Grandparent's Day

"Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future" (Gail Lumet Buckley).

Every one of us is a grandchild and for many of us memories of the times spent with our grandparents are among the dearest images from our childhood. Grandparents have always been there for babysitting and taking care of the children and to provide those sneaky treats like biscuits in bed, when Mum and Dad aren’t looking.

In the US, Marian McQuade, mother of fifteen children, led a campaign for the establishment of an official holiday in honour of grandparents. The first Grandparent’s Day was officially declared in West Virginia in 1973 by Governor Arch Moore. Later that year, Senator Jennings Randolph introduced a resolution in United States Senate to make Grandparent’s Day a national holiday. In 1978, five years after its inception, Congress passed legislation proclaiming the first Sunday after Labour Day as National Grandparent’s Day. In 2007, Grandparent’s day will be celebrated on the 9th of September.

The month of September was chosen to signify the autumn years of life. The holiday has its own official song, A Song for Grandma And Grandpa by Johnny Prill, while its official flowers are forget-me-nots.

It’s not customary to celebrate Grandparent’s day in the UK. But wouldn’t it be nice if we could all express our appreciation and love for our grandparents not just occasionally, on small family gatherings, but cherish them on their own special day. We celebrate Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, why shouldn’t we observe Grandparent’s Day as well?

Beside the traditional image of the cooking, knitting grandma and the handyman grandpa there are so many other things to learn from them. It’s good to know that one can always rely on their wisdom, experience and strength. By celebrating Grandparent’s Day we formally establish a link between the past and the future of the family, and mark the value of this relation.

There are simple ways to show our love and appreciation of our grandparents. The most important is to spend time together. This is easy for those families who live nearby. What a wonderful gift for the grandparents to visit them or invite them for a family get-together on their special day!

For many of us, however, this is not possible as we live in different places, sometimes different countries or continents and it takes effort to keep these relationships alive. If you can’t get together another simple but meaningful gift is a nice bouquet of forget-me-nots. On the one hand, they are the official flowers of this day; on the other they are the symbols of true love.

You can surprise your grandparents with a present you’ve made with the skills learnt from them: grandma’s favorite cake, a knitted scarf (or jumper, for the really skilled ones) or a decorated picture-frame.

Buying gifts for your grandparent’s doesn’t have to be expensive. Spa gifts for grandma or outdoor gifts like Swiss army knives for grandpa don’t cost the earth. Personalised gifts are all time favorites. A paperweight glass cube with the picture of the grandchildren etched into the middle of the glass will take pride of place on the mantle piece. Another good option is symbolic gifts or gifts that have special meaning, like a circle of life necklace or a little guardian angel (great for those grandparents who love traveling). UK gift store www.berapt.co.uk specializes in personalized and meaningful gifts. This is a great option if you don’t live near your grandparents. BeRapt will provide a complimentary gift card on which they will print your personalized message and you can have your gift tucked inside their beautiful red gift boxes with hand-tied ivory ribbon.

Cherish your grandparents this year on 9 September.