How to Remember Your Grandpa or Grandma on Grandparents Day
Every September on the first Sunday after Labor Day, we take time to celebrate our grandparents and all they have done for us. Even after Grandpa or Grandma passes away, we can still feel close to them and remember their legacy on National Grandparents Day.
Honor your late grandparent this year with these heartfelt ideas:
- Share Stories with Family
- Cook Their Favorite Meal
- Memorialize Them with a Fingerprint Keepsake
- Participate in Their Favorite Activity
- Plant a Tree or Flowers in Their Memory
- Visit Their Grave
- Watch Old Home Movies
- Create a Memory Book of Your Favorite Pictures Together
Share Stories with Family
Whether you gather in person or send a group text, ask your family members to share their favorite memory of your grandparent with each other. The stories are sure to help you feel close to them again and can even be an opportunity for you to learn something new about your grandpa or grandma.
Cook Their Favorite Meal
If there’s one thing most people associate with their grandparents, it is delicious homecooked meals. Look through your family recipe book to find a favorite meal that your grandparent loved to eat. Preparing, serving, and eating the meal will bring new meaning to comfort food as you remember your grandparents and the times you shared together.
Memorialize them with a Fingerprint Keepsake
There’s nothing quite like having a tangible reminder of your late grandparent to hold. Fingerprint Keepsakes are the perfect opportunity to feel that connection. Engraved with the lines and grooves that made their fingerprint unique, each piece tells their story in a heartfelt, touching way. Jewelry engraved with the fingerprints of two people can be a beautiful option for those who have lost two grandparents, as it allows you to hold both Grandma and Grandpa close to your heart.
Participate in Their Favorite Activity
Sometimes the best way to feel close to a Loved One who has died is by taking part in one of their favorite activities. Think about what your grandpa or grandma loved to do and spend a few hours doing it. You’ll feel like they are still with you as you spend an afternoon at a baseball game or a quiet morning tending to the garden.
Plant a Tree or Flowers in Their Memory
Flowers, trees, and other plants are a wonderful way to honor the life of someone who has died, as they represent our Loved One’s spirit continuing to live on. Grandparents Day in September is an ideal time to plant perennials because the warmer weather gives them a chance to establish their roots before winter. When you see them bloom year after year, they will be a beautiful reminder of your grandma or grandpa.
Visit Their Grave
Pay your respects to your grandparent by visiting their eternal resting place. You can sit quietly by yourself for a short time or even talk to them about your life and the ways you miss them. Many people will choose to gently place their hand on their grandparent’s headstone, leaving behind a fingerprint. This symbolizes you giving them a little piece of you to keep with them.
Watch Old Home Movies
If you have old home movies available, take some time to reminisce and watch the videos. Being able to see the way your grandma tilted her head as she laughed or hear the raspy notes of your grandpa’s voice once again can help you feel closer to them.
Create a Memory Book of Your Favorite Pictures Together
Put together a new photo album dedicated to you and your late grandparent. From childhood and on, the pictures of the two of you with each other will help tell the story of the bond you shared. Consider writing in some of your favorite memories alongside the pictures to create an even more meaningful heirloom that can be treasured for years to come.
This Grandparents Day, and every day, we hope that you can continue to feel close to your grandpa or grandma. May you know that they live on through you and the memory of all of the special moments you shared together.
