9 Best Holiday Tech Gift Ideas for Grandparents in 2018

When the holidays come, who is the first person on the list to get fruit of month club? Trust us, the grandparents like more than pears. Some of them may be athletes, some gamers and some like to travel, a lot. These 9 gifts can help keep your grandparents fit, stay in touch, and most keenly safe when they're traveling, hopefully to see you for the holidays.

Lenovo Smart Display — Holiday Tech Gift Ideas for Grandparents

The Lenovo Smart Display is a smart speaker with Google Assistant built in as the voice assistant. But it's real appeal, at least for the grandparents, is the fact you can use the device to make video calls. There's more too: voice searching, watching TV, playing music and grabbing any information you can imagine through a Google search. There are two sizes, an 8" display for $199.99 and a 10" display for $249.99, and also a privacy shutter. We're sure the grandparents always to see their grandchildren — but having the option to hang up a Do Not Disturb sign is a nice touch. (Read GearBrain's review of the Lenovo Smart Display.)

Owl Car Cam — Holiday Tech Gift Ideas for Grandparents

Owl Car Cam is a new connected security device that looks like a dash cam but lets you check on a car both inside the vehicle and outside, even if someone has walked away after it's parked. An HD camera picks up a live view, and also lets someone talk with the person in the car, and all of this is done through an app. It's a great way to make sure someone is safe while driving — and Owl says its footage has proven helpful after car accidents, to give a full view of what happened. Pulling up video footage is free for the first year, $99 a year or $10 a month after that. (Read GearBrain's review of the Owl Car Cam.)

Apple Watch Series 4 —Holiday Tech Gift Ideas for Grandparents

This new fourth-generation Apple Watch has a bigger, better screen, a louder speaker, more power, new software, and has features including fall detection and a potentially life-saving tech in its ability to take an EKG (electrocardiography). Starting at $399 this is a great smartwatch option, especially for active grandparents who also want to tap into numerous fitness apps designed just for the WatchOS space. (Read GearBrain's review of the Apple Watch Series 4.)

Orbit B-hyve Smart Hose Faucet Timer — Holiday Tech Gift Ideas for Grandparents

Have grandparents who love to travel? Orbit makes a line of garden tools that let you maintain a lawn and grounds even while away. The $79.99 B-hyve Smart Hose Faucet Timer attaches to an outdoor faucet and lets you control how much and when you want to water outside. The tool works with a Wi-Fi hub letting you start watering, even if you're out of town. You also get notifications about the weather, so you're not trying to water if a sudden rainstorm hits. You can help grandparents save on their water bill, and use those funds to come and visit you. (Read GearBrain's review of the B-hyve Smart Hose Faucet Timer.)

Riva Concert — Holiday Tech Gift Ideas for Grandparents

The new Riva Audio Concert is an excellent-sounding, versatile smart speaker, which comes with an optional battery pack ($49) that lets you tote Concert's audio excellence anywhere you want. For grandparents who love to camp or spend time outdoors, this $199 speaker is a winner. Plus, Concert has Alexa inside, and can tap into Amazon Music, Pandora and Spotify just on its own. (Read GearBrain's review of the Riva Audio Concert speaker.)

Awair Air Monitor — Holiday Tech Gift Ideas for Grandparents

The $199 Awair keeps tabs on one of the most important things in our lives: the air we breathe. Picking up readings on carbon dioxide and other particles in the air, plus the temperature and humidity, the tastefully-designed Awair can see just how healthy your space is at home: The higher the score, the better your air. There's a corresponding app which can give you the local weather, and also heads up on if you're facing a particularly high pollution day, nice for grandparents, or really anyone, to know. (Read GearBrain's review of the Awair Air Monitor.)

Kangaroo Motion Sensor — Holiday Tech Gift Ideas for Grandparents

At $30 each, the Kangaroo Motion Sensor may be the simplest, and cheapest, smart home security solution you can find. Connect directly to your Wi-Fi network, the sensors feed into a smartphone app, available for iOS and Android, and all you need to do to install them is peel the back off and stick them in place: on a window frame or a door. Other people can also get alerts if the sensors detect motion, and you can pay $9 a month for professional monitoring too. For grandparents on the road, Kangaroo can let them know their home is locked up tight. (Read GearBrain's review of the Kangaroo Motion Sensors.)

C by GE Sol — Holiday Tech Gift Ideas for Grandparents

With winter on its way, light is an issue. C by GE Sol is a smart light in the best sense, letting you set the intensity of light coming from the lamp and even the temperature of the light from warm to cool. The lamp itself is really well-designed, and has Alexa inside, so grandparents can ask questions from the smart assistant as they would from an Echo or Echo Dot. Bringing brightness into people's lives is a hallmark of the holiday season, and the $149.99 C by Sol can be an elegant solution. (Read GearBrain's review of the C by Sol lamp.)

Lyric C2 Wi-Fi Smart Security Camera — Holiday Tech Gift Ideas for Grandparents

With free 24-hour video cloud storage, the $169.99 Lyric C2 Wi-Fi security camera is a solid option, but it's made better for its geofencing feature, which means when you leave, the camera can automatically start keeping tabs on your home. There's motion detection, and the camera can also send alerts when it hears a baby cry, a great add for grandparents who love to spend time with their grandchildren. (Read GearBrain's review of the Honeywell Lyric C2 Wi-Fi security camera.)