Sentimental gifts for parents who have everything

• A day trip back to their hometown, with you as the driver and listener.
• A family dinner where every grandchild brings one question for them.
• Tickets to a show from their youth, or a concert by an artist they loved.
• A class together: pottery, cooking, painting.

• Old family photos scanned, restored and framed.
• A family recipe book in their handwriting, printed for every child.
• Letters from each child and grandchild, bound together.
• A family tree with the stories behind the names.

Few gifts touch parents like hearing that you want to know their life. A tribute book tells the life of a mother, father or grandparent from the memories you and your family share, as a real book with chapters.

If they would enjoy telling it themselves, a life story book lets them share their memories in a guided conversation, at their own pace, and receive their memoir as a hardcover. For a couple, a personalized anniversary book tells the story of their marriage.

To start the conversation, see our questions to ask your parents.

• Regular time: a standing weekly call or visit, written as a promise in a card.
• Help with something they find hard, such as organizing photos or setting up a tablet.
• Recording their voice telling family stories, for the grandchildren.

• A handwritten letter from each grandchild, bound together.
• A recorded interview where the grandchildren ask the questions.
• A recipe book of the dishes the grandparents are known for, with a photo of each cook.
• A day out chosen by the grandchildren, with photos printed afterwards.
• A book of the grandparents' life, built from the family's questions and their answers.

If you need a starting point for an interview, use our list of questions to ask your grandparents.

Birthdays, Christmas, Mother's Day and Father's Day are the obvious moments. Milestone anniversaries and retirements are often better, because the gift can look back at a whole period of life. For a book or a personal project, plan a few weeks ahead so that there is time to gather memories and review the text.

Ask yourself what your parents talk about most: their childhood, their travels, their grandchildren, their work. The best gift usually connects to that topic. If they love telling stories, a gift that captures those stories will mean more than any object, and it is one they cannot buy for themselves.