Time is very important for everyone, especially older adults and grandparents. Every moment spent with their family is special and memorable. That’s why, on their special day like Grandparents Day, make sure to spend a lot of quality time with them.
There’s no need to spend a lot or give expensive gifts, your grandparents will surely enjoy it more if you spend the day doing activities with them. Also, doing activities with them makes them feel loved, remembered, and important. Find a fun activity your grandparents can participate in and enjoy.
To help you plan an enjoyable Grandparents Day, here are 6 free activities you can try. Choose the activity your grandparents will love.
What is Grandparents Day?
Grandparents Day is a day that celebrates grandparents and other older adults that became a huge part of or play an important role in kids’ lives. It is the best time to express your gratitude and love for your grandparents and all those elderly people that became significant parts of your life.
In 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a proclamation declaring that Grandparents Day should be observed every year. This is because of the hard work of Marian McQuade, an elder advocate with 43 grandchildren.
Grandparents Day is celebrated on the Sunday after the United States Labor Day. Grandparents Day is not a public holiday but rather an observance day.
6 Free Grandparents Day Activities
Even though Grandparents Day is not a public or special holiday, it still should be observed and celebrated every year. It doesn’t have to be too grand or costly. Just make sure your grandparents will enjoy their day. This is your time to show how much you appreciate and love your grandparents. Here are 6 free Grandparents Day activities you can do together or with the whole family.
Cook Together
Almost all grandparents love to cook, especially grandmothers. Most family secret recipes are locked in the memories of your grandmother’s mind. A lot of grandmothers don’t write cooking recipes with exact amounts of ingredients. Usually, it is a couple of these, add a handful of that, and so on. That’s why cooking with grandparents is a good idea to learn the guarded family recipes. And you can write down the exact ingredients and procedure.
Spend Grandparents day cooking and preparing delicious food together. There will be a lot of taste testing which is perfect for kids.
Do Karaoke
You can find almost any karaoke song online. Write down your grandparents’ favorite songs and look for them on Youtube. Even old songs come with lyrics these days and everyone can follow and sing along.
This is the perfect activity for older adults who love to sing. If there are kids in your household, prepare easy-to-follow songs they can sing with their grandparents.
Have Lunch Together
Take your grandparents and family members out to their favorite restaurants for lunch. You can also arrange a picnic and ask your family to help prepare.
If your grandparents are living in a senior community, this is the best time to visit them and take them out for lunch. But if you can’t go to their favorite restaurant, just prepare food yourself or order meals. Most senior communities offer a wide range of food.
Watch Their Favorite Movie
Watching movies is a perfect activity for everyone in the family. Search for good, meaningful movies everyone can relate to or enjoy. There’s no need to go to a theater to watch a movie. You and your family can watch movies at home. This is a better idea because your grandparents are comfortable and can go to the bathroom as much as they need to.
Ask your grandparents what movies they want to watch to narrow down your options.
Play Board Games
Gadgets or playing on tablets or mobile phones are not that enjoyable for older adults, especially if their eyesight or reflexes are not that good. That’s why it’s better to play board games.
Prepare a few board games everyone can join and play with like chess, scrabble, snakes and ladders, monopoly, checkers, and more.
Make Scrapbook
If your grandparents love arts and crafts, making a scrapbook is a great idea. Prepare all the needed materials like a good-quality, thick notebook, old family photos, pens, coloring materials, ribbons, glues, and other decorations. This is a great way to nurture the kids’ creativity while spending time with their grandparents.
Let kids and everyone in the family join in. Prepare for a lot of reminiscing and fun stories!
Why Celebrate Grandparents Day?
Grandparents Day might not be an official holiday but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t celebrate it. This is the perfect day to honor your amazing grandparents and make them feel loved and important. You can commission a personalized grandparents painting from a reputable shop like Memorialize Art. And give it to your grandparents on their special day.
But this doesn’t mean you can only express your affection and love to your grandparents on Grandparents Day. Every day should be grandparents’ day!
Life is too short and you can never tell when someone will leave your side, for good. Spend as much time as possible with your loved ones. Don’t forget to take a lot of photos to capture the special moments.