Celebrated the first Sunday after Labour Day, Grandparents Day is a day dedicated to celebrating all that the elders in our community provide to us, whether they are biological grandparents or others who we consider to hold that special place of wisdom, guidance and love in our lives. Grandparent’s day is a day to honour grandparents, to allow grandparents and those who love them to show love for one another, and to help younger generations become aware of the power, knowledge, and guidance older generations can offer to us. Here are five great ways to celebrate Grandparents Day this September 11th.
Family history field trip
Re-visit a significant site in your family’s history. Did you take your now grown children on a memorable holiday? Share that memory with your grandchildren by taking a group trip together. Is the family cottage gone, but perhaps you could rent in the area? Not exactly the same as the way things used to be, but close enough to make this a meaningful excursion. What was so special about this place? Share that with the young ones you love.
Hands-on activities in the home
Not looking for too big of an adventure, but you’d still like to do something special for grandparents day? Stay in and curl up with some books, crafts, and/or movies. Activities like scrapbooking allow you to share a creative activity together, and also tell stories about your past. Things like puzzles, colouring books, simple beading activities, reading stories, or watching a favourite classic film are also a nice way to spend an afternoon indoors. While you might be sharing your skills, knowledge, and expertise with the young ones, you might even learn something yourself.
Relax in the beauty of nature
Take a walk in a park, by the riverside, in a ravine or some other location that allows you to take in the beauty of nature. If you’re lucky, you might even catch the first beginnings of fall. Take your time, laugh, relax, and watch in wonder. What knowledge about the natural world can you share with your grandchildren? What knowledge can the natural world offer to you both? Take some time to reflect and enjoy.
Get a conversation going
Can’t catch the grandkids in person this year? Schedule out a time for a Skype or phone chat with the grandkids. Not sure you can keep the conversation going? Plan ahead with a few fun stories, and even show and share some pictures. It might sound a little goofy, but it will be a call that none of you will forget.
Find the roots of your family tree
Working through your family tree with your grandchildren (of any age) is a great activity to share together—all you need to do is modify the activity to be age appropriate. Start with as much information as you can pull from memory, turn to scrapbooks and photo albums, and then head off to do more research online or in archives. Sites like genealogy.com or ancestry.com are a great place to start. If you need to work through detailed information with your older children, perhaps occupy the little ones with a colouring activity such as making a tree to add names to, or drawing a tree of their immediate family).
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