Among Friends

[Mom2Dogs]

@KKJ  I think you gave good advice to @sunshine45 

I was thinking the same thing....do one on one time with each grandchild. I mentioned in this thread that gift buying is no fun any more...the grands (and two great grands) have way to much and I honestly am not sure that much is played with...let alone when we visit we never see what we have purchased just months earlier.  

When one grandchild was young (she is a mother now) we would have her spend the night quite a bit..but during the holiday we would make cookies and she still remembers those visits...we also did a craft when she was old enough to give to mom and dad...those were fun times.

[Growing]

I try to give books and traditional books but at this point, I don't know what the GC have. I decided to try a local toy store, local owner of one store, for toys this year. I don't know what kind of gift avalanch my GC get at Christmas, so I limit what I send. Many GP want to buy alot and shower love on their GC but often the parents hate this as they feel overwhelmed and have a house full, too full. I hated my kids getting noisy toys or those that take batteries. Or could be broken. I was going to give Snoopy flannel sheets but saw they are $100 for a twin set. I hated my kids being given "fancy" clothing that they would ruin when playing. So yes, I try my best to be sensitive. 

[GoneButNotForgotten]

Yes, I think a lot of us are unable to see our grandchildren because of the pandemic. I understand that but it's hard to explain that to a little kid; they just don't understand.

So what I've been doing is, I bought several kinds of greeting cards that are blank on the inside. Once a week I write something on it make a drawing and/or put a few stickers on it, date it, and my DH and I sign it and send it her. It's not the same as being there but I hope this will make her feel like we haven't forgotten her.

[chlema]

My grands are all adults now so I ask what I can get the great grands for x amount of $, what is in my budget. This makes it easy for me.  Many years ago when my GS was about 3 in addition to some toys (which he liked) I also gave him a sheet set.  Well the little stinker opened it, looked at it then promptly got up and threw it in the trash.  What a laugh we all had - and still have to this day.  Of course DD retrieved the set lol.

[jannabelle1]

We have 5 grandsons and have always asked for suggestions from the parents for the little guys under 5 or 6. We ask the older ones what they'd like and buy 1 or 2 gifts so they have something to open, plus give them $$. The older boys in middle school and high school generally want money to put towards something they're saving for, and their parents are fine with that.

Two of the grandsons are very much into football (college and NFL), so it's easy to choose hoodies for them from their favorite teams, but when it comes to the little guys, we generally don't have a clue and need suggestions from the parents.