This is a collaborative post with Allied.
Our grandparents will have meant so much to use during our lives, not least do I owe a lot to them because they helped bring me up with my mum when she was flying solo. There home was the first I ever had. They are the shoulder to cry on when our parents are being ‘unfair’, the perpetual babysitters and the ones whose wisdom and kindness helped shape us into the people we are today.
As they get older, however, and lose a little of that energy they once had, it can be easy to drift away from them. By showing them that you still care, this will hopefully never be the case as you’ll be able to create a lasting and profound bond.
Here, we’ll go through just a few quick and easy things you can do to keep your grandparents on your side and let them know you still care.
It really does sound obvious, but remember that there are certain things you might find easy or uncomplicated that your grandparents might struggle with on a daily basis. This could be anything from figuring out what’s wrong with the internet (I bet a lot of you can nod and gree with this one!) to taking the bins out or cleaning the kitchen. You could even offer to help with their heating as the winter months set in or help to sort the bills out if they feel themselves getting overwhelmed. It might seem very little to you, but it will seem like a lot to them.
Even if your grandparents were DIY experts in their younger years, their autumn years have probably left them feeling a little less flexible to undertake household projects. Instead of simply doing it for them, offer assistance because chances are, they still want to take a real good go at doing it. A job shared is a job halved, after all.
There might be a father’s day and a mother’s day but there is no official grandparent’s day, which sucks! But, that doesn’t mean you can’t show them you care with the occasional gift though. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate, why not buy your grandad some comfortable slippers from Mobility Solutions or your nana some nice flowers or a box of chocolates from Thorntons – it’s usually the little gifts that go a long way. I often find that I like to buy boat rides, or afternoon tea’s as birthday and Christmas presents so it gives them an excuse to have a day out!
Good food is a wonderful way to a person’s heart, whether they are 8 or 80 (I sure know it’s the way to mine!) Why not offer to cook a meal for your grandparents and their friends and make a real occasion out of it with some nice wine and a set menu that you think they’ll genuinely enjoy. You could even use it as an opportunity to introduce them to some new flavours, maybe from a recent travel trip that you’ve taken, that they might have never experienced before.
Growing up, days out at the weekend were a huge thing. Sadly, as we’ve got older we don’t make as much of an effort to do this before so why not put together a big picnic basket, fill some flasks up with coffee and hit the road together. You don’t have to go too off the beaten track, just head somewhere that you’ve created a lot of memories over the years, like this day out if one of our favourites, and I bet you it will bring a huge smile to their face!
Of course, just being there might be enough a lot of the time. Make sure you’re popping around at least once a week or so, even if it’s just for a cup of tea. It might only be an hour out of your week but it might just be the highlight of theirs!
Bee
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