Honestly, I don't want the boys grandparents giving them toys or the like. Please, give us your TIME. They are all so far away, so I just want their time connecting with the boys, not the gifts.
When we went to California in June, my dad spent an afternoon playing with Caleb on his tractor and fork lift. Caleb had a blast!!! That was the first time my dad really tried to connect with his grandson. He completely changed when he divorced my mom, and he has bought several expensive toys for the boys. Yet Caleb doesn't grasp who they came from, etc.
My mom has been a lot better about spending quality time with the boys. We love visiting her, and love the attention she gives the boys.
It also helps that she is willing to childproof her house to some degree - a safe room for the boys to sleep in, locks on the backyard gate (Caleb was opening them otherwise), baby gate off her bedroom, etc. Any time Caleb sees a phone, he'll ask to "call Ama". My mom has been able to make a very strong impact on Caleb with just time and attention. I could not ask for a better gift.
It's a different story with my mother-in-law, and it just kills Chris to be coming home from visiting my mom, to stopping by for a day with his mom. She'll barely give the boys any time or attention, she gripes how we turn her house upside down. The last time we were there, MIL was finishing up her vacation and would only see us for a few minutes. Instead of saying anything about how she was sorry that the timing didn't work out to visit, all she said was "they better not break anything!!" Mind you, her vacation was with her two other grandsons that are the same age as Caleb, so we ARE being singled out, not a general dislike of children.
There's no amount of gift or money that can make up for that kind of attitude, not even handmade.