It’s that time again to determine the best gifts for your grandkids. Time to get serious about collecting Christmas gift ideas for your holiday shopping. The process can be long and challenging, and not always successful.

This year’s Amazon Catalogue called Ready, Set, Play seems like it could be a good tool for grandkid gift research. Target also has a Wish Book. In my situation, getting the kids to sit down, decide and mark their choices is hard for a couple of reasons. First of all, finding the time to get that done in their busy schedules is nearly impossible. And, second, if they do, they mark ALL the things (and one year they were disappointed they didn’t get alllll those things they marked! We clarified that one right away!)
So, I decided to put together my own narrowed-down list of Christmas gift ideas. I’m posting them here to be a potential solution for you and your grandkids! Hopefully, it will at least be a starting place. Christmas shopping has become a major component of the holiday season. Shopping can definitely add stress to this magical time. Here’s a way to lessen and possibly eliminate some of that stress with suggestions for 12 of the best gets for your grandkids for 2021.

Let Your Fingers do the Shopping
Included here is a list of the 12 best gifts for your grandkids from a variety of toy categories. Each was chosen by a grandma who lives within walking distance of all five of her grandkids and knows what they like (pretty much!)
Check out the gift ideas below as a starting point. Price (most are under $50) and other variables might need to be adjusted as you shop, but as you shop your creative juices will start flowing and you might land on the very best gifts for your grandkids! Included below (near the bottom) is a form to track your Christmas shopping purchases. Here’s the link in case you want to check it out early! The FREE Christmas Shopping List is right HERE!
Some referral links are included in this post. If you click through and take action, I’ll be compensated with no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.
1. Building Sets Make Great Christmas Gift Ideas
How many Legos sets have you purchased during your days as a grandma? I know I’ve added probably thousands to the tub of connectable pieces! Lego Friends sets are a favorite in this family. LEGO Friends Heartlake City Vet Clinic will be perfect for my 1st-grade granddaughter with her love of animals. I can see her playing and make-believing for hours. She loves horses and kitties
The LEGO Creator 3in1 Caravan Family Vacation Toy Building Kit is what our 2nd-grade grandson wants this year. The grandkids play together so I’m thinking these two sets (along with all the thousands of pieces that have already) could go together to make some great stories. You’ll notice there’s a Christmas tree in this set,…would be fun for now but it could become a forest tree after the holidays.
2. Best Gifts (with wheels) for Your Grandkids
Bicycles top the list for Christmas gifts for school-aged kids, but other popular wheelie-type toys in our world are Hot Wheels! And, nothing’s more fun than a tall, long track to run those cool little cars on. Look at this big one! This Hot Wheels Criss Cross Crash Track Set looks like too much fun! Racing and crashing…the best. Most kids have some Hot Wheels already, but here’s a good deal for a collection of them if not. 15 Pack of Hot Wheels
On to another type of wheels! A couple of the older grandkids are moving toward skateboards. This one is a Best Seller on Amazon and is great for beginners. It’s within our price range as well. Scooters were shared last year’s post and they’re still a big hit. (Here’s a nice scooter if that’s on your list.) Below the skateboard is the oh-so-cool hoverboard! The one shown is also a Best Seller but is considerably over our $50 price range (like 3 times!)
3. Best Doll Christmas Gifts
There are several brands of 18″ dolls (similar to American Girl but much cheaper). We like the My Life dolls (available at Walmart). Once you have a doll or two, then you need a variety of clothes and accessories, right?
What a sweet Barbie set! The description: Barbie Doll, Blonde, Wearing Riding Outfit with Helmet, and Light Brown Horse with Soft White Mane and Tail
4. Best Arts and Science Gifts
Look at all the artistic possibilities in this vault! Over 1000 pieces to create and create and create all the projects you could ever want. It’s appropriate for kids aged 8 and up. 2 drawer case – Amazon’s Choice.
There are several amazing science kits in the Amazon Christmas Catalog. This Earth Science Kit appeals to kids from 8-12 (boys and girls of course). Volcanic action is intriguing, so finding out how they work would be fun and educational. So cool.
5. Best Technology Gifts
Drones for kids! HR Drone For Kids With 1080p HD FPV Camera appropriate for 14 and up. Amazingly it’s in our price range. It has a camera with real-time transmission and remote controls. More fun features available.
I have to admit now that I’m sharing the last of the 2021 best gifts for grandkids, that there are many of these I could easily put on my own Christmas list! This is a prime example. Does this look fun or what?! The Crayola Light Up Tracing Pad with Eye-Soft Technology is an Amazon’s Choice and is well under our price range. There are several different types and appropriate for ages 6 and up.
Free Christmas Shopping Tool
An Editable Christmas Shopping Tracker
List your people, what they want, the price, and ✔️ it off when you’re done. Keep it on your phone or print it off.
You can subscribe to the weekly newsletter at the same time and unsubscribe whenever you choose.
Let’s Wrap This Up
While you’re shopping for the best gifts for the grandkids, if you’re anything like me, you might be tempted to do a little shopping for your best gifts. There’s nothing wrong with finding some gift ideas for yourself to share with those buying you gifts, right?!
You might’ve guessed from my Bookshelf page and my 5 Favorite Cookbooks post, that I kind of love cookbooks. While I was shopping for the Best Gifts for Your Grandkids, I found two cookbooks I would LOVE to own! They’re new and look GREAT.
Who hasn’t seen the Tasty videos on Facebook? They always share such great recipes. And, this cookbook has chapters like “One Pan”, “Bowls”, and “5 Ingredients”. Oh, and “Better than Takeout”! I want this one so bad. It’s called Tasty Every Day: All of the Flavor, None of the Fuss…perfect.
The other one that’s going on my list is Ree Drummond’s new cookbook. It’s called, The Pioneer Woman Cooks―Super Easy!: 120 Shortcut Recipes for Dinners, Desserts, and More. From the website, “The Pioneer Woman Cooks—Super Easy! will free you up and transform your cooking life as well, with 120 recipes that range from effortless breakfasts to breezy skillet meals to speedy soups to ready-in-minutes Tex-Mex delights, so you’ll have lots of options for any given meal.”
Back to shopping for those kiddos, have fun doing the ‘research’. Hopefully, you found some good ideas for you and your grandkids. Here’s a tool for keeping track of shopping for the little kids and the big kids. It’s cool because it’s an editable PDF, so you don’t have to print it out unless you want to!
Here’s wishing you a wonderful Christmas season! May it be peaceful and meaningful as you and yours celebrate our Savior’s birth. Luke 2: 1-20 NLT
Our Favorite
Holiday Links
*Some referral links are included in this post. If you click through and take action, I’ll be compensated with no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support in this way.

Finding a new purpose in living and joy in the day-to-day was the goal when author Kathy Rowland and her entire family (adult kids and grandkids) moved from the PNW to Texas several years ago. The focus of Quiet Hollow is to encourage ‘next chapter women’ – those who are retired, empty-nesters, or have found themselves without a spouse to jump back into life. And, she shares multiple tips, ideas, and possibilities toward that end. Kathy completed her almost 30 years as an elementary teacher and hopped into over a decade of volunteer work, side hustle-type businesses, and grandchild care before discovering her unique and fulfilling purpose for the next chapter of life. What you read on Quiet Hollow is a large part of that calling. Another part is the happy life she’s leading in Central Texas in the same neighborhood as the 3 big kids and her 5 grandkids. She and her college sweetheart husband made sure to add a pool to their new Texas home, so there are lots of noisy, splashy days in their little oasis of a backyard. Come join her on Quiet Hollow in a conversation about finding and living the life you were created to live in this later stage. The chats will be full of laughter, support, faith, and inspiration to create.