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Home › Articles › Holiday Time › (At Grandma's) Home for the Holidays

(At Grandma's) Home for the Holidays

Create Memories with Your Grandkids This Thanksgiving

By Jenn Director Knudsen

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"Offer your younger grandchildren the stirring spoon or a head of lettuce to tear, and an older one to arrange where guests sit," says Newman, who has one son, four grown stepchildren and three stepgrandchildren.

Strom encourages 4-year-old Sophie McBride, of Washington, D.C., to stir batter, make punch, rip open bags of treats and put them in a bowl. And when her other granddaughter, Gabby McBride, now 11, was younger and spent holiday weekends at her house, Gabby was placed in charge of making the scrambled eggs.

Her grandmother helped her, of course, "But to this day, Gabby thinks scrambled eggs are her recipe," says Strom.

A Plan-ahead Project
And for the person who likes to plan ahead, here are a couple creative holiday-oriented projects to have ready before your little guests' arrival.

"With relatives so far flung, it's important to be intentional about relationship building," says Erickson. For example, she recommends a game she calls "ABC Postcards."

The grandparent sends a postcard to the grandkids with a picture that begins with the letter "A," such as airplane. The child then sends a postcard picturing something that begins with the letter "B," like bluebird.

Both parties must keep each card received. Then, at Thanksgiving (or any holiday or family gathering), punch a hole in the corner of all the cards and string them together in alphabetical order.

"Grandparents and kids can enjoy their jottings and memories from A-Z when they get together," Erickson says.

Safety First
It's important also to keep safety in mind, even while celebrating, says both Strom and Dr. Marlene M. Coleman, a board certified pediatrician and author of Safe and Sound: Healthy Travel With Children (Globe Pequot, 2003).


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