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(At Grandma's) Home for the Holidays
Create Memories with Your Grandkids This Thanksgiving
By Jenn Director Knudsen
Strom's two-bedroom house isn't huge, but guests – particularly little ones – unfamiliar with its layout could trip in the dark at night. "Especially when I have overnight guests, I make sure I have nightlights everywhere," says the Vancouver, Wash., grandma.
And Coleman suggests grandparents be mindful of the grandkids' regular rules at home. This avoids stepping on the parents' toes and helps keep kids (somewhat) in their normal routines.
Grandparents should also discuss with parents their kids' medications, swimming skills, dietary restrictions, allergies and even have available the grandchildren's insurance policy numbers and doctors' phone numbers.
And Coleman adds that grandchildren aren't always traveling to grandparents; sometimes, the family members travel together. "Make the planning part of the journey," she says. "Use books, magazines, maps, newspaper travel sections and the Internet to pre-explore your destination."
No matter what your plans – or how far ahead or last-minute you make them – remember you'll be creating memories that may last generations.
Hoppe says when she was young, her grandmother let her decorate her entire house for Christmas. Hoppe made centerpieces, put angel hair on the mantel on which she placed votives and glittered big pinecones placed on the coffee table.
Fifty years later, Hoppe says decorating her grandmother's house each year is an enduring and "very special memory of my grandmother."
"My hope is that 50 years from now, my grandchildren will cherish the same kind of memories," she says.
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