Have you planned any activities with your grandchildren for this year's Grandparents Day? No? Here are the suggested activities that you and your grandchildren are sure to enjoy.
Tip
Plan at least 2-3 activities for the grandkids depending on the duration that they are with you. Also, make these activities a mix of the physical, interactive, and creative forms.
Grandparents Day is a cherished holiday all around the world―it’s a day to commemorate the special bond and relationship that grandparents and grandchildren share. Given the nature of today’s families, most sets of grandparents and grandchildren do not live together or even close by.
A special day like Grandparents Day is a great way to ensure that the cherished bond is not lost. Every year, grandparents and grandkids spend this day together, enjoying several activities, and this year will be no different.
With Grandparents Day this year on September 8, 2019― start planning how to spend the day with your grandchildren. If you have not planned anything for this special day, here is exactly what you need. There is definitely something for everyone in here. Pick some activities and start planning for a superb day.
10 Grandparents Day Activities
1. Spend Time Outdoors
Whisk the kids away on a day of outdoor fun. There is so much choice when it comes to this one. There are museums that you can visit, or the aquarium or the zoo, there are fishing trips that can be planned, or picking fruits in the orchard.
There is also a great idea of going to the park and having a crazy time playing Frisbee and taking to swings―just like this grandmother-granddaughter pair who are obviously having the time of their lives. What fun.
2. Solve a Jigsaw Puzzle
Have you ever spent time putting a jigsaw puzzle together with the grandkids? It is FUN. It is the perfect way to spend quality time with grandchildren. The excitement on their faces, their squeals of delight on finishing the puzzle―soak it all in.
Here’s how you can make this activity more exciting―if you have more than one grandchild visiting, you can form teams and compete to finish the puzzle first. You can make this a great tea-time activity with tea and snacks streaming in. The choices are limitless.
3. Cook Something Together
Take kids to the kitchen and cook something or bake a cake. It might seem a mundane activity for someone who isn’t too keen on venturing into this part of the house, but, it is a lot of fun! The excitement on the kids’ faces while they help knead the dough, or measure the cocoa powder, and lick the bowl clean once the cake has been put to bake―priceless.
For kids who are slightly older, this is the perfect opportunity to pass on some family recipes too. And if not, make pizza. Kids love their pizza.
4. Use the Afternoon for Some Crafts
This is the perfect activity for younger kids, given all the colored paper and the sketching, and the glue around. A great idea that you can use for crafts is to trace a design that has the grandchild’s hand in the grandparent’s hand.
This is not only a great way to spend time with the kids, it is also a very emotional and memorable experience, and it will continue to remain so years and years after it is done.
To do this, get a thick paper or a cardboard paper and trace your hand and your grandchild’s hand on it. Cut these out and stick the grandchild’s hand on yours―this represents that he/she is a part of you and you’ll be always around for them. Make it a fun grandparents day activity by asking him/her to color or paint it and then frame it in somewhere.
Every time the grandchild visits, it will be like a beautiful reminder of how you are always around to protect him/her and years later, the memory of that day will still be fresh.
5. Teach a Skill
Many times parents don’t have time to teach their kids special skills. Bring in the grandparents. While this activity or idea may seem unsuitable for toddlers, slightly older children can be taught skills like knitting, gardening, carpentry, building a bird feeder.
6. Enjoy a Movie at Home
What if you don’t want to go out to spend the day doing activities and running around? Watch a movie at home. It’s more fun than it may seem. Call your kids and inquire about your grandchildrens’ favorite film, and then surprise them.
7. Spend Time Coloring
Interestingly, this activity never gets boring―not when you’re 2 or you are 4, and not when you’re 10. That’s the beauty of coloring activity. You can use it as a filler between other activities of the day. Gather all the crayons and begin the fun.
8. Read to Them
Do you read to them often? Or you do not get a chance to do that as often as you’d like? This is the perfect day to have a reading session with them. You can make the activity more appropriate if you choose books about characters who have grandparents.
This way, you can highlight the bond grandchildren and grandparents share, and explain the significance of this bond. Peruse through the books that you’ve chosen to read beforehand so that you are able to use different voices and imitations to make the session more interesting. You can also narrate a story to the kids.
9. Have a Games Day
This is a great idea for grandparents who are able to indulge in some physical activity or games to mark the day. You can make a list of the several games that can be played―both indoors and outdoors―and then have an afternoon or early eve full of fun.
If there are a lot of grandkids coming over, form teams and compete for a prize. The day could include activities like obstacle courses or treasure hunts, or it could have indoor games like cards and board games. Always, always fun. Just like the grandfather-granddaughter duo in this image who seem to be having a great time playing with the hula hoops.
10. Visit an Animal Farm
You will rarely come across a kid who does not like animals―rarely. You want to make your grand kid’s day? Take her to a farm and let her play with all the animals. What if you can’t go to a farm? A pet store will do just fine as well.
Spending a day feeding, cleaning, running around, and playing with the animals will be nothing short of an excitement overload, which will, of course, be evident from all the squealing and laughter that she will be doling out.
With so many activities, you can be sure to have a mind-blowing busy day ahead with your grandchildren. Also, don’t just limit yourselves to one activity―you can use a mix of several activities and bring in maximum fun for that day.
