With such a large age gap between your kids and their grandparents, it can be difficult to identify fun activities which everyone enjoys. Consequently, children often find visits to granny’s house somewhat boring, while grandpa may feel isolated when he isn’t regularly included in your busy schedule.
Thankfully, there are ways to ensure that everyone has a good time no matter what their age. Test out the following 10 ideas to bond the family together over mutual entertainment.
1. Cooking
If you’re looking for the ideal midpoint between small children and older adults, then the kitchen may be a good place to start. Allow the grandparents to pass down their culinary knowledge while encouraging the young ones to get involved with each step of the process, granting them a sense of responsibility and teaching them about nutrition. As a bonus prize, everyone gets to enjoy the yummy end result together too!
2. The Park
Between fresh oxygen, warm sunshine, and the serenity of nature, there is a healing quality to the outside world which reaches all corners of the body and mind. If your elderly loved ones have decreased mobility, look at investing in some wheeled walkers or wheelchairs. Meanwhile, allow your kids to run free, exploring the assorted playsets which many parks come equipped with. Just make sure someone is keeping a close eye on them! And maybe not grandpa if he tends to fall asleep on the bench!
3. Gardening
If stereotypes have taught people anything it’s that children love dirt and grandparents love maintaining a fresh garden. The therapeutic properties of patiently nurturing plants can become a long-term project for everyone involved, developing a common interest in the slow growth of nature. What’s more, if you opt to plant vegetables, there will be an additional dietary appreciation at the end!
4. Gaming
While playing paintball isn’t something that grandparents would enjoy, one of the more amusing gaps which have expanded between generations are the types of games available. Ask the seniors to challenge everyone’s mental capacity with their classic card or board contests, while the more youthful console gamers can encourage competitive fitness via the likes of the Wii.
5. A Scavenger Hunt
The joy of this activity can often be the preparation, and that’s where your senior group gets involved. Together, you can be creative and hide almost anything, such as sweets, marbles, shells, or even certain sticks or leaves. An intricate hunt can keep the young ones entertained for hours while you sit back and watch them burn off their seemingly infinite curiosity and energy.
6. Swimming
Swimming is one of the best exercises for all ages as it’s high in cardio benefits and low on stress for the joints. What’s more, with so many exciting water games to play, this won’t even feel like exercise, especially due to the weightless environment which can reduce certain mobility differences.
7. Arts and Crafts
Explore the creative side of the mind by pulling out the paints, glues, and glitters. Challenge the family to create their masterpiece or simply see if they can break all of the rules. The elderly can revisit their youthful talents to see if they’ve still got it, while your young ones may reveal that you have the world’s next artistic genius on your hands. You can do a lot of things with a sewing machine, so think about this too.
8. Picnics
Certainly, sitting down in nature and enjoying some healthy snacks is a restorative way to spend the day, but the key here is to get everyone involved with the planning. What food should be bought? Who can help to put together the sandwiches? Where is the ideal spot to sit down? Make this a team effort.
9. A Fashion Show
This is only for the brave of heart, but why not let the children explore their grandparents’ wardrobe? Ask them to dress creatively and then get them to dress you too, complete with makeup and nails. After which, take some photos so that you will never forget this day of laughter (even if you may want to!).
10. Films
Finally, at the end of a tiring day, it may be a good idea to simply relax your body in front of the television. This could be the perfect time to share cultural appreciation, as the seniors present those classic movies from their youth, and the children educate the adults on what’s considered amusing these days. You may even find that the humor hasn’t changed much at all!