National Grandparents’ Day is celebrated in the US on 10th September, but really, any day grandparents and grandchildren get together is a special day. Strengthen that special bond even more with these Grandparents’ Day Activities for kids.
Have a No-Parent Day
The best grandparents’ activities with grandchildren often happen when no parents are around to spoil the fun. Take the grandkids on a lunch date, go to the zoo, visit a museum, or go to the movies. One-on-one time with a grandparent is a treat children treasure, and they’re often more willing to talk if mom and dad aren’t around to listen in on the conversation.
Coloring
You don’t have to go out to have fun. Coloring pictures is a wonderful way to bond with kids. As you work on your work of art together, you’ve got plenty of opportunities to chat about whatever springs to mind.
Share a Special Book Together
Bedtime stories are special moments for kids, and even better when grandparents are reading the stories. Reading’s a wonderful time for snuggles, silly voices, and sharing. Read a story you loved as a child, or share a personalized book that makes you and the child the stars of the story.
Take a Walk
Sometimes the simplest Grandparents’ Day activities for kids are the most memorable. Taking a walk through nature together, one small hand nestled in yours, is both relaxing and fun. And if you should happen to end the walk at a candy store or ice cream stand, no-one needs to tell mom and dad unless they want to.
Cook Together
Cooking together brings families closer, especially if you’re sharing a favorite recipe from your own childhood. Talk about what food was like when you were young, and how your family ate. Baking cookies with grandma or making a casserole with papa will thrill kids—and they get to share the finished dish with the rest of the family.
Have a Games Night
In today’s technological world, kids associate games with electronics. Why not teach them to play the games that were popular when you were a kid? Whether you’re playing snakes and ladders, checkers, card games, or pencil-and-paper games like Battleship, a games night bridges the generation gap and leads to lots of laughter.
Share Life
Grandchildren think grandparents are very old, and that’s fair enough—when you’re five, everyone is older that you, and if nana’s older than your mommy and daddy, then she must be really old.
Making some hot chocolate, sharing some cookies, and stalking about “the old days” can be a memorable experience for both grandchild and grandparent alike. Kids will have lots of questions about the past, and gain a deeper understanding of their family history.
Teach a Hobby
Grandparents have a lifetime of cool skills and hobbies, and passing those abilities on to the next generation is one of the most rewarding grandparents’ activities with children. Whether your special skill is woodworking, breadmaking, scrapbooking or fishing, grandchildren will be eager to learn to do it. “Granddad taught me to do this” is one of the proudest boasts a child can make.
What you do with grandchildren, of course, ultimately isn’t important. It’s the time you spend together and the memories you share children will remember. And one day, when they’re grandparents themselves, your grandchildren will remember you and smile. Because, finally, they’ll truly know how much you love them.
