Have Fun with Grandma

If you have the chance to enjoy some time with your grandmother, you're in for a treat! In most cases, you won't be able play with grandma like you do with friends your own age, but that doesn't mean you can't have fun. There are games you can play, crafts you can learn, recipes you can master, and many adventures to be had with grandma! Enjoy your time with her by spending quality time together, creating fun projects, and understanding her so you can get along better.

Steps

Spending Quality Time Together

1. Put your technology away and set it to silent. Technology can be very distracting, both for you and grandma. Turning off your alerts and putting away your electronic devices will show her that she has your full attention. Have grandma do the same by saying something like:
   • "Hey grandma, I don't want any interruptions today while we're hanging out, so I thought we could turn off our devices and do something else."
   • "Grandma, you've been using your iPad for quite a while. Is there a game or an activity we can both do together?"
2. Discover and share mutual interests. You never know when you and grandma might have something in common. You might both have a deep love of music, art, sports, reading, and so on. They only way to find out is to ask. Tell grandma about your interest, and ask about hers as well saying things like:
   • "My English class has been reading the book Of Mice and Men. Do you like that writer, John Steinbeck?"
   • "I joined the dance team last week, and I'm having so much fun. Do you have a favorite dance? Could you teach me how to do it?"
   • "Grandma, today I want to do something we can both enjoy. Maybe we could play a board game in the park or go bird watching. What do you think?"
3. Try your hand at grandma's hobbies or learn a new skill. If you think some of grandma's hobbies and skills, like sewing, crocheting, baking, and so on, are too old fashioned for you, you could be missing out on fun without knowing it. Give these activities a shot. At the very least, your grandma will likely appreciate you taking an interest in the things she does.
   • Many of your hobbies will be too difficult or strenuous for your grandma. By picking up one of her hobbies, you'll both be able to have fun doing something together.
   • Puzzles and tabletop games, like cards or board games, will be less physically difficult for your grandma and can be a lot of fun.
   • Some common skills your grandma might be able to teach you includes things like making jam, writing shorthand, mending, and more.
4. Suggest a change of pace. Your grandma probably has a daily routine that doesn't change very much. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but doing something different could be exciting and fun for both of you. Ask your grandma if she'd be interested in:
   • Going on a photo safari. Use your camera or phone to hunt for interesting pictures, like a red bird, a three-legged dog, or a bird wearing a bread crust necklace. You could even turn your safari into a competition.
   • Visiting a local museum or art exhibit. Many museums have kids sections, so if you're younger, there will be something fun to do for you and grandma both.
   • Heading to the library or community center for local events, like movies, game nights, book clubs, and more.

Creating Fun Projects Together

1. Make seasonal crafts. Before computers, cell phones, and TVs became common, people had to find fun things to do in their free time. Your grandma probably learned many seasonal crafts, like apple picking, making Christmas tree ornaments, making leaf rubbings, making daisy chains, and more. Try these with your grandma.
   • You might start a conversation about seasonal crafts with your grandma by saying something like, "Before cell phones and TV, what did you do to pass time in the spring? Can you teach me springtime crafts?"
   • Seasonal crafts are especially popular around major holidays, like Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Independence Day, and so on. Try making holiday oriented crafts with grandma.
2. Learn to bake. Baking is an activity many grandmothers enjoy, and yours might too. As an added bonus, when you finish baking, you can look forward to a delicious treat. Ask your grandma if you can bake your and her favorite recipes together.
   • While baking, you'll have plenty of time to talk, but you can also groove to music at low volume. You could even alternate between your favorite albums and grandma's.
   • This is also a good opportunity to help grandma out. Often, you'll need special ingredients for certain dishes. While at the store, ask grandma if there are any heavy groceries she needs help with.
3. Master popular family recipes. Your grandma has had a long time to perfect her recipes and become a cooking pro. By learning popular family recipes, you'll be preserving your family traditions while having fun in the kitchen.
   • Small adjustments to recipes are often what makes them special. Ask your grandma what she does differently or adds to family recipes to make them taste so good.
   • You never know when a recipe and cooking lessons from grandma might come in handy. Your friends or significant other might be impressed by your skill in the kitchen.
   • If your grandma is a fan of cooking shows, you and grandma might have fun pretending that you are putting on your own cooking show as you make family recipes.
4. Help grandma in the garden. Digging into the soil and working with plants has a relaxing and uplifting effect. Spending time with grandma in the garden might feel like work, but really you'll be creating something beautiful while you and grandma receive the benefits of working in nature.
   • If your grandma doesn't have a garden, you could buy her some potted plants and help her care for these. A small indoors herb garden can add color and life to her home while still being useful.
   • If grandma doesn't have space for potted plants, you might consider making her a living wall. This can be given as a gift, and then you both can enjoy caring for it together.

Getting along with Grandma

1. Respect cultural differences. In some cases, your grandma might live in another country and have a very different culture from what you're used to. But also, many grandmas are old enough that the culture today is very different from what they grew up with. This can make grandma feel out of her element. To respect cultural differences you can:
   • Avoid judging or making jokes about grandma. Even if some things she does seem weird in your home culture, she probably thinks the same thing about your culture.
   • Get to know your roots. Learning the meaning and history behind family traditions can be very interesting, and is also a way you can show respect.
2. Talk to grandma in a way she can understand. Some grandma's may have no difficulty following the lingo used by you and your friends. Other grandma's might struggle to understand, have difficulty hearing, and so on. You should talk with grandma clearly, choosing words that aren't slang.
   • You might say, "Hi grandma! How are you? I'm good. I've been busy with school. My favorite subject is English. What was your favorite subject when you went to school?"
   • Instead of avoiding fun new slang words and terms, grandma might be interested learning fun, popular expressions and using them herself.
   • You might teach grandma slang by explaining, "I'm sorry, you might not be familiar with that expression. When I said "to' up" I meant "tore up" or "ruined." "
   • If your grandma is hard of hearing, you might get a little frustrated speaking with her. When you start feeling frustrated, imagine how happy you would be if someone took time to talk to you if you were hard of hearing.
3. Take your time. Grandma has spent her entire life working and taking care of people. It's only natural that at this point in her life she wants to take things easy and relax. When you push grandma to do too much, it can sometimes cause her to get cranky or overwhelmed.
   • If you feel yourself rushing, you can slow down by breathing slowly in and out on a 10 count. Inhale deeply and completely as you count from 1 to 10, pause for a moment, and then exhale completely as you count to 10 once more.
4. Cut your losses when necessary. Sometimes, nothing you say can change your grandma's opinion on a thing, even if she's wrong. Then again, if you spent most of your life believing something, it might turn into a habit that's hard to break, just like grandma. When you find a conversation is going nowhere and beginning to frustrate you, change the topic by saying things like:
   • "Grandma, I love spending time with you, but talking about this is starting to make me feel uncomfortable. Could we talk about something else?"
   • "We can agree to disagree, but I hear what you're saying. Let's talk about something different. How have your hobbies been going? Have you made any new crafts?"

Tips

• Be patient, especially if you're young. Most young people have much more energy than the elderly.

Related Articles

• Celebrate a 90th Birthday Party
• Stay a Night at Grandma's House when You Can't Sleep
• Live and Deal With an Old Person As a Teen
• Cope With Annoying Grandparents

Sources and Citations

See also

• Care for Your Grandparents
• Be a Good Grandmother
• Cope With Annoying Grandparents

What links here

• Stop Dealing With Someone Else's Lateness