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(At Grandma's) Home for the Holidays
Create Memories with Your Grandkids This Thanksgiving
By Jenn Director Knudsen
Patty Hoppe is an intrepid grandmother, demonstrating extra spurts of energy especially when hosting grandchildren at her Portland, Ore., home. Two years ago, Hoppe was up at the crack of dawn with her two granddaughters, Jordan, then 4, and Savanna, then 2. The pair live in Silverton, Ore., about 40 miles away from their Grammy, and had spent the night.
Tired, Hoppe recalls resting her eyes in her family room while her granddaughters played together nearby. "After a little while, I realized it got too quiet," says Hoppe, a systems engineer.
"I opened my eyes and discovered that Jordan had given Savanna a Desitin facial," she says. "Not just nose and chin, but the whole face with little eyes peaking out. She was now starting on the arms. After laughing, taking a picture and then cleaning them up, we had breakfast."
Hoppe has scrapbooks filled with holiday snapshots of her granddaughters – some photos perhaps more traditional, and less messy, than others – and plans to fill many more in the intervening years. "Somehow being a Grammy makes things a lot funnier and cuter than when I was a mom," says Hoppe.
A self-described "seat-of-the-pants person," Hoppe has helped create terrific holiday memories with little preparation and a lot of spontaneity. Other seasoned grandparents, however, prefer to plan ahead when hosting little ones on their turf.
"Contrary to popular belief, many Thanksgiving traditions simply evolve," says Susan Newman, Ph.D., social psychologist and author of many books, including, Little Things Mean a Lot: Creating Happy Memories With Your Grandchildren
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