It can sometimes be hard to make sure that grandparents feel included in family activities. Mobility problems and other impairments can make it hard to pick an activity that will be suitable for everyone, which can sometimes make elderly people feel left out. So when you’re getting ready to celebrate Grandma’s birthday, be sure to do it up right and make it an extra special day so she will feel like a star.
Throw a Party
Throwing a birthday party for grandma is a great way to make her feel like the center of attention, but it will require some advanced planning and creativity.
Decide if you are going to throw a small party for family or if you want to invite her friends. If you do decide to invite her friends, you should send physical invitations a few weeks in advance and make follow-up phone calls. Offer to help them arrange transportation if that would otherwise be an impediment to attending a party.
Make sure you have food and beverages available that are appropriate for the crowd. Elderly people may have dietary restrictions or may just not be as interested in trying new foods, so make sure you have lots of good familiar staple items on hand like sandwiches and iced tea.
Plan activities according to your group size and make-up. If you are throwing a party for family, it’s okay to plan some activities for the kids. Have them put on a talent show for Grandma, for example.
For an older crowd, the main activity will likely be conversation, but it’s a good idea to have a few other activities in mind as well. Prepare a slideshow or some old home movies of your grandma. Think of games that focus on and honor her. For example, come up with a bunch of outrageous (but true!) things about her. For example, she was runner-up for Miss Washington in 1953. Intersperse this list with facts about other family members, celebrities, or friends and have your group guess which ones pertain to Grandma and which ones don’t.
You can also make the party extra special by thinking of a fun theme for the party. For example, if Grandma loves old spy thrillers, make it a spy-themed party and invite guests to come dressed up. Host a murder mystery party where guests have to collect clues to try and solve a murder over the course of the party. You could even assign roles to your guests!
Take Her on a Trip
If Grandma can still travel, plan a trip. Think of somewhere she’s always wanted to go and take her there. Make sure to plan out the trip so you can cover all of the activities she’s wanted to do: the Statue of Liberty, the Met, etc. for her trip to New York City or take her on a cruise with the entire family.
A trip like this will be even better if you can make it a family event. If you are up for it, you can take your whole family along, or get together your siblings and make it a Mom and kids trip. Or make it a ladies’ trip and invite all of the women in the family.
Coming Up With Gift Ideas
Is your grandma one of those ladies that brings you sweets whenever she sees you? Get her a birthday gift that reciprocates this, or whatever else makes her special to you. There are plenty of gift ideas for grandma’s birthday, take your pick!
- You can go with a sentimental item like a card or painting made by her grandchildren
- A framed family photograph signed with loving messages from everyone in the picture.
- You could make a Memory Book, put events that were very special to the two of you with lots of pictures, it will make her appreciate your thoughtfulness all the more.
- If she doesn’t live nearby you could surprise her by buying her some tickets to come see you! That will surely put a smile on her beautiful face!
- You can gift her a heart locket necklace so she can keep family and memories close to her heart
- If there’s a special place she likes to go to, maybe a museum, an art exhibit, an all time favourite restaurant. Any place that she liked going to but hasn’t gone in a long time. It would tell her how you remember her interests.
- You can send her an u part wig human hair to make her look young again. That will surely be a unique gift.
- You could also think about getting her some items that will make a big difference in her day to day life. For example, many elderly people are not comfortable using computers, but tablets can actually be quite intuitive. Get Grandma an iPad and change the settings, if necessary, to make the font larger for her to be able to read better. You should also get her set up with a Skype account and show her how to use it for regular calls with your family.
There is no dearth of options when it comes to picking up gifts. But make sure the gift should count. A little personal touch goes a long way. She is your grandma, the lady with special powers to make you happy every time you catch a glimpse of her ever charming face. Hope you enjoy planning and celebrating your grandma’s birthday!
Photo Credit: Flickr
Comments
29 responses to “How to Make Grandma’s Birthday Extra Special”
Those are all great ideas. I would love to go on a trip with my mom. I think that would be fun.
My mother-in-law still loves to send old fashioned snail mail, though she’s an adept communicator by text! Last year, my son painted a water-color of a purple iris (her favorite). We had it made into note cards and gave her that. She was over the moon!
You’re absolutely right, a personal gift that reflects the recipient is important. No matter what the age!
These are all wonderful ideas to make the grandma in your life feel extra special!
I hope that when I’m a grandma that I get a nice bash! We threw one for my grandma one year and she felt very special. We threw one for my MIL also for her 80th. That was a nice time!
We actually did throw my grandmother a big bash one year. Her favorite part was just seeing everyone. She didn’t care at all about the cake or any of that.
My Grandma’s birthday is on 9/11, which is a sad day for our country. We still find ways to make her special since she means the absolute most to us.
I think taking grandma on a special trip sounds awesome. I would love that one day.
Always love throwing big parties for grandma, always makes her super happy and loved! A nice cake always does the trick too!
I love these ideas, my grandma died 13 years ago. I would give anything to do any of these things for/with her again. <3
These are great ideas! I’d love to do some sort of trip with my mom. We do throw parties for her too!
Grandma’s birthday treat this year was a trip to New York. I grew up with her and she stood as my mother figure my whole life i go extra mile to make here feel appreciated.
Cheers to all loving Grandmas in the world!
What a sweet post! We had a huge celebration for my grandpa’s last birthday. It was great to have all of our family fly into Florida to spend time with him.
We had a birthday party planned for my grandmother this year (April 19), but she died on April 13. 🙁
Great tips! We had a huge celebration when my grandfather turned 80 two years ago.
These are all great tips on celebrating grandma’s birthday. I always encourage my children to call their grandma (she lives in another state) often to let her know they love her and are thinking about her. On her 80th birthday, we gave her a surprise party and all 5 of her children and most of the grands were there. She was thrilled.
We don’t have any grandma’s in our life, but if we did this would be great! We don’t do huge parties or anything for bdays so I always look for little ways to make them special!
That was a fun birthday party for your grandma, and Im sure your grandma was happy and had a ton of fun. I remember my grandma’s birthday we surprised her in mall and we watched a great movie.
A party is always a great way to celebrate a grandparents’ birthday.Getting as many family members together as you can and having some fun food and a cake is a great birthday!
These are great ideas to make grandma’s birthday extra special. I will have to remember these when my mom’s birthday comes up in a few months!
These are all great ideas for grandma’s birthday! The most fun, I think, would be taking a family trip together! It would be great for making memories!
This is so sweet, my grandmother’s birthday is coming up and I need to do something for her. Thanks for the ideas
I lost all of my Grandparents, but these are fun for my boys
I know my mom wouldn’t like a computer. I do wonder if she’d like a tablet?
What great ideas…I wish my grandmother was still around for me to celebrate just one more birthday with her!
These are all good ideas. Our families always get together and celebrates birthdays by going out to a restaurant to have a meal, laugh and talk.
My grandparents are all passed away now but we did throw her a small party and took out to the park. I think it means a lot to them when we show they mean something to us and that we appreciate all they have done for us. Great ideas!
Sadly I have never known my grandmothers. One passed away a year before I was born, the other I never met due to “issues” my biological father had with his family. BUT, my son is already lucky enough to know both of his grandmas and this definitely gives me some ideas on ways to celebrate my mother and make her feel appreciated. Thanks for sharing!
Its really a great way to ensure that Grandma’s have a very special birthday. I really love my Grandma very much. I like the idea of taking her for a special trip and it would be great for building some sweet ever-lasting memories. Thanks a lot for all your ideas.
omg these are some great ideas! We always try and do special things for my grandmas birthday! I usually make her a cake even though I’m not the best baker lol. It’s the thought that counts 😉