Long-Distance Grandparenting Made Easier
Progressive Gift Giving Establishes Tradition and Bonds
Nov 3, 2009
Making frequent or surprise visits is usually not possible and grandparents have to find other ways to create strong bonds and relationships with grandchildren.
But long-distance grandparenting can also be fun and rewarding when creative activities and ideas are exercised. With the upcoming holidays, it's a good time to consider a new way of celebrating the holiday with grandchildren living a distance away.
Progressive Gift Giving
One innovative and exciting way to engage children and create a special tradition is progressive gift giving. This process begins by choosing a specific day prior to a holiday or birthday and build up to the big event. For example, to celebrate the Christmas holiday, start the progressive gift giving tradition on December 1.
Send a small piece of a total gift each week or every 2 to 3 days. How often packages are sent depends on the nature of the gift. The goal is to create an air of anticipation and excitement around the process as much as the gift.
Start by engaging the parents too. They can play a key role in reinforcing the nature of the gift giving and explain that grandparents are periodically sending small pieces of a total package. Parents can also help young children determine a good place to keep each small gift as it is received and then put the entire gift together when all packages are received.
Does this sound expensive or time-consuming? It doesn't have to be!
Tips for Progressive Gift Giving
Consider a child's primary area of interest and focus on that for a gift giving theme.
- Children interested in art would enjoy receiving colored pencils, markers, crayons, sketch books, stickers, templates, and other artistic supplies.
- If a child enjoys a particular sport, focus on that for gifts. A baseball lover would enjoy receiving his or her own baseball, trading cards, caps, visors, t-shirts, sports socks, and other relevant gifts.
- A young girl interested in ballet would adore colorful hair ribbons, ballet story books, special note cards, tights, pictures of ballerinas, and related items.
- Children who enjoy cooking would appreciate cookie cutters, an apron, chef's hat, recipe books, storybooks about cooking, child-sized utensils, and other items.
The key is to engage the child by identifying a particular area of interest. It is not important to spend lots of money on any one piece of the gift, or even the total gift. The objective is to demonstrate an interest in the grandchild's area of interest and create a special bond.
Long-distance grandparenting can be a lot of fun when creative ideas are used. Building strong relationships with children does not always require gifts. Text messaging, phone calls, letters, and other forms of communication are also effective. But when gift-giving is part of the plan, progressive gift giving can be a good option.
Not only will progressive gift giving make a child's birthday or upcoming holiday special, it will build a tradition that will be long remembered by grandchildren.
For more informationon long-distance grandparenting, read also Celebrate Unbirthdays With Grandchildren.
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