12 Days of Christmas Stocking Stuffers: Picture Frames
Dec 17, 2013
Threshold Single Image Frame ($13)
Grandparents are notoriously difficult when it comes to gift giving. They don’t usually “need” anything, and if you live far away, it’s difficult to give them what they really want…more time with you. My Nana is always asking for me for pictures, as most of the frames in her house are filled with shots from my pre-college years. So I think a picture frame with a nice family photo inside makes an excellent gift.
If you want to go all out, my Grandpa has a digital photo frame, which displays hundreds of pictures in a slide show. This way he can have pictures all of his loved ones in a single frame. Access to your family’s Facebook pages is all that is usually required to fill it up with snaps of loved ones.
Need more suggestions for grandparents? My Nana is a health nut, so this year, I bought her a juicer. In past years, I’ve donated money to charity in her name, and called her salon to pay for a month’s worth of weekly hair appointments. Restaurant gift cards or movie passes also make good gifts. Or, just give them what they really want, and go for a visit.
I did a digital frame last year for my 87 year old great aunt. She’s about the crankiest human and suuuuper picky, but she LOVED it (well, once she figured out what it was). Did a photo calendar the year before with all the kids in the family, pretty cheap and she enjoyed that too.
I think my most epic Christmas gift giving was about 3 years ago. I had to go home in early December for a short work trip, so I arranged for a professional outdoor portrait session with my little brother, telling my parents that we were going holiday shopping. When I came home for the holidays, I picked up the prints and bought frames. All the aunts and uncles, grandparents, parents got different prints from the session. They were crazy excited and it averaged out to about $20-30 per person. Really unique and special, especially since it wasn’t just everyday snapshots.
I second the digital frame idea. I did that for my mom and loaded it with a bunch of old pictures that I scanned for her. She loved it so much and used to just sit there and stare at it for hours on end.