The choices of how to spoil your grandchild in this day and age are simply staggering. In fact, the data are that grandparents now account for nearly $7 billion of toy sales each year. That’s a lot of shopping, and it occurs both in stores and online. For anyone searching for that unique gift or the latest little-kids gadget, it can be a real struggle between your emotions and your wallet as to what, if anything, makes sense to buy the little ones. For one grandma’s tussle with how to think this through, read the latest Paula Span column from The New York Times.

More generally, it’s a challenge being a grandparent these days, from the often long distances that need to be traveled to the new perspectives that millennials bring to parenting. One resource just out is Being Grandma and Grandpa, the newly published book by sociologist Emily Stier Adler and psychologist Michele Hoffnung. The authors are both grandparents themselves and combine their professional wisdom with interviews of over 200 grandparents from across the country, to help you sort through the tips and traps of being a modern grandparent. And speaking of modern: if you’ve got an older child with a cell phone, there’s a new service that texts your child with a reminder to get in touch with grandma via a good old-fashioned photo postcard. It’s a win-win for your child and your parents alike- take a look at The Silver Post here.