great (coconut oil is the *best* base for face/hand creams). Buy some pre-made soap on eBay for pence and then melt it down, add colourant and scent. Done.

2.) Make up anyone? ££-£££

Does Mum/Grandma have a favourite make up? Why not grab her a nice gift set? My mum isn’t really one for make up gift sets, but I love them! You can get some really pretty ones and depending on the brand of choice, you can spend under £20 right up to £100+.

3.) Add a bit of sparkle & glitz with jewellery ££-£££

Jewellery isn’t just something for a partner to buy you know. If you are the type of person who loves a good bit o’ bling, then you seriously need to consider whether Grandma would to. Personally, I’m a total magpie (spirit animal here) so I love to gift pretty things. Necklaces and earrings are the best option, stay away from rings – they tend to be very personal and something more for a partner to buy (personal opinion there for you).

4.) Gulg, Gulg, bottoms up. £-£££

I really appreciate a bottle of something good, don’t you? Well, no reason that Grandmama won’t too. This can range from the mega bucks of Chrystal (she’s not a rapper guys) to something homemade and divine. My mum rarely drinks but we made her some apple brandy last year, and it was epic. Truly epic, and it didn’t last long. We were given the apples by my in laws after helping them pick them in their orchard and I bought a cheap brandy from Asda (yep, I had all the kids with me carting around 4 bottles of Asda smart price brandy… Stay classy.). Apparently the cheaper the brandy the better it will take on the flavour of the fruit so no fine stuff over here please.

5.) Pass the chocolate, darhhhhling. £-£££

Chocolate, sweets, cakes. Is there a person alive that this would be a wrong move for? It’s another one with EPIC range – you can buy her a £100 gift card for Harrods Godiva cafe (where she will probably only manage a couple of pieces of cake and a hot chocolate for that fee) or you can make your own. We have a billion (minor exaggeration) chocolate moulds and shapes. It really is so easy to do, just a few bits of chocolate broken up and melted, poured into the mound and suddenly Nigella Lawson is jealous of your skills… Sort of. Equally you can go all fancy and make some really cool sweet treats from any of the thousands of recipes out there that take under 5 minutes.

6.) Do take it personal…

I often find lists like these box women into a category of make up loving, alcohol drinking pamper princesses and, well, that’s not accurate is it? Think hard about your mum or mother in law, then make her gift personal. Does she love DIY? Maybe a power tool set with a feminine touch if she likes that, or if she hates florals and smellies but likes cars and motorbikes, why not get her something like a kindle/tablet/phone cover with motorbikes on. Let’s not box people in here, think about your mum specifically and work it to your advantage.

H x