My grandfather’s birthday party was this past week and I needed to come up with a gift for him. He loves his sweets and he loves coffee so I thought brownies and some coffee would be just the ticket.
I prepared a boxed mix of brownies and then let them cool. In a bowl, I mixed together a container of chocolate frosting and a container of chocolate hazelnut spread (both purchased from Aldi) to make the most delicious frosting. I frosted these and then added a handful of chopped nuts to decorate the top. I had peanuts in my pantry, but I had wished that I had some hazelnuts instead.
My trick for getting the brownies to come out nicely is to keep a plastic knife in my silverware drawer. No matter how moist the brownie, the plastic knife slides easily through without messing up that perfect square shape. Don’t those look delicious?
I found some ribbon and a tag in my craft supplies and tied this around a bag of Carmel Drizzle Folger’s Gourmet coffee. Yum!
I think the gift was a hit because in my entire life, I don’t recall my grandfather ever writing a note to me to thank me. He had my grandmother call me to tell me that he ate these brownies for breakfast and even wrote a thank you note to me. My grandmother said to save this for the rest of my life because that NEVER happens. How sweet is that?
Grandparent gifts have always been more difficult for me. What are some grandparent gifts that your grandparents have really loved?
How very lovely indeed! A few gifts come to mind, that seemed to be especially appreciated. For grandpa, we put together an ice cream themed gift. In a basket, we placed two clear ice cream sundae type bowls, with jars of various toppings and fun stuff, and then included a gift card to Braum’s so he could pick out his favorite ice cream. For grandma, we found a bracelet where each link is a miniature picture frame and inserted the grandkids’ pictures. Have you seen those before? Anyway, thanks for sharing — love reading your blog!
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What a thoughtful gift! I think your grandfather and I have a lot in common; I would love to get brownies and coffee as a birthday present!
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My grandfather LOVES to read Western’s. Every spare moment is spent sitting in his recliner reading one. There’s never a shortage of Western’s at the book store and they’re a hit every time! My grandma is harder for me, but usually I get/make her something family oriented. One year for Christmas I made her a family tree – though now there are 5 other great grandchildren that should be added…. She really enjoys those kind of gifts.
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great idea! i didn’t know aldi’s had their own nutella! i love that stuff!!!
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That’s so sweet. Now I’m craving brownies….
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Since my parents are on a limited income, I try to get them a variety of gift cards to local restaurants. They like going out to lunch so the cards don’t have to be large amounts.
Of course, anything the kids make is a hit. My parents also love the DVDs my hubby puts together of pictures. The kids love posing so its a fun and fresh way to keep out-of-town family connected.
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My grandmother is in a nursing home and has limited space but she can always find room for another framed picture of her grands and especially her great grands.
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The brownies look amazing! You can’t beat a tasty present.
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When my daughters went away to college and eventually got a job in another city, they made their grandparents “A Day In The Life of …..”. My younger daughter took pictures of her dorm room, her friends, the cafeteria – all the places she went in a normal day. My older daughter took pictures of her first apartment, the school where she taught, group photos of her students, etc. Because their grandparents couldn’t travel to see them, this helped keep them connected. They put the photos in a small $1 photo album and update them every Christmas. It is by far their grandparent’s favorite gift. They look for the update every year!!
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I forgot to mention that the girls also add narratives to each picture so as their grandparents page through the photos they are reading about their granddaughter’s day. They love it!
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oooo! i do the plastic knife thing too! it’s the only way to cut brownies. just a warning: don’t try to use the plastic knife if the brownies are really hot (they should cool before you cut). otherwise your plastic knife gets warped. trust me.
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Oooh, very good point
I have a knife that I got in the outdoor section of our local superstore and I keep it in my kitchen drawer especially for brownie cutting. That tells you how often we eat stuff we shouldn’t 
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What a wonderfully thoughtful gift! My grandmother was always very easy to please and loved handmade things. My grampa loves anything cowboy related. Last Christmas I gave him a cowboy themed frame with a pic of him and my son wearing a cowboy hat.
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My grandparents travel a lot in the car, so I made them a cd of dozens of songs from the time they were dating: Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Swing Music, you know, the great oldies from the forties and fifties. They really loved it and said that it was fun to hear all that music again.
My aunt once had an artist go and paint the house that my grandmother grew up in, framed it and hung it on her wall, and I know that they’ve treasured that (you could get it done with just a photo too).
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What a yummy idea! I did do something similar for my dad one year (the man needs NOTHING!) when I made him a couple dozen oatmeal raisin cookies….his fav….and added some homemade coupons for future batches.
When my grandmother turned 90, I made a picture collage for her with photos of all her kids, grandkids & great-grandkids. We had had a party weekend for her a few months before her actual birthday and, remarkably, all 3 of her kids and ALL the grandchildren were able to be there. I had lots of pictures from that weekend and managed to get at least one of everybody in the collage. She absolutely LOVED it! After she died, I got that frame back and I think of my grandma now every time I look at it.
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AnneMarie- What a beautiful idea! That is so precious!
Reading all of these grandparent gift ideas is making me misty-eyed!
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LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the brownie tips!
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aww thats sweet and nice pictures.
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