Grandparents Day is a celebration of the most important people in a family – the grandparents! The patriarchs of the family provide wisdom, guidance, and love to everyone and this holiday was created in 1978 to celebrate them. To celebrate the love and respect this holiday holds between grandparents and grandchildren, here are some ideas to spend the day with your family.

For Grandparents on Grandparents Day

• Prior to the holiday, see if your grandchild’s school is celebrating Grandparents Day. Often elementary schools will invite grandparents to visit for a couple of hours and eat lunch with their grandkids. Usually grandchildren will make a craft or some kind of present at school for the holiday as well.
• Spend time with your grandparents creating a family tree. You can do this simply on paper with a pencil or you can get creative with a bulletin board, colored paper cutouts, and more décor. This will teach grandchildren about their family roots and is a great bonding moment to learn about your past and family.
• Host a family dinner get-together. You can also take it a step further and put together a mini family reunion.
• Create a memory box of keepsakes from your childhood and give it to your grandkids on Grandparents Day. You can explain each item and what special or fun meaning it holds for you.
• Have an old school movie marathon with your grandkids. Show them some of your favorite classic movies from your childhood and your youth.
• Teach grandkids how to cook some of your favorite family recipes, from dinner to desserts! Not only is it fun to cook and learn together, but they can hear stories of your mother cooking the same things for you.
• Start reading one of your favorite books to your grandkids and start a story time tradition.
• Kidnap your grandkids for the day and have a fun-filled parents-free afternoon! Take them to the zoo, a museum, the library, or wherever in your community.

For Grandchildren on Grandparents Day

• Bridge the pop culture gap by creating a mixed CD of songs from each generation. Alternate music tracks with your grandparent’s favorite music from their youth with some of your favorite songs so you can listen and learn together.
• Have young kids create a book of reasons why they love grandma and grandpa. Have them create drawings along with their explanations for a lovely keepsake.
• If the grandparents are older, you can gift them with a “coupon book” from the family. These coupons will be to help grandparents around the house with chores, to help them get groceries, or promise to celebrate some activities with them.
• Ask grandparents to teach you something new, such as knitting or building model airplanes or whatever your grandparents’ favorite hobby is.
• Learn something together! Look up some fun activities that grandkids can learn with grandparents such as a magic trick or designing a t-shirt.
  Interview your grandparents about their life. You can learn a lot about how they were raised and their life experience. Plus it will save time if you have a similar project assigned to you in school! If you are close with your grandparents, have a pop quiz to see who knows each other better.