Gifts for Grandkids From Grandparents: A Book You're Both In

The best gift for a grandchild who has everything is one with you in it. Magic Story's I Love You Grandma and I Love You Grandpa are personalized hardcovers that illustrate you and your grandchild together, from one photo of each, on the cover and all 20 inside pages. They are for ages 2 to 10, you can change "Grandma" or "Grandpa" to the name your grandchild uses, and you see a free preview of the two of you before you buy. For US delivery by Christmas Eve, order by December 10 with Standard shipping or December 14 with Expedited. These 2026 dates are estimates, not guarantees.

This is our guide to our own books, written for grandparents. It answers what grandparents ask us most: which book to choose, how to get a photo, how to share it from far away, and what to do when you don't have a photo at all.

Quick picks: gifts for grandkids from grandparents

The standard US one-time hardcover price is $44.99, plus shipping and tax. I Love You Grandma and I Love You Grandpa add the grandparent character for $4.99 in the US. The Six Days Until Christmas set has its own price on its page, and shoppers in other countries see their own price at checkout.

I Love You Grandma: you and your grandchild on every page

I Love You Grandma is a gentle rhyming book written in your grandchild's voice, as a thank-you to you. Each spread is one of the small things grandmothers do: "You let me stay up, just a bit, we find the perfect spot to sit." Recipes taught by hand, "with pinches more than what was planned." Knowing the name of every bird. Saving every drawing. Humming a tune when feelings tangle. Pulling out games nobody plays "and turn them into the best of days."

Because you are both in it, the story isn't about a grandmother. It's about you, with your grandchild beside you on every page. Many families give it to a grandmother from the grandchild. It works just as well the other way: give it to your grandchild, and it becomes the book you read together on every visit. See I Love You Grandma.

I Love You Grandpa: workshop days, fishing trips and bedtime stories

I Love You Grandpa is the same idea for a grandfather, built from the time he gives: fishing, skipping stones, building and tinkering, bedtime stories and treats sneaked before dinner. "We build and tinker, side by side, with every piece, I beam with pride." One page will make every grandpa laugh: "You read a bedtime tale to me, then doze off right at chapter three."

Upload one photo of your grandchild and one of Grandpa, and the two of you are illustrated together across the cover and all 20 inside pages. See I Love You Grandpa.

What to get a grandchild who has everything

A grandchild who has everything usually has plenty of toys. What they don't have is a book where they and their grandparent are the story. Here is why this kind of gift tends to stay out of the toy bin:

• It's about the two of you. Your grandchild sees their own face next to yours on every page, doing the things you really do together.
• It gets read again. Children love finding themselves in the pictures, so the book comes back out at bedtime, on visits and on video calls.
• It doesn't add clutter. One hardcover on a shelf, not another box of plastic.
• It keeps. Write the date and a note inside the front cover, and the book holds a record of this year with you.

Can Grandma be called Nana, Abuela or Gigi in the book?

Yes. When you add yourself to the story, the name starts as Grandma or Grandpa, and you can change it to whatever your grandchild calls you. Nana, Abuela, Nonna, Gigi, Papa, Pop-Pop and Opa all work. Our Help article on adding a parent or grandparent walks through it.

How to give a personalized book to your grandchild

1. Ask a parent for a photo of your grandchild. If you are not the child's parent or legal guardian, our Terms of Service require their permission to use the photo. Ask for a clear, well-lit photo of the face, and check how they spell the name. The photo tips explain what works best.
2. Add a clear photo of yourself. That photo becomes the grandparent in the story, and you can change the name to the one your grandchild uses.
3. See the free preview. You can preview your grandchild and yourself in the story before you buy, with no credit card needed.
4. Choose where it goes. Enter the family's address at checkout, or your own if you want to wrap it and give it in person. Every book is printed to order, then shipped.

For more detail, read how to buy a Magic Story book for someone else.

Gifts for long-distance grandparents: read it together on a video call

Distance is where a book you're both in earns its keep. Books you buy appear in the free Magic Story app, on iOS and Android, when you sign in with the account you ordered with. Printed Magic Story books also include a QR code that opens the story in the app. So your grandchild can hold the hardcover while you open the same story on your phone or tablet, and you read it together on a video call.

A few things that help on a call:

• Read slowly and pause on each page so your grandchild can find the two of you in the picture.
• Let them read their own name, and yours, when it comes up.
• Ask a question per page. "Do you remember when we did that?" works for almost every spread.

The Help article on downloading the app covers signing in and the QR code.

One gift for several grandkids of different ages

Each Magic Story book has one main child hero, so the fair answer is simple: one book for each grandchild, each made from that child's own photo. You can choose the same title for all of them. With I Love You Grandma or I Love You Grandpa, every copy shows you with that particular grandchild, so nobody has to share the starring role.

The books are for ages 2 to 10. Younger grandchildren enjoy them as a read-aloud, and older ones can read them alone, or read them aloud to you. For both grandparents in the family, give I Love You Grandma and I Love You Grandpa as a pair: each features one grandparent with one grandchild. Read more about books for siblings.

How much should grandparents spend on Christmas gifts?

There's no right number, and it's worth asking the parents what they'd welcome before you decide. What grandchildren remember is rarely the price. A book that each grandchild stars in also solves the fairness question for families with several grandkids: everyone gets the same thing, their own book. For reference, the standard US one-time hardcover price is $44.99, and the grandparent character adds $4.99. See how much a Magic Story book costs for shipping.

Christmas gifts from grandparents: when to order

Every Magic Story book is printed to order, so it needs time to be made before it ships. Here are the 2026 dates for US orders.

US printing takes 3 to 5 business days, and Standard delivery takes 5 to 10 business days from order to arrival. These dates are estimates, not guarantees, and checkout shows the estimate for your address. We have not published Christmas dates for Canada, the UK or Mexico. If you'd like the book wrapped, look for the gift-wrap option at checkout; our gift wrap guide explains when it's offered. For more, read will my book arrive by Christmas?

If you want a Christmas story, The Night I Saved Christmas is a Christmas Eve rescue starring your grandchild, and Six Days Until Christmas is a set of six books read one each night from December 19. Our Christmas gift guide compares them.

No photo? Give a Magic Story+ gift subscription

Don't have a photo you're allowed to use, or would rather let the parents choose? In the US, send a Magic Story+ gift subscription instead. You choose 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, one personalized hardcover a month, then add the family's email address, a message and the date the gift email should go out. Shipping is included. The family creates their child's character themselves, so you don't need a photo at all. It's also the gift that still arrives on time after the shipping dates pass. Read how gift subscriptions work, or our guide to Magic Story+.

More books grandparents give

• For a grandchild who loves history: The Dream Carriers, in which your grandchild meets Harriet Tubman, Katherine Johnson, Ruby Bridges and four more American trailblazers. Our Dream Carriers guide has questions to ask across generations.
• For a family of faith: in The Tickles of God, from the Theo collection, your grandchild asks Grandma why people laugh. Our Theo guide tours all twelve books.
• For Grandparents Day, birthdays or just because: the gift often goes the other way. Grandparents Day is September 12, 2027, and I Love You Grandma or I Love You Grandpa makes a keepsake from a grandchild to a grandparent.

Find your grandchild's book

• See I Love You Grandma and I Love You Grandpa.
• Browse all of our family books and Christmas books.
• No photo? Send a gift subscription.
• Check delivery: will my book arrive by Christmas?