What is the great gift for a grandparent? A digital photo keychain! It’s fantastic to have, lightweight, and it takes up a lot less space than those 4 x 6 photo albums in which we carry our grandchildren’s pictures.

I gave one to a teacher friend of mine who recently became a first time grandmother. We exchange presents every year and this year I was stumped on what to give her. Then, one day, I was looking at her photo albums of her grandchild and her other daughter’s wedding when it struck me. I had been in Circuit City and for the first time I saw a small digital frame and thought that would be great. Then I started researching the prices…way more than the amount we spend on each other. I came across digital photo keychains that weren’t as expensive. But, which one to buy? I didn’t know anything about them. I read the reviews and decided to go with the Innovage brand.

I actually bought three digital photo keychains! I had one sent to my sister-in-law in Florida who has a large number of grandchildren and a couple of great-grandchildren. The other two were sent to my address. One was for my friend and…one was going to be for my sister who has 2 grandchildren up in New Hampshire…but then I got a little selfish and decided I wasn’t going to give it away. I was going to keep it for myself…and I’m so glad I did!

The digital photo keychain I chose holds about 60 pictures and can be set on slide show when you want to show off the grandchildren…and children…and the dog…and grandpa…and all the others you want to keep close to you for good thoughts.

The advantages of keeping your grandchildren’s pictures on a digital photo keychain is that the pictures don’t get ripped or wrinkled from handling them, or get lost, or take up a lot of room in your bag. It seems I always leave them in my other bag and don’t have them when I want to show off the grandchildren. The downside is the directions aren’t as easy as they appear. My adivce is to follow them, then disconnect the cable from the computer and reattach it - then it will work without a problem. Also, if you don’t have a digital camera, have your grandchildren’s digital pictures sent to your computer and then download them to the digital keychain.

I just had a great thought! This would be a great gift for grandchildren - especially distant grandchildren - too. Most children today carry keys with them, especially the older grandchildren. They can have your pictures with them all the time. So when they need that warm fuzzy that they can get only from a loving grandparent, all they need to do is turn on their photo slide show! The digital photo keychain will be a great Valentine’s Day gift for a loved one, a friend, or grandparent…and a grandchild! Enjoy!

PS: The Innovage and the Sharper Image digital photo keychains are the same. My daughter and son-in-law each received the Sharper Image ones for Christmas from our grandchildren’s other grandparents. When I had trouble with the directions, I called my daughter and she read me the same directions. Maybe since she’s younger, it was easier for her to figure out!