Whether it’s for holidays, birthdays, grandparents day or just any old day of the week, grandparents need fundings to do with their grandchildren. Not only do they need to have fun themselves, but they need ideas that will appeal to children of all ages. Grandparents are lucky. They get to play with their grandchildren, enrich their lives and then give them back to their parents and have a nice good night’s sleep. The generation gap, however, can make it difficult to think of things to do together, especially in a day where we are now living with more technology than we’ve ever had.
Have you ever been lucky enough to have time with your own grandparents? Then you’ll understand why you should cherish that time while they are still alive. If your Parents are looking after your children for you then. Coming up with a few great activities for them to do together doesn’t have to break the budget. In fact, we’ve got five affordable activity suggestions for grandparents and grandkids below.
Embrace the great outdoors.
Not every outdoor activity has to cost money. Theme parks are great, the circus is great, but you don’t have to go to those things if it’s not affordable. In fact, you can just take the grandkids to a local park or a playground within walking distance, and you can bring along sandbox toys for the little ones or a soccer ball for the older ones. If you have the energy and the ability, then throwing a Frisbee with your grandchildren is going to be a great activity that doesn’t have to cost you anything at all.
You could even bring along some sidewalk chalk and build some fine motor skills and practice drawing together. If you have bikes and you are active, then getting the children’s bikes outside with the right safety gear can mean you can take a bike ride along the cycle path in the park. Embracing the great outdoors can be exciting and fun, and you can even bring a picnic from home to make it a great day out.
Look at your local community options.
Almost every community that has a library has a list of free activities for people to do with children. The local library often has reading groups and music play and different activities and arts and crafts that people can attend. The fee for these will be usually a few dollars if that, and it usually comes with a snack or a drink so children can be busy for an hour with their grandparents.
You could always go to the library and read together or listen to audio books and you can go a long to local community markets to have a nose around. Jumble sales and car boot sales mean that you can spend a couple of dollars to buy your grandchildren a new book or a toy, and it doesn’t have to cost much at all.
Share your childhood games.
What games did you play when you were a child? Did you make mud pies or played hopscotch outside? Did you hula hoop or play hide and seek? Did you play Jax? All of these things are things that your current grandchildren could be doing, and you get to introduce them to them. Being able to draw a hopscotch outside on sidewalk chalk and teaching them how to play. Skipping ropes is just as exciting as going to the movies or going bowling.
Immerse yourself in imagination.
Allowing your grandchildren to choose what you play with them is exciting. It’s a tech savvy world, so maybe your grandchildren have tablets that they could introduce you to and teach you how to use apps and games. When was the last time you hopped onto a Nintendo 64 and played classic Mario? Being able to do that with your grandkids is exciting and a great way to spend a rainy day. Just because you are not of an age of technology doesn’t mean you can’t learn how to play, and you can ask your grandchildren to teach you how to do it. It’s a great way to immerse yourself in imagination with them and get into their world rather than them stepping into yours.
Go to the beach.
Another affordable activity for grandparents and grandkids to do together is to spend the day at the beach. Being able to play in the sea and build sandcastles in the sand is a nice way to spend time together.
