Since the long Covid-19 restrictions are lifting up, now is the perfect time to revisit and reconnect with family members who you may not have been able to see much the past year. Listed below are three fun ideas for increased family bonding between grandparents and grandchildren:
1. Draw a Family Tree
Both interactive and meaningful, this activity is great for children! To begin, draw the base of a tree. As you begin to draw upward, talk with your grandparents to fill in each branch with the names and/or pictures of each of your relatives. See how big you can make your tree!
2. Do a Specialized Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are a fun activity for children to go out adventuring and discovering. But on this particular scavenger hunt, everyone looks for special objects from their grandparents’ lives. You could hide a lei for your grandparents’ Hawaiian culture, a quilt that your grandparents used for picnics every Sunday or anything else that is a part of their story. Get creative!
As the hunt progresses, everyone will get to “travel” through the impactful times in their grandparents’ lives. To wrap up, sit everyone down to listen to the stories and meaning behind each treasure.
A variation you could also try is to create pairs or groups, each with a grandparent. Each group has a list of things you need to find, such as your grandparent’s favorite toy while growing up, their graduation cap, a picture of their childhood home, and more. The first team to go through and collect all the items wins!
3. Dress-Up Dance Party
For this activity, you will be giving your grandparents a trip down memory lane. First, collect their favorite songs and put them together into a playlist. This will be the core part of the dance party. For snacks, root through old cookbooks for some family classics. Last but not least, you need to break out the 60s gear for a fun old-school night!
If your grandparents don’t love dancing, you can try a fun twist. Instead of collecting their favorite songs, ask your grandparents to choose a song to represent each decade of their life. For example, you could choose their wedding song to represent the year they were married. Help them brainstorm and go through memorable occasions that stick out. At the end, you and your grandparents will have an entire playlist laid out!
Grandparents can be great teachers and connect our families to the past. Moreover, they can be a stabilizing anchor in a child’s life. Please let us know if you’ve tried any of these activities and let us know how they went! We’d love to hear any other ideas you may have as well!