Grandparent Experience Gifts and an Adventure Printable!

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    Sunday is Grandparents Day and because my husband and I are the proud grandparents of 11 grandchildren, I decided that this is the perfect time to introduce a project that Alicia and I have been working on together.  Well, I did a lot of the imagining and Alicia did all of the fabulous artwork and design.  

   The inspiration for this project came from the ideas for experience gifts that I see many grandparents doing for their grandchildren. I thought that it would be great to have a way to record and keep memories of those grandparent/grandchild times together.  I also wanted to suggest ideas for experience gifts that grandparents on fixed incomes and small budgets could afford and yet still be something that children would look back on with fondness as well as be excited about in the moment.        Alicia and I brainstormed and came up with a long list of ideas and put them into categories and then Alicia set to work drawing and designing. I sent the finished design to Staples to get it printed as a huge, interactive poster.  That is easy and inexpensive to do. Then, because I had 2 grandchildren staying with me for the summer, I used them as my guinea pigs to see how they liked the poster.  They really liked it and it was so endearing and fun to hear from them the things that they wanted to include on the poster that meant something to them.   They would think of ways to make the activities we did fit into the poster categories.  They also would look at the ideas and come up with activities for us to do together on their own.  It was a lot of fun! 

Jayda started keeping a list of the novels we read together. We completed 3 in the 6 weeks they were with us.

     My main focus for  this project has been the idea of giving the chart as a gift along with a date set in stone to do a certain activity with your grandchild.  With the holidays right around the corner, this is a good start to your holiday shopping list. You can give the poster along with an item that goes along with your planned activity!   Here is a list of ideas and some links to get your juices flowing.

Experience Categories and gift ideas:

• Read Together (obviously) Give them the book that you can read together, or let them pick one out. Going to the bookstore or library together could be the beginning of your time together.
• Play games. Give a new game and play it together. Our favorites this summer were Dutch Blitz and Pirates of the Caribbean Game of Life, (which I just learned is a collectors item!).  
• Watch a Play! Tickets to a play.  Sometimes children's theaters, schools or community groups have good deals.  Also, check Groupon for many of these ideas. 
• Go on a Hike, or many hikes.  You can keep a list of where you go on the poster.  A water bottle, socks, or a cap plus the date on the calendar to go together along with map of the area you will hike will make this a great gift. How about a walking stick that you carve for them?
• Attend a Sporting Event together. This doesn't have to be a pro game.  But, it could be Spring Training or a high school event! You could give the tickets, or a big foam finger! 
• Play in the Snow​.  Since we live in the desert, this is a day trip to get to the snow! But, even if you live where it snows, going out and having a snowball fight or building a snow fort or snowman would be something your grandchildren would love and remember. A pair of gloves or mittens or a handmade scarf to go with this activity would be perfect.  Hot Cocoa Bombs would be a perfect way to end your chilly day! 
• Visit a National Park! One of the best things I did for my husband was purchase him the Senior Pass to the National Parks when the price was $20. it is usually $25 per car to get into a National Park. The price has gone up to $80 for these passes or you can get a $20 annual one. But if you get a chance to travel much, the pass is still worthwhile, Especially the $20 one.  To give the gift, you could make them a t-shirt for the park, or order one online.  Give them maps so they can see where they will be going.  The hiking gift ideas may work well here, too.
• Teach them a new skill. It could be cooking or sewing or painting or changing a tire or mowing the lawn.  Give them a tool that would be great for that skill, such as a sewing kit, a spatula or a pressure gauge!
• Sew Together.  This could fall under the new skill category, but once they learn the basics, doing more sewing together can be a lot of fun, too.  Taking them to the fabric store to pick out fabric, or picking some from your stash would be a great way to start.  And here is the sewing kit idea!
• Swimming! We did a lot of this over the summer and we made a lot of memories. Since the public pools weren't open,  I gave my grandkids private lessons, which was a little pricey, but very important to me for them to have. If you have a pool, go out in it and play games with them! They love it! You can give them a new raft or ring with a promise of a play date together in the pool.  Another thing we did was go up to a mountain creek to swim.  They loved that!
• Do a Cultural Experience Together. Tickets for a museum or ballet activity.  Once again, check Groupon!  I used to work for a charter school that specialized in The Arts.  They put on a ballet program each year that was amazing and very affordable, so look around for things like that.  Schools really appreciate community support.
• ​Movie Night!  This could be at the movie theater or on the couch watching Netflix!  But be sure to have popcorn, drinks and movie sized candy!  Check out this link for ideas!
• Eat out.  It can be to a fancy restaurant, a fast food place or a pizza joint, but just be sure that the conversation is with them and they will love it!  Gift cards come in all price ranges.
• Go Fishing! Doing things together in the outdoors is such a bonding experience and not enough kids get to do them.  Give them a pole, or bait or a tackle box to to go with this trip.  Even just a chair to sit on by the fishing hole! 
• Take them Camping! Go to the mountains or camp in your backyard.  If you can have a campfire, make s'mores! Check out these ideas! And this one, too.  If you can't afford a sleeping bag, how about making or buying them a camping pillow or pillowcase? 
• ​Cook Together!  My granddaughter loved this one.  Give an apron to introduce your gift.
• Go on a bike ride together! A new helmet or accessory for their bike would be great to go along with this. 
• Create Art or a Painting together.  One way I did this with my grandkids was to use Art for Kids Hub on YouTube.  We went to DollarTree and got each of us Art Pads and started drawing together.  There are so many ways to do art together that I may do a post about it soon. ​​

Here is a gallery of pics showing some of the things we did with our grandkids this summer.  I can't wait to make memories with the rest of my grandchildren! 

Hmm, isn't going to the park together on that list?

We made a reading tent in the living room.

Swimming with cousins!

Bravely jumping into the swimming hole at the creek!

Or just swimming in the creek.

Cooking together!

Sewing!

Lunchtime dance party with cousins! They love it when Grandma dances with them!

     There are so many other activities that you could fit into this chart that I didn't list.  Since I was going for inexpensive, I didn't include horseback riding or water skiing.  But those could totally go under "new skill" or "swimming".   If you have any great ideas for experience gifts for our grandchildren, I know that I would love to hear them.  Please share in the comment section below. 
     We have also made this poster into a booklet form if you think that would be a better way for your grandchild to keep their memories.  There is the option to print a full sheet booklet or to get two half sheet booklets.  We included some blank pages in it where you can add more experiences that we didn't include on our list.  And, there is room for pictures!  (We glued pictures on the poster sometimes, too.) I have sent the booklet to be printed at Staples.  Unfortunately, I haven't gotten it back in time to share pictures with you today.  There is always the option of printing the booklet yourself on your home computer, but that can be a little tricky when you figure out how to print them back to back.  It can be done though! If you send it to a place like Staples be sure to give the instruction to print the book "head to head."  

     We are making these posters and booklets available in our Etsy Shop!  They are available with the words "Adventures with Grandparents", "With Grandma" or "With Grandpa", whichever fits your situation.  For this Grandparents Weekend, we're running a special on them, so don't miss out! 

     While you are checking out the Etsy Shop, don't forget to check out the Pie Book and the Hot Cocoa Bomb Idea Book, (which is soon going to have an addition)!  Fall is the time to start making pie and hot chocolate!  Our Favorite! Aren't you just so excited for Fall and the holidays that go with it?  If you use these experience ideas, you have a good start on your holiday gift giving!  Be sure to give us some love in the comments!