7 Meaningful Ways to Show Love to Grandchildren
Looking for meaningful ways to show your love to your grandchildren? Beyond store-bought gifts, these seven simple yet powerful gestures will help you create lasting bonds and show your grandchildren just how special they are to you.
If you enter any store during the month of January, you’d be hard pressed to miss the fact that Valentine’s Day is on the horizon. Retailers work hard to convince you that to show love to your grandchildren you should buy them a pink stuffed animal or a shirt with hearts on it. And while those Valentine’s gifts for grandkids are adorable, there are more creative ways to show your love for your grandchildren—and they aren’t just for Valentine’s Day.
Seven ways to show love to your grandchildren
Here are seven ways to show your grandchildren how much you love them. Better yet, most of them won’t cost a cent!
1. Create a Heart Blizzard
This is a tradition they won’t age out of! Get a package of heart shaped doilies or sticky notes. Or just cut out a stack of hearts from paper: construction paper, wrapping paper, or whatever you have handy. Then, write an affirmation about why you love them on each one. Make them as personal and specific as you can—the more, the better. Here are some examples:
“I love when you make your baby brother laugh.”
“I love how well you listen to your mama.”
“I love the hugs you give me.”
“I’m so proud of how hard you work in school.”
“I had so much fun when you taught me how to play Minecraft.”
“I love when you share your stories with me.”
“You are my favorite person to eat cookies with.”
Sign your name on each one, then either mail them or hand them off to mom or dad. Ask them to stick the hearts up where your grandchild will see them when they wake up or come home from school. The bathroom mirror? Their place at the kitchen table? Their bedroom door? While you may not get to see their face as they read each one (or listen as they are read to them!), you can be confident that they will feel how much you love them.
2. Create Special Hello and Goodbye Routines
Young children thrive on repetition and routine. A special greeting or farewell ritual will be something your grandchild will look forward to sharing with you. This might be a gentle "morning tickle," a special wave, or a goodbye phrase that's just between the two of you. When creating a routine, remember to:
Make it playful and natural
Let your grandchild help create the routine
Keep it simple and consistent
3. Say “I Love You”
Don’t underestimate the power of simply saying, “I love you.” Knowing that someone thinks you are very special can act like a shield against life’s hard moments. Make it a point to tell your grandchildren that you love them, that you love spending time with them, and that you will always be in their corner. And tell them often.
4. Send a Hug in the Mail
I love this idea from Grandy Camp. Have someone trace you with arms outstretched on a big piece of paper, then color it in, cut it out and fold it up to send your hug in the mail. Your grandchild can open the package and wrap your paper arms around themselves. Find full directions here.
5. Display Their Photos Prominently
One of our grandchildren’s favorite things to do when they visit is watching the photo slide show on our Nixplay digital frame. They love seeing themselves and the things we’ve done together.
Having photos of your grandchild in your home – and pointing them out during visits or video chats – shows them that they're an important part of your life. Young children love seeing themselves in photos and hearing stories about the pictures. This also helps them understand that you think about them even when they're not around.
6. Write Them Love Letters
A letter in the mail is the perfect way to show your grandchildren how much you love them. Letters are a lasting way to share your stories, which are so important to a child’s sense of self and family. A monthly letter also lets your grandchildren know you are thinking of them even when you aren’t together, and that you want to know more about their world.
Knowing that it can be hard to know what to write month after month, we created Grandparent Love Letters to help inspire you. Each of the twelve templates has a theme with suggestions to help you share your stories and find out what is important to your grandchildren. Plus, you’ll get tips for writing to grandchildren of any age—and ideas for getting them to write back. Find Grandparent Love Letters in our shop.
7. Love Their Parents
Children notice how others treat the people they love. Showing them that you love their parents, too, sends a message to your grandchildren that family is important. Make sure you are including them in the small gestures you make:
When you are writing out affirmations for your heart blizzard, include some for your adult child and their partner.
Tell them clearly that you think they are doing a great job and let them know how proud you are of them.
Send them a text with a hug and heart.
Tuck a little note into your monthly letter for your grandchild.
Small, consistent gestures make our grandchildren feel loved
Too often, we are tempted by the many things we can buy our grandkids. The truth is, they won’t remember most of the things we bought them. However, they will remember if we made them feel loved. They will remember the small, consistent gestures that show you are paying attention.
Over time, these little ways of showing your grandchild how much you love them build the strong, lasting bonds that enrich both your lives.
