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Some grandparents can fully enter into the world of a child and play with their grandchildren for hours. I’m not one of them, I fear. I need to have a variety of toys and activities to keep my grandchildren busy when they are at my house, but I also want to minimize the mess! This means carefully considering what I keep to entertain them.
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Whether the grandchildren are coming for a visit, or you are caring for your grands regularly in your home, you may also be faced with this question: How do I entertain my grandchild when they come to my house? We’ve come up with some sure-fire ways to make Grandma and Grandpa's house a special place to be.

Activities to entertain grandchildren at Grandma’s house

You’ll be surprised by how many things a child-free home has that will entertain your grandchild. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Kitchen utensils are endlessly fascinating to toddlers: just hand over a rubber spatula or a set of measuring spoons and watch what they do with them.

• Get a ball of yarn and wind it around the furniture to make spider webs: both the making and the unraveling are entertaining.

• Pull out your chunky costume jewelry and old party shoes and play dress up.

• Give a baby an empty tissue box and things to put in and out of it: scraps of fabric, rocks, tea bags—anything big enough so it’s not a choking hazard will do!

Get outside! Send them on a scavenger hunt for leaves, bugs and rocks. Lie on the grass and look at the clouds. Make a snowman. Go for a walk around the neighborhood. Watch for birds. Get a copy of the book Camp Granny for more inspiration.

When you need a break and they still need activity, play one of our favorite games. Tell them you are sending them on a mission, and spell out what they need to do to complete it. Depending on their age, this can be simple: “Find a red truck and bring it to me” or “lie down on the floor and pop up again” or complicated: “Run around the tree three times, then climb over the picnic table, then dribble the soccer ball back to me.”

A deck of cards can entertain grandchildren even before they are old enough to play “Go Fish”. Turn the cards over one by one, and ask your grandchild to place them in the right pile. You can start by sorting simply by color, then sort by suit. When they are a little older, they can sort by number or even put them in order. This type of sorting is actually a valuable pre-reading and pre-math skill!​

Craft materials for grandparents’ house

Children love making things. Craft supplies don’t need to be complicated, but a few basics will go a long way. I highly recommend getting a roll of butcher paper like this one, which will last for years. Pair it with a big set of markers and you have the ingredients for dozens of coloring activities. See some ideas here.

Before you invest in anything, make sure you understand your tolerance for mess. Don’t buy glitter glue if you don’t want to clean glitter off your kitchen table!
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More ideas:

• A box of sidewalk chalk can keep most children busy for hours.

• Old magazines can be cut up and made into collages.

• Don’t underestimate the appeal of a coloring book and crayons!

What toys should grandparents have at their house?

Maybe you’re like me and you saved some of your children’s toys for your grandchildren. They may be all you need! Just be very careful that they are safe. Older toys often have parts that are choking hazards, like the old Fisher-Price Little People. They also may contain unsafe levels of cancer-causing chemicals such as phthalates and short chain chlorinated paraffins, which were used as plasticizers and flame retardants in toys. One study showed that 84% of the toys examined had levels of these chemicals that exceeded current safety standards. Read What Grandparents Need to Know: Toy Safety to make sure that your old toys won’t harm your grandkids

Okay, so now that you’ve read that and looked over your current toy inventory, you may realize you need to add to your stash.

If you are in the market for a few new toys for your grandkids, keep in mind that the best toys for grandparents to have at home have three qualities:

1. Open-ended play potential

2. Novelty

3. Safety

Grandchildren can get hours of play from things like blocks, a set of animals and some cars or trucks. All of these items can be used in different ways and will keep up with a child’s growing mind. Here are some of our favorites:

Your grandchild will play far longer with something they don’t have at home. We’ve got a wooden car ramp (similar to the one pictured above) that captivates all small children, and I've resisted the urge to buy one for my grandchildren to have at their house.

​If you will be minding your grandchild in your home on a long-term basis, you may want to invest in a Lovevery subscription. You can keep some of the toys at your house and send some home. That will ensure a regular supply of novel, age-appropriate entertainment. Read our review here.

Make sure you pay attention to suggested ages for any toys you have or buy. Those age ranges are there to keep your grandchild from accidental injury. Check all toys for loose parts and choking hazards, and make sure any button battery compartments can only be opened with a screwdriver.

And of course, books!

Looking at picture books and reading stories together is one of my grandchildren’s favorite activities at our house. We’ve got a large collection of books I saved from when my children were young, and we always make a trip to the library to add some new titles to the mix. Our website has several posts with book recommendations, such as The 7 Best Books for Active Toddlers and 8 Picture Books about Grandmothers. Find others by typing "books" in the blog search bar. You can find more book suggestions in our Amazon shop—click here to see all our recommendations.

When your grandchildren are visiting, it doesn’t take a lot of fancy playthings to enjoy each other’s company. In fact, the kids look forward to the simple things. When I asked my 6-year-old grandson what grandparents should have at their house for their grandchildren, his answer was immediate: “Hot Chocolate!”

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