- Tickets to a performance. Maybe not the new Green Day musical, but something current, ok?
- Donation to a favorite cause. Live Strong or Public Radio perhaps.
- Good eats. True locavore goodness: bring them a basket of the best stuff from your Farmer’s Market. Dark chocolate is a brain booster (see below!), check out the poco dolce tiles or Sucre candied violet bar to add a little extra flavor.
- Good drinks. Order a subscription to a monthly wine or coffee club.
- A class. Enliven an old passion like pottery or photography or encourage a new one with a foreign language or yoga class.
- Year-end video. Quit making them look at the mini display on your camera; we recommend a family yearbook-style DVD from onetruemedia so everyone can watch on the big screen.
- Restaurant discounts. If they eat out a lot and if there are some good choices in their city, restaurant.com certificates are a great deal. Otherwise, choose a straight-up gift certificate to a known favorite place.
- A Kindle. For the bookworm grandparents, the Kindle is a clutter-saver and a backache-saver. For non-reading, non-techy folks, it is clutter.
- Wireless digital frame. Like the kindle, in the right hands, these wireless frames can streamline a mantle and a refrigerator. We like this one by Kodak. (Routine tech support from you probably required.)
- Walking tours. If they live near a major city or have plans to visit one, arrange for an outing that’s educational and interesting. (My next door neighbor offers ethnic food tours of Berkeley)
The Rookie Moms, Whitney & Heather, are the authors of The Rookie Mom's Handbook and the indispensible blog for new parents, RookieMoms.com.
