A Christmas gift for the grandma who has everything

What "she has everything" really tells you

When Grandma says she needs nothing, she usually means it. The cupboards are full and the shelves are settled. That is good news for you, because it rules out the hard part of shopping and leaves the easy part: giving her your attention.

So skip the search for an object she does not own yet. Look for a gift in one of four groups instead: a gift that asks, a gift that gets used up, a gift of doing, or a gift the grandchildren make. You will find all four below.

A gift that asks: her own story, in her handwriting

Most gifts tell Grandma something about you. This one invites her to tell you something about her. Our Tell Me Your Story, Grandma journal has 100 guided questions in ten chapters, plus 120 quick memory questions for the little things. She answers at her own pace, a page at a time.

It is a printable journal, so nothing arrives in a box. You get five PDF files right after checkout: US Letter and A4, each in full color and ink saver, plus a printable cover. The price is $10.99.

When it is filled in, it is the one thing in her house nobody else in the world owns.

Gifts that get used up

A gift she can enjoy and finish never has to find a place to live. Choose one small thing and make it a good one.

• Her favorite tea or coffee, in the nice tin.
• A jar of something homemade, with the recipe tied to the lid.
• Fresh flowers on the first of each month, January through March.
• Stamps and pretty notecards, if she still writes letters.
• A box of the chocolates she always says are too much, and always finishes.

Gifts of doing

Some of the best presents are jobs. Write the promise on a card, add a date, and keep it.

• Wash the windows inside and out before spring.
• Set up her new phone and write the steps on one page, in large print.
• Hang the pictures that have been leaning against the wall.
• Cook her Christmas dinner recipe with her, then do all the dishes.
• Drive her to see a friend she has been meaning to visit.

Gifts the grandchildren make

Grandma has seen every store-bought gift there is. She has not seen what her grandchildren will ask her this year.

The Family Reporter is a printable interview kit for kids 6 to 12. It has 48 question cards in six themes, cut-out press passes, worksheets, a newspaper front page for the story, a certificate and a thank-you card. It costs $7.99 and prints at home.

Hand a grandchild the press pass on Christmas afternoon. Grandma gets a visitor who wants to hear everything, and the family gets a front page to keep.

One for the whole table on Christmas Eve

If the family gathers at her house, bring something everyone can join. The Christmas Eve Family Question Game is $6.99 and has 48 question cards, six Christmas Memory Bingo cards and three ways to play. Grandma tends to win the stories, even when she loses the bingo.

How to make a printable gift feel like a present

• Print the cover on cardstock and the pages on regular paper.
• Ask a print shop to spiral-bind it, or use a ring binder she can lay flat.
• Write a short note on the first page: one thing you have always wanted to ask her.
• Tuck in a good pen and an old photo of her.
• Wrap it with a ribbon, the same as any book.

A simple plan if Christmas is close

Everything from Porch Stories is a digital download, so there is no shipping date to plan around. Buy it, print it the same day, and wrap it that evening.

Short on printer ink? Use the ink saver version. No printer at home? A local print shop can print from the same files. She can also fill it in on a tablet in any PDF note app.

Start with one question

You do not need to wait for Christmas morning. Pick one question from our list of questions to ask your grandparents and ask it on your next call. The free 25 questions printable is a nice thing to slip inside her card.