Grandparents Day Ideas: 35 Things Kids Can Do for Grandparents Near or Far

The best Grandparents Day ideas give a grandparent time and attention, not another thing for the shelf. Spend an afternoon doing their thing with them, cook their recipe while they teach it and write it down, sort and label a box of their photos, or have a child interview them with a few good questions and record the answers. If they live far away, book a video call with a plan, or mail something a child made. In the US, National Grandparents Day is the first Sunday after Labor Day, which in 2027 is Sunday, September 12.

Below are 35 acts, numbered straight through and grouped by situation: grandparents nearby, grandparents far away, homemade gifts from kids, school and preschool events, church and community groups, a grandparent in assisted living or a nursing home, a grandparent with memory loss, adopting a grandparent, and remembering a grandparent who has died. There is also an interview kit of 20 questions kids can ask and a set of card lines to copy, sorted by age. Most of it is free. The few acts that cost money say so.

One rule for the whole list: the child does the act. An adult can drive, dial and hold the glue, but the drawing, the question and the “thank you” should come from the kid. That is the part a grandparent keeps.

Grandparents Day ideas with grandparents nearby

If you can get to them, the gift is an afternoon on their terms. Let them choose the activity and let them be the expert.

1. Spend an afternoon doing their thing. Fishing, gardening, a card game, the hardware store, the crossword. Ask them a week ahead, “What would you like to do on Grandparents Day?” and go along with the answer, even if it is the hardware store. Easier: Sit with them for one round of whatever they already do on a Sunday.

2. Cook their recipe with them and write it down. Pick the dish the family asks for. Have the grandparent teach it while a child writes every step on an index card, including the “a handful” and “until it looks right” parts. Take a photo of the finished dish next to the card. Costs money, the ingredients, usually $10 to $25. Easier: Ask them to dictate the recipe while you type it into your phone.

3. Hold a photo-labeling session. Bring a box or album of old photos and a pencil. The grandparent tells you who is in each one and roughly when, and a child writes it lightly on the back or on a sticky note. Easier: Label ten photos, not the whole box.

4. Fix their phone, then teach the fix. Update the apps, make the text bigger, clear the storage, put the family’s numbers in favorites, set up photo sharing. Then show them how you did it, slowly, and write the steps on a card they keep by the phone. Ask before you delete anything. Easier: Make the text size larger and add one favorite contact.

5. Do one job they have been putting off. Change the high light bulbs, carry the fan down from the attic, weed the front bed. Ask, “Is there a job you’ve been waiting on someone for?” Easier: Take their trash and recycling to the curb.

6. Ask them to teach the kids a skill. Sewing on a button, whistling with two fingers, shuffling cards, tying a fishing knot, a song in the language they grew up with. Let the child practice it in front of them before you leave. Easier: Ask them to teach one card trick or one word.

7. Take a walk to a place from their life. The house they lived in, the school they went to, the church they were married in, the park they took your parent to. Let them narrate. Easier: Look the place up on a map on your phone and let them tell you about it from the couch.

Long-distance Grandparents Day ideas

Distance changes the format, not the point. A plan makes the call more than “say hi to Grandma.”

8. Schedule a video call with a plan. Book a time on the weekend and agree on one activity: the child reads a book aloud, shows a drawing, plays a song, or asks interview questions from the list below. Put it on everyone’s calendar. Easier: A ten-minute phone call at a set time, with one question ready.

9. Mail drawings, a week early. Have a child draw something for the grandparent: their house, their dog, the two of them together. Write the date and the child’s age on the back. Post it the Monday before so it arrives in time. Costs money, one stamp. Easier: Photograph the drawing and text it on Sunday morning.

10. Record a voice-memo interview. A child calls the grandparent, sets the phone to record (with permission), and asks three to five questions from the kit below. Save the file somewhere safe and send a copy to the grandparent and the rest of the family. Easier: Ask one question and record the answer.

11. Cook their recipe at the same time. Both kitchens, one video call, the same dish. They coach, the kids stir. Costs money, the ingredients. Easier: Cook it on your own and send them a photo with “We made your recipe.”

12. Start a slow letter exchange. The child writes a short letter and asks one question at the end. The grandparent answers and asks one back. Agree on one letter a month. Costs money, stamps. Easier: A postcard with three sentences on it.

Questions to ask grandparents: an interview kit for kids

Grandparents often answer a child’s question more fully than an adult’s.

13. Interview a grandparent and keep the answers. Pick five questions from the list. Ask one at a time, then stay quiet and let them finish. Record the audio or write the answers in a notebook with the date on the first page. Give them a copy. Easier: Ask two questions over dinner.

Twenty questions to copy:

• What was your house like when you were my age?
• What was your favorite food when you were a kid?
• What games did you play outside?
• What did you get in trouble for?
• Who was your best friend, and what did you do together?
• What was school like for you?
• What was your first job, and how much did it pay?
• How did you meet Grandma (or Grandpa)?
• What is the bravest thing you ever did?
• What did you want to be when you grew up?
• What was the first car you rode in, or drove?
• What songs did you love as a teenager?
• What is a smell that reminds you of your childhood?
• What was my mom (or dad) like when they were little?
• What is something that was invented in your lifetime that surprised you?
• What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?
• What holiday tradition do you remember most?
• What is something you are really good at that I might not know about?
• What is a mistake you learned the most from?
• What do you hope I remember about you?

For more questions in this spirit, a few of the prompts in our kindness journal prompts work well as interview starters too.

Homemade Grandparents Day gifts from kids

Keep it cheap and keep the child in charge.

14. Make a coupon book of time. Five to ten coupons a child writes and decorates: “One walk with me,” “I will read you a story,” “I will help with the garden for an hour,” “One video call where I show you my room.” Staple them together. Easier: Three coupons on one sheet of paper.

15. Make a family recipe card set. Copy two or three of the grandparent’s own recipes onto cards in the child’s handwriting, with a small drawing on each. Easier: One card.

16. Make a “things I love about you” jar. A child writes ten short reasons on strips of paper, folds them and puts them in a clean jar. Easier: Write five reasons on one card.

17. Make a handprint or footprint picture with the date. Paint the child’s hand, press it on card, and write the name, age and date underneath. Very young children can do this with help. Costs money if you need paint, usually under $5. Easier: Trace the hand in marker.

18. Frame a photo of the two of them. Print one photo of the child with the grandparent and put it in a frame the child decorates with stickers or paint. Costs money, a print and a cheap frame, about $5 to $10. Easier: Print the photo and tape a handwritten note to the back.

What to write in a Grandparents Day card

The best card has one specific memory and one thing to look forward to. These lines can be copied as written or used as a starting point.

19. Write a card with one specific memory. Help the child pick one moment, write it in their words, and post or hand-deliver it. Easier: Have the child dictate one line while you write it, then they sign.

Ages 3 to 5 (an adult writes, the child draws and signs):

I love it when we read books at your house.

You make the best pancakes. Love, Maya.

This is a picture of you and me at the park.

Ages 6 to 9:

Thank you for teaching me how to play checkers. I still win sometimes.

My favorite thing about your house is the cookie jar.

I like it when you tell me stories about when Mom was little.

Can we go fishing again soon? I will bait my own hook this time.

Ages 10 and up:

Thank you for always coming to my games, even the cold ones.

I made your chili recipe last week. It was not as good as yours, but it was close.

I didn’t know until this year how much you did for our family. Thank you.

Happy Grandparents Day. I’m already counting down to our next visit.

Grandparents Day ideas for school, preschool and kindergarten

Schools, preschools and daycares often host a Grandparents Day breakfast, assembly or class visit around the date. The best ones give children a job and include every child.

20. Host a Grandparents and Grand-friends Day. Invite “grandparents and grand-friends,” not just grandparents. A grand-friend is any older adult a child loves: a neighbor, a great-aunt, a family friend, a godparent. Put that wording in the first line of the invitation. Easier: Change the wording on the flyer you were already sending.

21. Make sure no child is left without a guest. Some children have no grandparent nearby, or no grandparent at all. Line up a few spare special adults ahead of time: retired staff, the school librarian, a volunteer from a local senior center. Ask families privately, not in front of the class. Easier: Let any child invite any special adult, by video call if needed.

22. Have the children serve. The kids carry the coffee, hand out the programs and pull out the chairs. In preschool and kindergarten, one job per child is plenty. Easier: Children hand each guest a name tag they decorated.

23. Run the interview at school. Each child asks their guest two questions from the kit above and draws the answer. Put the drawings up on a wall. Easier: One question each.

24. Send something home for children whose guest could not come. A card for a grandparent who lives far away or is in care, written in class and posted by the school. Costs money, postage. Easier: Send the card home in the backpack with an envelope.

For more classroom planning, see our guide to kindness week at school.

Grandparents Day ideas for church and community groups

Churches, scout troops, libraries and clubs can reach older adults nobody is visiting that weekend.

25. Honor the grandparents in the congregation or group. Ask them to stand, or read the names of members who are grandparents and great-grandparents. Have children hand each one a card they made. Easier: A short mention and a round of applause.

26. Host an intergenerational lunch. A potluck after the service or meeting with children seated next to older members, plus a list of interview questions on each table. Costs money if the group pays for food; a potluck keeps it low. Easier: Coffee and cookies with mixed tables.

27. Deliver cards to homebound members. Children make cards in Sunday school or at the meeting, and volunteers drop them off that afternoon. Easier: Post them on Monday.

For a grandparent in assisted living or a nursing home

A visit is the gift, and a short, well-planned one beats a long, tired one. Call the facility ahead to check visiting hours and any rules about food. Our guide to acts of kindness in elderly care has more for families visiting a care setting.

28. Visit with an activity in hand. Bring something to do together: a photo album to label, a deck of cards, a book the child can read aloud, a drawing to color. Easier: Bring one photo and ask the story behind it.

29. Decorate their door or room. A banner the kids made, a framed family photo, a calendar with the next visit already written in. Ask staff what can go on the door. Easier: Tape one drawing by the bed.

30. Bring a card for the roommate or a neighbor down the hall. Some residents will have no visitor that weekend. Ask staff who might like a card from a child. Easier: A smile and a “Happy Grandparents Day” in the hall.

For a grandparent with memory loss

Keep it simple and sensory, and never quiz. “Do you remember me?” or “What’s my name?” can make someone feel tested. Introduce yourselves instead: “Hi Grandpa, it’s Sam and Lily.”

31. Bring something to touch, hear or smell. A soft blanket, a hand lotion they used to wear, music from when they were young, a flower from their old garden. Play one song and sit with them. Check with staff before bringing food or scented products. Easier: Hold their hand and hum along to one song.

32. Do a simple task side by side. Folding small towels, sorting buttons by color, brushing their hair if they like it, looking through a picture book together. Let them lead and do not correct. Easier: Look at one photo together and talk about what you see, not what they should recall.

For grandparents who still want to give back themselves, acts of kindness seniors can do has ideas they can do with the grandkids.

Adopt a grandparent

Plenty of older adults have no family nearby. Grandparents Day is a good day to start a connection that lasts past the weekend.

33. Adopt a grandparent near you. Ask a local senior center, assisted living community or your place of worship whether they run an adopt-a-grandparent or pen-pal program, or whether a resident without visitors would like one. Start with a card from the kids, then a visit, then a standing monthly date. Easier: Introduce your family to one older neighbor who lives alone and drop off a card. The random acts of kindness for seniors hub has more.

When a grandparent has died, or the relationship is hard

Grandparents Day can sting. Nobody has to celebrate it. If you want to mark it, these are quiet ways to do that.

34. Do something they used to do, in their honor. Make their recipe, plant the flower they grew, watch the team they followed, or take the kids to the place they loved. Tell the children one story about them while you do it. There are more ideas in our guide to acts of kindness in memory of someone. Easier: Say their name at dinner and share one memory each.

35. Let a child honor another older adult instead. If a grandparent has died, lives far away with no contact, or the relationship is not safe or simple, a child can make a card for a grand-friend, a neighbor or a resident at a care home. No explanation needed. Easier: Skip the day entirely. That is allowed.

What to skip

• Quizzing a grandparent with memory loss. “Do you remember who I am?” turns a visit into a test. Introduce yourself and talk about what is in front of you.
• Buying stuff to fill the gap. Most grandparents have enough mugs. An afternoon or a recorded story is the gift that lasts.
• Making the child perform. A forced song or poem in front of strangers can make the day stressful. Offer it, and let the child say no.
• Announcing in class who has no grandparent. Ask families privately and use “grand-friends” wording from the start.
• Filming the whole visit. Record the interview with permission, then put the phone away.
• Fixing the phone without explaining. If you change settings they cannot find afterward, you have made the phone harder to use. Show them and write it down.

Frequently asked questions

When is Grandparents Day 2027?

In the US, National Grandparents Day falls on the first Sunday after Labor Day, so in 2027 it is Sunday, September 12. For any year, find Labor Day, the first Monday in September, and go to the next Sunday. It has been a national observance in the US since the late 1970s.

What are good Grandparents Day activities for kids?

Cooking a grandparent’s recipe with them, interviewing them with a few questions, labeling old photos together, and making a handmade card or coupon book. If they live far away, a scheduled video call with a plan or a mailed drawing works well. Most of these are free.

What can preschoolers make for Grandparents Day?

A handprint picture with the child’s name, age and date, a drawing of the two of them, or a card where the child draws and an adult writes their words. One small project per child is plenty.

What do you write in a Grandparents Day card?

One specific memory and one thing to look forward to. “Thank you for teaching me checkers. Can we play again when you visit?” beats a generic “Happy Grandparents Day.” Young children can dictate a line and sign their name.

What can you do for Grandparents Day in a nursing home?

Visit with an activity in hand, such as a photo album, a deck of cards or a book a child can read aloud. Decorate their door, bring a card for a resident who may not have a visitor, and check visiting hours and food rules with the facility first.

How do you include kids without a grandparent on Grandparents Day?

Call the event Grandparents and Grand-friends Day and let children invite any special adult: a neighbor, an aunt, a family friend. Line up a few spare guests ahead of time and ask families privately, so no child is singled out.

Where to go from here

The one act to do today is to put the date on the calendar and ask a grandparent what they would like to do that day. Then pick one act from this list and plan it. If you want a small kindness every day between now and then, the free daily kindness challenge picks one for you, and the family kindness hub has more acts to do together.

Get one small act a day

Reading a guide is easy; changing your habits is hard. The free daily kindness challengesends one small act at a time so kindness becomes a practice, not a bookmark.

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