Founded in 1979 by Marian McQuade of West Virginia, National Grandparents Day is celebrated this year on 1st October (or the first Sunday after labour day if you are in the US). Unlike so many celebrations of its ilk it is not a “hallmark” day, that’s to say one that is designed to see you buying gifts and cards, but rather a day to get together with your grandparents and spend time together as a family.
You don’t need to spend lots of money, you don’t even need to make fancy plans for the day, just gather everyone together and spend quality time as a family; it’s the perfect occasion to get together.
Family Reunion
Nowadays it’s all too common for families to live all over the country rather than close by, make National Grandparents Day the perfect excuse to get everyone together in one place with a family reunion. It’s a good idea to start planning straight away though if everyone needs time to make travel arrangements.
One of the main principles behind the celebration is to give grandparents the opportunity to show love not just for their own children but also for their children’s children. Coming together as a family can have so many benefits for all generations of the family, youngsters benefit enormously from being around older people and vice versa.
The Perfect Table
Of course, no big family reunion could possibly be complete without a meal, and it is worth considering that there is more to a meal than just the food; the ambience and the atmosphere, and even the fabric dining chairs all play a huge part in creating a good meal.
When it comes to a big family meal, you want the conversation to flow, with everyone being able to join in, after all the whole point of a reunion is to get everyone together. An oval or round extendable dining table such as this Victorian distressed white extending oval dining table is the perfect choice for your dining room, and an extending table gives you the flexibility to seat even more people.
If you are worried about getting the conversation flowing, and it can happen when people haven’t seen each other for a while and don’t know what to say then why not set a few nibbles in serving dishes out for people to help themselves; food can always help to get the conversation started. We love this Bramble Flower Candy Dip dish, it won’t look out of place in either a contemporary dining room or something that is more traditional in style. Place it on a glass cabinet in the corner of the room and watch people head over to dip their hands in!
Activities
And when the meal is over why not carry on the celebration with a few activities to bring the generations even closer. Board games are a perfect example of something you could do together, and something you don’t need to rely in good weather for. Why not organise a chess challenge between the grandparents and the nephews?
If you are fortunate enough to have one of those lovely warm October days then get the whole family outside, you could have a game of football or even just take a leisurely walk in the local countryside.
However, you choose to celebrate National Grandparents Day, spend it with the people you care about because spending time together is so important.