I was introduced to the idea of Grandma and Grandpa Dates by Michele Bettridge from giddygrandma.com. This is a clever way to be “intentional” about your grandparenting experience. If your grandchildren live within a short driving distance but are just far away enough you can’t connect as often as you like, this planned-for connection may work well for you. Grandma and Grandpa dates have been a hit with our long-distance grandchildren as well! With some creativity, these would also work remotely.
Grandma and Grandpa Date Scratch-off Cards
Customizable “Date with Grandma” cards are the genius behind Michele’s idea. Once you determine some options for your Grandma and Grandpa Date nights, you download her customizable PDF and type in your own date ideas. Next, she supplies scratch-off stickers that hide the words inside each circle. Your grandchild scratches off the sticker to reveal one of two dates, and the element of taking a gamble to get just the right date makes it even more fun.
Michele suggests that you print a full deck of 10-20 scratch-off cards. Insert them into a small a 4×6 photo album you can purchase at any dollar store. This makes the set easy to keep track of. Hers includes a gold one-dollar coin the grandkids can use for scratching off their stickers.
Our first Date: Pedicures and Storytime Chess
It’s safe to say that the most difficult part of this process was simply finding a date that worked. Our granddaughters live 50 miles away, so imposing on their parents to take a full evening and bring them to us seemed like a tall ask—especially for a school night. The solution was for us to go to them instead. We found a night when they planned to be at home, and put it on the calendar. The girls scratched off “Pedicure” and “Storytime Chess” in their first date-night selection.
Grandpa’s Date: Storytime Chess
Storytime Chess is a kid-friendly version of the game that allows an adult to help a child learn each of the chess moves using fun stories that help kids grasp the intricacies of chess moves by introducing one piece at a time and connecting the appropriate moves with a specific story. For example, the king has an issue with flying pizzas, so you learn to move a king by playing a pre-game version of picking up individual pieces of pizza all over the board.
For Grandpa, this was a lot of fun. He had the opportunity to teach the granddaughters to play his all-time favorite game. They are now initiated into the “try to beat Grandpa at chess” club. It’s a club their father has been in for years. So far, it’s a mostly unsuccessful venture for him, much to Grandpa’s delight and Dad’s chagrin. It remains to be seen whether Grandpa is willing to share ALL of his secrets with this next generation!
Grandma’s Date: At-Home Pedicures
Over the years, I’ve found pedicure day to be a really fun way to bond with my adult daughters. I chose this option as a Grandma Date because it seemed that it would be simple enough I could pull it off on a whim using supplies I keep on hand at home.
But when this turned out to be the first date, I wanted to make it a little bit special. I found an adorable at-home pedicure kit for two online and ordered one to be shipped to the granddaughters in advance. I like building up the anticipation! We were not disappointed! We had a Unicorn Shimmer Pedicure and a Chocolate Pedicure set to choose from, and all of the supplies and instructions for a spa-quality pedicure.
Our Unicorn Shimmer foot soak included pink glitter! We just dumped the salt foot soak into a bowl of warm water and started soaking. This set included four separate packets and instructions for using the salt soak, sugar scrub, mud mask, and massage lotion.
The third step in our pedicure, the sugar scrub induced lots of giggles from both of us!
Now for the toenail polish!
Harry Potter kept us entertained while the polish dried.
Our purchase included instructions for a full foot massage as well. One girl got a pedicure while Grandpa played chess with the other, and then we switched.
Our First Grandma and Grandpa Date: Three Dates For the Price of One
When we first arrived, I realized one major mistake I had made. I had neglected to let Mom and Dad know that we would be free for the entire evening, and they could take the night off if they wanted. The look on their faces when they realized that they had an entire night of spontaneous free time available was priceless! In the future, we’ll make sure they know that Grandma and Grandpa date night includes free childcare so they can plan on a date night as well. As a bonus, since there was an hourlong commute to get to the grandkids’ house, Grandpa bought me my favorite fast food burger en route, and we had a great conversation in the car. We got some one-on-one time together too! That made three dates for the price of one, plus lots of time for connecting in a whole new way.
The Big Grandma and Grandpa Date Takeaway
What surprised us most was the realization that we enjoyed our evening so much. Because these two are only an hour away, we see them quite often, but usually only on weekends. That means that there are lots of other things going on to compete for their attention. When they come, it’s usually for an occasion (a Sunday dinner or a family birthday, for example), so there are other cousins or adults in the house, and lots of other activities that distract us. This was one of the first times Grandpa and Grandma got to enjoy individual one-on-one time with each of these girls in many months. We are excited to see what the luck of the draw produces as we use the element of surprise to plan out many dates in the future!