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"What kind of gift can I give to my Grandpa or Grandma?"
This is a question every generation has struggled with every time another Christmas or birthday rolls around. Sometimes a simple card can suffice, but what if you want to give something really special? When new towels simply don't say "I love you" the way you want to say it? Well you don't have to worry about that any more - I'm about to tell you how to give them a gift that they will remember and actively enjoy for years to come.
What are two things all grandparents value? Enjoying time with their loved ones, and memories of their loved ones. Great! So how can we turn this into a gift they will love? Nearly everyone these days has a digital camera, or access to one. It's a mysterious phenomenon, but upon getting their first digital camera, most people I know have turned into semi-paparazzi. I still haven't quite figured this out, but it's the truth. This means that those people have absolutely tons of digital pictures lying around on their computers, and chances are, you're one of them!
Next question: how many of these photos have you shown to your grandparents? Probably none. How many would they love to see? To be fair, I'm sure not all of them (and I'm sure you don't want them to see them all either!) but I bet you there are quite a few they would like to see, and see often.
So what is this grand solution I keep on side-stepping? A digital picture frame, of course! The key to this gift, to make it truly personalized and unique, is to pre-load the digital picture frame with special pictures before you give it to them. That way, when they receive the gift, there is no hassle of setup; all they need to do is plug it in and turn it on. Nothing could be easier, and before you know it they have a slideshow of potentially hundreds of great pictures of family and friends that they are bound to enjoy every day.
Okay, so what are the key features you want to look for if you're buying a digital picture frame for your grandparents? Here are five tips to consider, and why each is important.
1. Get a large frame. Older people often have more difficulty seeing, and the larger the digital picture frame is, the easier they will see it. Resolution doesn't matter as much here, you're just going for size. Size often determines price, but don't cheap out on this. It's worth it.
2. Don't get a widescreen frame. More than 99% of people take their pictures in a non-widescreen aspect ratio; if you get a widescreen frame you're wasting screen space while at the same time making the picture smaller. See tip number 1.
3. Get a frame with the ability to play movies, with sound. The sense of sound triggers memories in a different way than pictures will by themselves, and help make the experience more memorable.
4. Get one with good internal memory (at least 128MB), or a memory card that is the same style as your own camera. This way you can put a decent number of pictures on there at a time. If the memory card is the same as your own, you can easily update their frame with pictures from your camera, without the hassle of cables or device compatibility.
5. Get a wireless digital frame. This one is optional, depending on your budget. But let me tell you the benefits. If you live far away from your grandparents, and don't see them very often, it may be difficult to update the frame for them. Perhaps they will be comfortable enough with the technology to do it themselves (it is pretty easy, after all), but chances are they would prefer if you did it for them. Wireless frames allow you to update their contents directly through the internet. This means that even if you're hundreds of miles away, you can still send Grandpa and Grandma an updated slideshow!
Hopefully I've solved your dilemma for you, but if you're still unsure of how this can work for you, DigitalFrameGuy.com has tons of picture frame tips and ideas for how to make this work. This year, give your grandparents a gift they're sure to remember! |
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