Recording things yourself adds another level of challenge to the performance. I would keep it as simple as possible. Set the levels, record it all, then go back and edit it. If that's possible.
Keep the music simple. That never hurts to make things go smoothly. If it's not going perfectly, simplify the music so it's playable.
At this point, I would just get something in the can. Even one piece. Just get something done to give as a gift.
You have to start somewhere though. If you get one piece recorded, that's a start. Just keep making improvements from there. Even if you do a superfabulous job straight off, there will always be things you can improve later on. So it's not a matter of getting it all perfect from the start, but just getting started and working from there.
Psychologically? It's sounds like you're not quite prepared. If you've got two recorded already, I would just use though and wrap things up, project-wise and gift-wise.
Knowing I'm recording myself can freak me out sometimes. The nice part is that you can go back and redo it, but the negative is that you can ALWAYS go back and redo it. Giving yourself a limit is good. I use three myself. And then if I make a mistake during the first one, I just keep ploughing ahead in case that turns out to the be the best one. The more you do it, the easier it is. Sometimes, I am completely comfortable with the recording. I am alone. No one is listening. I can play as freely as I want. If it records and it was free playing, great. If I mess up, so what?
I find a lot of those mistakes I hear during recording are either things I didn't practice well enough, or things I wasn't aware of and the stress of performance gives me super ears. Sometimes that can be bad if I start focusing in on minutiae I won't be able to control or fix though. Then I have to pull myself back out of that focus.
I would say pick easier pieces or practice them better. It should just be a matter of hitting record on the machine then. If the idea of your being recorded freaks you out, that's another matter. I can usually put myself into a mental state where I don't care, whether that's good or not. Occasionally I get so nervous I can't control the shakes, but that's rare. My strategy is have it all planned out. The performance is barely a step beyond the practicing. That way I go in confident because I already know pretty much exactly what will happen. That can be a little boring, but it does give a pretty good guarantee on what will happen. And it allows me to improve things in the future.
Take a deep breath. Relax. Do something fun. Get some good sleep. If you can. A month doesn't sound like very long to do a recording project though. If I wanted it out for Christmas, I think I would be recording just after Thanksgiving at the latest. It's hard to plan too far in advance, although things generally tend to take up as much time as you give them.
I would accept that it's not going to be perfect. You're probably expecting a level of playing that's beyond your reality right now. If you flip that around, you're probably playing better now than you have in the past, so that's something to feel good about isn't it? If you expected less, you might think you were doing pretty well now, wouldn't you? It freaks me out a little to think like that, that how you feel about a project is just your expectations and in reality your very best work might really be garbage in another context. But if you're doing something, whether you work hard or not, if you put some effort in, you're bound to make some progress and learn something, which I think is always a positive.
That's the interior view of yourself. There is also the outer world view to take into account. A wrong note is a wrong note and people who know nothing about music can still tell if a performance is generally good or bad. So make the recording sound good, even if it means picking easier music next time or leaving out notes. Most people don't notice missing notes. They notice the technical things if they listen for that but they get a nice subjective impression of the performance. If you play with confidence, that comes across on the recording. If you confidently hit a wrong note, then it may even sound right on the recording. Of course, you'll still know, but it may not matter depending on the context.
I mean it's your grandparents. They will be thrilled with whatever you give them, even if it's just one piece, even if notes are missed. They will be proud of you and honored to get that type of gift from you. If they know nothing of music, they will think it's awesome. If they know music well, chances are they already know you're playing level so it's not going to shock them or anything. They will be happy just that you are thinking of them.
And as far as recordings go, no one will be aware of all the time and effort you put into it. You pick the piece, practice it up, record and all that, and then the listener might only listen to it once and halfway listen to it at that. That's another reason I wouldn't be hung up about little mistakes or making it perfect. If it's for yourself, that's one thing, but if it's for a quick breezy listen for someone else, don't knock yourself out too much.
Topic: Recording Troubles