[year] Top 10 Ways To Spoil Your Grandchildren Right: Meaningful Activities And Projects To Do Together

One of the best parts about being a grandparent is being able to spoil your grandchild and then send them back to their parents. You’ve done your job of raising your child now it’s time to have all of the fun without the work. So what’re the best ways to spoil your grandchild? Read on to find out the top 10 ways to spoil your grandkids.

1. Treats – What the parents won’t give them

If your grandkids love sweets like candy, pastries, and any other kind of junk food let them have what they want. Most kids are used to hearing no when it comes to junk food but you can be the hero by making it every day with grandma and grandpa like Halloween. So if your grandchildren ask for sweets tell them yes. By the time the sugar high kicks in you can take them back to their parent’s house.

2. Stay up late

A huge bummer for a kid is having a bedtime. Let your grandchildren stay up as late as they want for once. It’s okay if it isn’t New Year’s Eve but you can party like it is. No bedtime is a huge deal to kids. They’ll probably tell all their friends about it and you’ll be the coolest grandparent at their school. For a kid, not having a bedtime is a dream come true.

3. Never say no…to anything

Ok, so maybe saying yes to everything is a stretch, but you get the point. Spending time with the grandparents is supposed to be all about having a great time and saying “no” just ruins it. You spent your time saying no when you raised your grandchildren’s parents so now it’s your turn to say yes. Now you might say no when your 5-year-old grandson asks for the car keys but that’s about it.

4. Give them money

Today’s grandkids are sophisticated. No longer can you give them a cardboard box and expect them to have fun with it. Cash is king and you will be looked upon as royalty by giving your grandkids some cold hard cash. Plus, you can help them learn how to spend it wisely or even save it. Or you can help them pick out something to bring back to their parents as a way of making up for giving them all that candy! Either way, they get to have fun and you’re the hero once again.

5. Vacation

Vacations with grandma and grandpa create memories that will last forever. Sometimes parents don’t have the financial resources to take their kids to places like Disneyland. Save up your money and take them on their dream vacation. Make sure to take plenty of pictures too. After the vacation is over you and the grandkids can sit down and make a cool scrapbook and relive all the fun times you had together. So many times people get stuck on giving their grandchildren “stuff” but what they’ll remember are all the great memories they had with grandma and grandpa doing fun things like going on vacation.

6. Take them out to ice cream BEFORE dinner

Every kid has heard “You can’t eat that ice cream or you’ll spoil your dinner!” Well at mom and dad’s that rule may be in effect but at grandma’s and grandpa’s house those types of rules were made to be broken. It won’t hurt your grandchild to eat ice cream before dinner just once. Besides, ice cream has a lot of calcium in it for strong bones. Your grandchildren won’t believe their eyes when you pull up to the ice cream shop and serve them up a double scoop before dinner.

7. Let them plan a day of fun

Most of the time parents dictate every move their child makes, even the fun they get to have. Let your grandchild get creative by having them plan out an entire day of fun activities. This gives your grandchildren the chance to have the reins for once and be the boss. You can certainly help them with ideas but for the most part, let them be the party planner they’ve always wanted to be. You might want to get to bed early the night before and set aside some time to nap the day after because you’ll probably be dead tired. What kid wouldn’t want to plan out an entire 24 hour period to do what they want?

8. Let the chores slide…and even brushing teeth

Kids don’t like chores. Let them know that at your house there is no such thing as chores. The only thing they have to concentrate on is having a great time. Even things like brushing their teeth before bed can slide. As long as the grandkids don’t trash the house they shouldn’t have to pick up, take out the garbage or make their bed. There will be plenty of weed pulling and dishwashing when they get back home.

9. Buy them the expensive items they want

Kids’ toys these days are not as cheap as they used to be. You’ve got the latest music players, cell phones, the video game systems that all cost hundreds of dollars. Grandparents can help out the parents by buying them those fancy shoes they wanted or the newest video game system. Treat every day they’re with you like it’s their birthday. 10. Let them play video games or watch television as long as they want Most parents limit the time kids can watch TV, movies, and play video games. Let them indulge by handing them the remote and going crazy. Follow up 6 hours of TV with 4 hours of movies and 10 hours of video games. Plus it will give you a much-needed break to sit down and relax. That thing was sitting too close to the TV or watching too much will make them blind is just a myth by the way.