This year Grandparents Day falls on Sunday September 11th in the U.S. and Sunday October 2nd in the U.K. It’s a day to celebrate family and family history. It’s a day for cards, gifts and gatherings. The purpose of Grandparents Day is threefold:
It’s a day to honor grandparents and all they’ve given to their families.
It’s a day for grandparents to express their love for their grandchildren.
It’s a day to strengthen awareness of the caring relationships between grandparents, children and grandchildren—a time to underscore the encouragement and guidance grandparents can share with their children and grandchildren.
Grandparents Day is a family day. A time to gather and enjoy relationships, tell stories, give gifts of love, whether they are handmade or store bought. It’s a day to enjoy a meal together and laugh, play games and sing songs. What better time for grandchildren to hear stories about their parents as children? What better day to show Grandma and Grandpa they’re truly loved and honored?
Grandparents treasure anything made by their grandchildren. Cards, drawings, little stories, photos of family events, all are received with pleasure.
Books are wonderful gifts for a special occasion such as Grandparents Day. Here is a list of books to educate children about this special day and a separate list of books for grandparents—great ideas if you’re looking for a gift for Grandma or Grandpa.
For the Grandchildren
Grandpa Green by Lane Smith: A boy, his grandfather and a garden.
Your Mommy Was Just Like You by Kelly Bennett: What was mommy like as a child? Was she curious, playful, creative? Was she… naughty?
Love Waves by Rosemary Wells: Stories of family love even when the members are far apart.
The Grandma Book by Todd Parr: There are a variety of kinds of grandmas and all of them are full of love.
You’re Lovable to Me by Kat Yeh: An intergenerational story of family love.
Grandma’s Wedding Album by Harriet Ziefert: Two grandchildren find Grandma and Grandpa’s wedding album and the questions begin.
Show Some Respect by Jan and Mike Berenstain: Grandpa teaches the grandkids a lesson.
And for the Grandparents
Dream: A Tale of wonder, Wisdom and Wishes by Susan V. Bosak: This award-winning book is a beautiful compilation of illustrations and quotations about dreams from childhood to adulthood.
A Little Something by Susan V. Bosak: Each time a young girl visits her grandmother she leaves with a keepsake—a “little something” to treasure.
If I Knew It Was Going to Be This Much Fun, I Would Have Become a Grandparent First by Willard Scott: Willard and over a hundred of his best friends share the joys of grandparenting.
Now I’m 64 by Rose O’Brien: A humorous look at grandparenting in this day and age.
Some Assembly Required by Anne LaMott: An honest story of her real-life journey toward becoming a grandmother.
Grandpa Coffee Table Quotes by Jennise and Jillian Conley: A book on fatherhood, parenting and family traditions.
*Check out Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com Bookfinder.com or Booksamillion.com to find the above titles.
A Fun Activity for that Special Day: A Grandchild/Grandparent Interview
You’ve gotten together, enjoyed a nice meal and even gifted Grandma and Grandpa with some special presents. Now you need an activity for all to enjoy.
How about conducting a Grandchild/Grandparent interview? Go all out and have the grandchildren dress as television news reporters. Arm them with clipboards, or tape recorders. You may even enlist a family member to make a video recording for future family enjoyment.
The interviewer(s) will ask questions and the grandparents will be challenged to give their best answers. Here are some sample questions to get the ball rolling:
Where did you live when you were very young? What was your house like? Was there a yard? Did you have pets?
What were your favorite toys, games, pastimes? What did you do in town? At home? With friends?
What were your favorite meals?
Did you have chores to do? What were they?
What was school like? Did you like your teachers? What were your best subjects? Worst?
What modern conveniences did you not have as a child? What did you do before there was television, computers?
Did you go to high school? College? What was your first job?
What were the biggest differences between your childhood and ours?
How did you spend Saturdays? Did you do sports, work around the house? Read?
What is the best advice you can give us?
The whole family will enjoy spending time on this special interview. Kids will learn some fascinating facts about their grandparents, and grandparents will enjoy the validation that comes with answering the questions.
Take a little time to prepare for this special family event and you’ll capture a lasting treasure for your family.
