Grandma and you tossing crumbs to ducks at the pondTwo figures on the bank seen from behind, ducks arriving from the right. Below: 'They know her by now.'
A crossword card where the answer is GRANDMAFront: seven empty squares in a row. Inside, the clue: 'Gives the best hugs, seven letters.'
You reading to Grandma from a book too big for your lapTwo chairs side by side, the book across both laps. Put a real title on the cover.
A comic of her favorite story to tellThree boxes across: the start, the middle, and the line she always ends on in a speech bubble.
A video call with her face filling the screenThe screen is the whole card. Add the small corner window with you waving. Below: 'Same time next week?'
A walk with Grandma as two dotted trails on a pathDraw the path from above. A straight dotted line for her, a loopy one for you. Write the place underneath.
Grandma and you as a large teapot and a small oneSide by side on a shelf, same pattern, two sizes. Caption: 'A matching set.'
Grandma and you tossing crumbs to ducks at the pondTwo figures on the bank seen from behind, ducks arriving from the right. Below: 'They know her by now.'
Grandma teaching you her card game at the kitchen tableSeen from above: a round table, two fans of cards, a plate of cookies. Label who is winning.
Picking berries together, one bucket full, one mouth purpleTwo figures at a bush. Her bucket is full, yours is empty. Caption: 'One for the bucket, one for me.'
Two hands of different sizes around one warm mugClose up, no faces. Her hands outside, yours inside. Along the bottom: 'Warm hands.'
The two of you bent over a jigsaw, heads almost touchingTwo heads at the top edge, the puzzle filling the card. Draw the last piece in your hand. Caption: 'Got it.'
The two of you planting seeds, drawn from the knees downTwo pairs of boots, a trowel and a seed packet. Write what you planted on the packet.
You and Grandma on a porch swing, feet off the groundLandscape. Swing in the middle, two pairs of shoes dangling. Write 'Our spot' under the swing.
You reading to Grandma from a book too big for your lapTwo chairs side by side, the book across both laps. Put a real title on the cover.
Her things 12
A line she writes in every card, in her handwritingCopy her words slowly from a real card onto good paper. Draw a frame of small leaves around them.
The candy dish at her house that is never emptyA glass bowl on a lace mat, wrapped candies in three colors. Caption: 'Never empty.'
Her bird feeder with the regulars lined upFeeder in the middle, three birds waiting on a branch. Give each bird a name tag.
Her handbag with one thing peeking out: a photo of youBag in the middle, clasp open. Only the photo shows over the top. Caption: 'I go where she goes.'
Her patchwork blanket with your initials sewn inFill the page with a grid of squares, a new pattern in each. Your initials go in one corner square.
Her photo wall with you in the newest frameSix frames of different shapes. Fill only one, with you. Write 'More to come' under it.
Her reading glasses on a half-finished crosswordDraw the grid at an angle with the glasses across it. Fill one row of squares with your name.
Her sewing machine with a patchwork square under the needleSide view. Make the square under the needle the brightest thing. Under it: 'Made by Grandma.'
Her tin of buttons tipped out on the tableTwenty circles of different sizes, two or four dots in each. Letter 'Grandma's treasure' on the lid.
Her watering can beside the tomato plants she talks toCan on the left, three staked plants on the right. Add a speech bubble for what she tells them.
Her wide straw hat for the garden, ribbon trailingPortrait. The hat fills the top half, the ribbon runs down the card. Write 'Back in the garden' beside it.
Her yarn basket, one striped sock half madeBasket low on the page, the sock hanging over its edge. Stripe it in her real colors. On a tag: 'For me?'
For a card 12
A birthday card listing one thing she taught you per candleDraw five tall candles. Up each one, write a thing she taught you: a card trick, a recipe, a song.
A birthday card where each balloon is a grandchild's faceA bunch of balloons with simple faces, strings meeting in one hand at the bottom. Names on the strings.
A cake with every grandchild's name on a candleFront of the card. One candle per grandchild, a name on each. Inside: 'Make a wish, Grandma.'
A congratulations card for her first ripe tomatoOne round tomato wearing a small ribbon, in the middle of the front. Above it: 'Congratulations.'
A crossword card where the answer is GRANDMAFront: seven empty squares in a row. Inside, the clue: 'Gives the best hugs, seven letters.'
A just-because card with a sun wearing her glassesBig sun top right, her glasses on its face. Bottom left, in small letters: 'Thinking of you today.'
A new-year card listing three plans with boxes to checkThree lines down the front, a box beside each: a picnic, a movie, a cake to bake. Title: 'This year, with you.'
A parade of small animals carrying a feel-better bannerA line of small animals crosses the front carrying a banner: 'Feel better soon.' You lead the parade.
A peek-through door card with you behind itCut three sides of a door on the front. Draw yourself inside so you show when it opens. On the door: 'Knock knock.'
A stand-up teacup card with a message on the saucerFold the card, draw the cup with its handle away from the fold and cut around it. Message on the saucer.
A thank-you card for the visit: your suitcase at her doorSuitcase on her doormat, front and center. Inside: 'Thank you for having me. Same room next time?'
The name you call her, lettered like a strand of yarnWrite Nana, Gran or Grammy in one looping line across the front. Two knitting needles finish the end.
To mail 12
A drawing that folds into its own envelopeDraw on one side, fold in three, seal with a sticker. Her address goes on the plain side.
A lost-tooth report with a diagram of the gapA big smile with one square missing and a label pointing to it. Add the date and what the tooth fairy left.
A menu of what you ate this week, with star ratingsList five meals down the page with a small picture and stars for each. Give her cooking the top score.
A paper doll of you in what you wore todayStand it in the middle of the sheet, arms out. Cut it out, write the date on the back and mail it flat.
A picture you start and she finishesDraw half of something, a house with no roof or a face with no hair. Add: 'Finish me and send me back.'
A puzzle letter cut into six pieces for her to rebuildDraw on light card, write your message across it, then cut six big pieces. Mail them loose.
A taped paper strip measuring your widest hugTape strips end to end, cut to your reach and decorate. Write on it: 'This is how big my hug is.'
A tiny drawing hidden under the envelope flapDraw it small where the flap covers it: a face, a flower, a secret word. She finds it when she opens the letter.
A weather chart of your week in small suns and cloudsSeven columns, a symbol in each. Circle the best day and say what you did in it.
What you can see out of your window right nowDraw the window frame first, then only what you can see through it. Write the time at the bottom.
Your foot traced on paper with today's dateTrace around your sock, write your shoe size inside and the date at the heel. Send a new one each year.
Your week as seven tiny cartoons in a rowSeven small boxes, one thing that happened each day. Under the last one write: 'Now tell me yours.'
Easy 12
A big letter G turned into a gardenDraw the G as wide as the card, then grow leaves and flowers out of it. The rest of her name follows small.
A cat asleep on a ball of yarnOne round ball, one curled cat on top, a loose thread wandering off. Write your message along the thread.
A cupcake with a cherry and a single sprinkle heartA cup shape, a swirl and a cherry on top. One heart-shaped sprinkle. Write 'Sweet like you' underneath.
A daisy growing out of an old shoeOne shoe in the middle, a stem and a flower rising out of it. Caption: 'You make things grow.'
A kite with GRANDMA spelled along its tailKite top right, your stick figure bottom left, one long string between. A letter on each bow of the tail.
A ladybug sitting on a daisyOne circle with dots, one ring of petals. Under it: 'Glad you are my grandma.'
A mouse holding a tulip twice its heightOne small oval with round ears, one tall stem with a cup-shaped flower. Under it: 'For you, Grandma.'
A postage stamp with Grandma's face on itA rectangle with a zigzag edge, her face inside with her real hair and glasses. Under the face: 'First class.'
A row of cut-out figures, only two colored inA row of joined figures across the card. Color one big and one small, and label them Grandma and me.
A smiling coat button with a captionOne large circle, four dots, a curved mouth below them. Caption: 'Cute as a button, like my grandma.'
A star with her initial in the middleA five-point star filling the front, the letter inside, short lines shining out. Write 'My star' under it.
You as a stick figure holding a sign that says 'Hi Grandma'Figure in the middle, sign as big as the figure. Draw your real hair so she knows it is you.
How this list was compiled
Original list written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-01: 60 drawings to make for a grandmother, each with a note on the card layout or the words that go with it. Read beside mothers-day-drawing-ideas, fathers-day-drawing-ideas, things-to-draw-on-a-card, things-to-draw-for-your-best-friend and drawing-gift-ideas; an idea one of them holds was left out or replaced: no baking scene, no traced hand, no hug picture, no armchair, no recipe, no countdown to a visit, no balloon letters, no pair of walking silhouettes, no pockets or bag emptied out and labeled, no slow snail. Everyday subjects (a teapot, a kite, a cupcake, a pair of glasses) are on more than one list, as different drawings. No item repeats or nearly repeats a title from any other list on the site (checked by script). No facts are stated in the list. Licence: own work
How it works
These things to draw for your grandma work on any day, not only a birthday. Each idea says how to lay it out, most say which words go with it, and one group is made to go in the mail.
Read the full guide
When Grandma lives far away
The To mail group holds drawings that travel flat, such as A drawing that folds into its own envelope and Your foot traced on paper with today's date. Some ask her to answer: A picture you start and she finishes carries the line 'Finish me and send me back.'
Draw what only she has
Her things holds subjects from her house: Her tin of buttons tipped out on the table, Her bird feeder with the regulars lined up, The candy dish at her house that is never empty. Swap in the real object where hers differs.
Write the date and your age on the back of anything you mail.
Where an idea says Grandma, Nana, Gran or Grammy fits the same space.
Questions and answers
What is easy to draw for Grandma?
The Easy group holds ideas built from a few shapes, such as A ladybug sitting on a daisy and A star with her initial in the middle. Each hint gives a short caption or says where the words go.
What can I draw for my grandma's birthday?
For a card holds A cake with every grandchild's name on a candle and A birthday card where each balloon is a grandchild's face. Both put the grandchildren on the front.
What do I draw on a get-well card for Grandma?
A parade of small animals carrying a feel-better banner crosses the front of the card, with you leading the parade. A just-because card with a sun wearing her glasses suits a quiet day too.
Do these work for a grandpa too?
Most do. Change the name and swap her things for his: his glasses on the crossword, his seat on the porch swing. Father's Day drawing ideas includes a row of medals with one for a grandfather.