The Do's and Don'ts Gift Guide For Your Parents and Grandparents

In a nutshell: They want the gift of you.
Martin Barraud via Getty Images

What do parents and grandparents really want for the holidays? Aren't they the epitome of the people who have everything? We asked our Facebook fans and friends for some ideas and we kind of love what they came up with. In a nutshell: They want the gift of you.

1. Don't give them more lotions or perfumes that will just sit on their shelf.

Do give them a lesson on how to use Skype or FaceTime and invite them to use it with you every Sunday at 6 p.m.

2. Don't give them one of those overpriced "Tower of Food" gifts that are filled with a million varieties of calories and preservatives.

Do give them a subscription to a healthy fruit of the month club. Or for those who'd appreciate it, a subscription to a wine club, a book club.

3. Don't give them a gadget they are living just fine without.

Do help them organize their computer desktop and teach them how to take and send photos with their phone.

4. Don't give them movie passes if they live alone.

Do invite them on a movie date and go with them. Popcorn included.

5. Don't give them things they don't want and won't use just so they'll have "something to open."

Do ask their opinion about something (anything) .... and don't check your phone while they are answering.

5. Don't give them gift cards they will forget to use.

Do give them gift cards to what you know are their favorite restaurants or places to shop.

6. Don't give them things that will just collect dust.

Do give them a subscription to Netflix and talk to them about the shows you both now can watch.

7. Don't give them a random gift certificate for a spa treatment unless you know they do that sort of thing.

Do pay their bill for something that is important to them for as many months as you want to or can afford. Some ideas from Dorothy Reinhold, who blogs at Shockinglydelicious.com: Amazon Prime, the gardening bill, their cell phone bill, their cable. "How GREAT would it be to have my cable bill or my cell phone bill taken care of for 3 month, or 6 months? OMG!" said Reinhold.

8. Don't give them the short shrift.

Do take your parent out to a nice meal, just the two of you. Not your spouse, not your boyfriend, not even the grandkids. Just the parent and original child. And leave your phone home.

9. (Every one of our readers and friends said this): Don't spend money that you don't have on something I don't need.
Do spend time with them, because that's the best gift of all.
All of these things are a true gift of your self and your time. All of them are making an effort to do something important for the older people we love, not simply checking a name off the gift list.
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