What do you get for the grandparents who have everything? Birthdays, holidays, anniversaries - the gift-giving opportunities are never-ending and it can feel impossible to find the perfect gift. If Mom and Dad don’t fit into the generic type-casting typical gift guides prescribe (he likes whisky, she likes to bake), it can be hard to think up what to get them that will make their faces light up like kids on Christmas morning.

Here’s what my experience has taught me though: grandparents love photos.

Grandparents sit with grandkids on a rock in Pump House Park in Richmond, VA.

Extended family photos in Richmond

They don’t just want photos of you with your family (which, they definitely do like those, and I have suggestions on gifts that fall in that category below). But grandparents really love photos that include themselves. Extended family photos, where everyone is together, are a special gift that keeps on giving. They’re like family photos on steroids. They’re proof that the grandparents are part of something that is important, part of something that’s bigger than just them. (Kind of exactly like how kids see themselves in photos. Amazing how we don’t grow out of that.)

I’ve been able to help several families surprise grandparents with the gift of a photo session for either a birthday or a winter holiday, and I’ve never met a grandparent who was sad to receive that gift.

A multi-generation photo on the front porch of a home.

If you’re not sure where to start with gifting a photo session, I’ve written a blog about that in the past, and I highly recommend reading that before you get started, because it has tips in it, like “do all the work for them.” The last thing you want to do is gift something that is confusing or that might get forgotten because they don’t know where to start. So rule number one: plan to take on all that work yourself and make it part of the gift. Read my advice on how to gift a photo session here.

If you live in Richmond, or they live in Richmond, or you want me to visit you outside of Richmond, I will help you plan the whole thing ahead of time so you’re not doing it all alone, and then the only thing the family will have to do is show up to the beautiful spot where we agree to meet up.

An extended family photo with multiple generations and many families together on the front porch of the grandparents' home.

If extended family photos in Richmond aren’t in the cards

If you can’t get everyone together, I have another suggestion that still involves a photo session: a shorter, 30 minute Snapshot Session, where we document something specific that you want to remember about your parents. This could happen at home, with a three-generation baking situation (maybe Mom really does like to bake, who knows?) or a board-game session, or with walk-around-the-neighborhood photos, or with dig-in-the-garden photos. Whatever your parents do on a regular basis - play with the grandkids, knit, bake, run marathons… any activities that you’d like to document for the future with a lifestyle photo session.

Or you could gift your parents a couples photo session (you doing all the planning and work ahead of time, of course) for their anniversary and we could meet at a park to get photos of just the two of them. Or we could do Grandparent-grandchild cuddle group photos.

An older couple look at each other and laugh, standing in front of green foliage in a park in Richmond, VA.

If the grandparents don’t live in Richmond, and can’t get to Richmond, but you still want to gift them something photo-centric, I got you:

A wall or desk calendar

I carry them and you can order them through me if we’ve worked together, or you can order them from any photo product company. Artifact Uprising or Mpix have good ones.

Framed prints

Richmond Camera is still the best photo printer, if you ask me, and you can upload your digitals and get the prints shipped to you while supporting a local small business. Here’s my list of favorite thrift stores to look for frames, if you want something with more personality than a plain box-store frame. Also, I carry framed prints in the gallery store and you can order through me with your print credit and have it arrive all ready to hang.

As a general side note: please don’t gift unframed prints with the expectation that the recipient will frame them. You’re gifting them a task. Don’t gift tasks.

A photo book

This is a big one. If you’ve not had time to put together a photo book for your own family, how are you supposed to have time to put one together for your parents? I get it. I also can help with this, and neither of you have to live in Richmond to get my help. (Did you know I offer photo book creation services?)

Here are a few photo book ideas that I can help you with: a photo book of your family from the past year (one for you and one for the grandparents); a photo book of your baby’s first year (one for the grandparents and one for you); a photo book of your kids and the grandparents that spans years, from when the kids were born up to a milestone year or the present. All of the photos that you’ve ever taken of them together, all in one book. How cool would that be as a gift?

A bound, professionally printed photo book stands on its end, the pages fanned out to show their sturdiness.

Whether you live in Richmond, your parents live in Richmond, or neither of you live in Richmond, I hope this gift guide is helpful as you try to figure out what to give the grandparents who already have everything (except maybe updated photos).

Click here to email me and let’s brainstorm ideas for your gift!

What to Get the Grandparents who have Everything (Spoiler: it’s Photos)