5 Traditions to Start with Grandchildren for Making Lifelong Memories

3. Establish a Signature Recipe

You don’t have to be an amazing cook to establish a signature dish that your grandkids will remember you for. The secret is the same as the restaurant tradition above: repetition. Memories build over time and solidify with regularity.

My parents implemented this tradition well. I know exactly what my parents’ recipes are for my kids. “Pawpaw’s Chicken” is a simple grilled chicken recipe my Dad makes. I’m not sure when the recipe took on his name, but that is the only title my kids use. Now, when they make “Pawpaw’s Chicken” for their own families, special memories of their granddad accompany the meal. 

My mom has several signature dishes, but she is most famous for her coffee cake. We all make the recipe, though we have not perfected it the way she has. Christmas morning is incomplete without Grammy’s coffee cake. And we would never dream of making any recipe but hers.

Think of one special thing you could make for your grandkids. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It can even come from a box. Just make it for the grandkids often enough that when they think of that dish, they think of you. 

What would you choose as your signature recipe?

4. Teach Them Your Favorite Game

My fondest memories of my own Pawpaw always involve a cribbage board. He taught me this card game when I was young, and I’m convinced my ability to add quickly in my head came from the math required for this game.

I love continuing the tradition of a family game. With my oldest granddaughter only 6, I’ve not yet attempted to teach her cribbage, though I plan on teaching her next summer, at the same age my Pawpaw taught me. For now, we play Candyland and Chutes and Ladders, and I usually let her win. 

Maybe you don’t have a family game. No problem! Just choose a game and play it as often as is enjoyable for both of you. Checkers is a simple place to start and can be played for many years. Even “Go Fish” would work. The point is not to find the perfect game, but to find something you can play one-on-one with your grandchild. While playing, conversations can flow naturally and you can enjoy the set-aside time to interact.

What is a game you enjoy that you could teach your grandkids? 

5. Share Your Own Passion or Hobby

My grandfather taught me to hike in the mountains. Both my grandmothers taught me to cook. My father took my kids up in his airplane. My mom taught some of the kids to sew.

What will I teach my grandchildren? I’m a history nerd. I adore museums and historic sites, and I can’t wait to share these with my grandkids. I will read them good books, explore old battlefields or historic homes, and take them to a museum or two.

Think of the privilege of passing on your knowledge and experience. Our grandchildren come to know us deeply by experiencing our passions with us. Even if this tradition doesn’t occur as often as others, the recurrence through the years will build lifelong memories.

What passion or hobby could share with the next generation? 

MAINTAINING REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

The biggest secret to building lifelong memories with your grandchildren is to keep doing the activities even if the grandchildren occasionally resist. My job as the grandma is to smile, invest the time, make the effort, and keep showing up. Those are the things I can control. I cannot control my grandchildren’s response.

I will purposefully continue to take my grandparent role seriously and make peace with the fact that I might not see the fruit of my efforts until many years from now. I’m not sure my kids ever told my mother-in-law how much they enjoyed going to Jim’s with her, but lifelong memories strengthened with each plate of pancakes.

A NOTE OF ENCOURAGEMENT 

One of the best pieces of wisdom I received as a young mom came at a time when I was feeling discouraged by the lack of enthusiasm demonstrated by my own kids as I attempted to enrich their lives with museums and historic sites. I love this sort of thing; but they always seemed bored.

While visiting my friend, her husband began discussing his childhood and all the wonderful trips they took and sites they visited. I sighed, feeling like a failure. Then, his mother, who was visiting, emitted a big laugh and said, “You do remember that everywhere I took you, you complained, rolled your eyes, and asked when we could leave? Don’t you?”

He denied it, but she just smiled and winked at me. That’s when I realized that the kids don’t have to appear to be enjoying themselves at the time in order for them to have wonderful memories—eventually. 

So, I kept dragging my kids to educational spots, smiling in the face of their sighs and complaints. And you know what? They now enthusiastically recall all the places we visited. They seem to have forgotten their poor attitudes ever happened.

I tell you that story to encourage you. Don’t let a bad attitude, long faces, sighs, or complaints dissuade you. Investing time with your grandchildren in fun, repeatable activities will build memories you cannot buy. The time you invest and the smiles you return for their eye rolls will build a repository of rich traditions that someday they will treasure and maybe even repeat with their own grandchildren. 

Making lifelong memories with our grandchildren doesn’t need to cost a great deal of money; it only requires an investment of time. The long-term return will more than repay your investment. Your time, consistency, and reliability will not only establish memories, it will also grow a fantastic relationship with your grandchildren. And what could be better than that?

Which of Susan’s ideas are you most excited to implement with your own grandchildren? Share your own traditions and memories with your grandchildren or grandparents in the comments below!