Grandparents Day – Maybe you have been celebrating for years, or maybe you are only now learning about Grandparents Day.

Here at Cheap Gift Basket, you’ll find a bevy of ideas to stimulate your imagination and stage a celebration for those special Grandparents in your life who passed on their stories and took the time for you when you struggled to make sense of this ever changing world we live in as you went through the phases of life and growth.

Grandpa and Grandma – They were my biggest fans and my source of the most needed comfort.  They saw everything good in me and loved all of me without prejudice or judgment.  When they passed I felt like a ship without a light.  But the lessons they left behind, the faith they held, their stories of the past, the courage they showed.  All these things I took for granted, shaped the very core of my existence.  I know that when they passed there was that understanding between us that after the rain danced, the sun would shine again and I would be reminded of how good it felt to have their hand brush my face by the warmth of the sun on my cheeks.  No matter what I did they always greeted me with, “Come on over here and give me a hug so I can love on you!”  I can’t remember a time when I didn’t run into their arms!

Grandparents Day – Some History and Facts:

Grandparents Day was first proclaimed in West Virginia in 1973. The First National Grandparents Day was celebrated September 9, 1979, on a Sunday.

Grandparents Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day.

For 2011 it is on September 11, which is also designated as, “Patriots Day.”

Mrs. Marian Lucille Herndon McQuade, from West Virginia, who lived to be 91-years-old (1917-2008), and was a mother of 15 children.  Mrs. McQuade was the original person who thought up Grandparents Day.

Mrs. McQuade began helping Jim Comstock with the,  ‘Past 80 Party,‘ which is held annually in June. The Past 80 party was designed to provide an opportunity for a day of fun for those people living in nursing homes.

In 1970, Marian McQuade began her campaign to create a day in special honor of grand-parents.

Ms. McQuade celebrated the First Grandparents day in that year-1970.

The first state to celebrate Grandparents Day (1973) was West Virginia

Ms. McQuade also thought it was so important to recognize our elder population that she started a National Grandparents Day Council.

As of last year, representing one-third of the total population, there are now more than seventy million grandparents in the U.S. That number grows each year, at a rate of 1.7 million new grandparents added to those numbers every year.

Grandparents Day Song:

The official song of grandparents day is; “A Song For Grandma and Grandpa,” written by Johnny Prill

Grandparents Day Flower:

The National Grandparents Day Council on April 20, 1999, chose the official flower for Grandparents Day.

They chose a flower called, ‘Forget-me-not.’ This official flower was decided by the National Grandparents Day Council because . . . ‘It not only reminds you of the relationship between grandparents, children and grandchildren, but also the fact that it created lasting memories for you.’

Grandparents Day Gift Basket and Gift Ideas:

Start with breakfast -Assign age appropriate tasks to children for breakfast by letting even the youngest participate.  Youngsters of all ages can set the table.  Make getting plates and silverware a counting game for them.  Assign pouring and serving tasks to the next age group, cooking to the oldest.  Let everyone do some thing to help – even if it’s making name tags with colored dots for people instead of names.

Brighten up your Grandparents Day with  a basket of juicy and health-benefitting fruit. Fill their gift basket with clean & fresh fruit they love.  There is a huge variety, for example:  bananas, cherries, pears, peaches, grapes, tomatoes, apples, cantaloupe, and any other fruit they love.


For Grandparents Day From Long Distance:

If you can’t be with your Grandparent on Grandparents Day, then go ahead with an gift basket for children activity with them long distance. Make a Family Tree T-Shirt and let grandparents fill in the blanks for grandkids.  Make family t-shirts together that you’ll remember!

At home on their own, grandchildren can make their ideas for their family tree t-shirt for their grandparents and grandparents can do the same, or they can choose to participate by just filling in the blanks for grandkids.

Check out Gift Baskets For Children for a list of 20 questions kids can ask Grandpa and Grandma, a fun list of creative activities to participate in together, and other fact-filled tips about Grandparents Day.

Alternative Suggestion:

Your Family Tree – Make a personalized family tree map.  This can be a great cheap gift basket for your grandparent.

It is the celebration of the forever bond which explores the links between your family members with a very fun, funny, and unique design.

The family tree lists the names of all your family members in the shape of a heart.

Send them to each other in time for Grandparents Day — take photos and post those photos on a family blog, FaceBook. or a photo sharing website.

Spend your Grandparents Day on Sunday helping Grandparents and grandchildren reminisce about days past with their grandkids.

While it’s roots are planted deep, the one thing everyone agrees about is this – Explaining the importance of honoring our Grandparents to our children is really what matters.

Cheap gift Basket hopes you enjoy your Grandparents Day in whatever manner you see fit.  It’s time that counts – Make yours memorable!

“To become a grandparent is to enjoy one of the few pleasures in life for which the consequences have already been paid.”  ~Robert Brault