Op-ed

Things You Can Do With Your Grandparents: Spend Time with Them

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Let us face it. We might love our grandparents but the generational gap makes things awkward. You often wonder why do you have to spend time doing boring work for and with your grandparents. This article here is present for your rescue!

1. Cook

Get to know some ancient or family recipe from your grandparent. Their most be some unique recipes with ingredients you probably did not thing would work. If you can not cook then you could always eat and praise them!

2. Stories are meant to be told

In their long life they must have experienced certain incidents which would be damn interesting. Like the time they stole apples by climbing a tree or broke their head against a rock. Who knew they could be so interesting?

3. Go for picnic

The picnic can be done anywhere like backyard, terrace or a garden. Of course, you can go to a park for picnic. Just carry a chair or a mat to sit on, a basket full of food and other items to play with.

4. Learn a hobby

There must be something your grandparents are good at or enjoy doing. They might seem boring to you at first but give it some time and you might just enjoy it. It might be learning how to play Spanish guitar, to build a card house or to tap dance. Who knows you might just end up finding something you love and can not live without. Your grandparent might know synchronized swimming and you would not know!

5. Walk around the neighborhood

If the place is familiar to your grandparents, they might tell you the history of the place. If it is familiar to you, you might tell them your experience with the place. Or you both could share your experiences.

6. Play chess

You can play chess or cards. Consider having the loser buy the winner ice cream or anything else.

7. Go shopping together

It can be window shopping or just normal, ‘let us buy something’ shopping. You can let your grandparents choose something for you to wear. Do not buy it if you do not like it. Just show them how you look in clothes they chose. You can also choose clothes for them to wear. Just as long as you do not expect for them to buy and wear it.

8. Eat out.Indulge in junk food or street food

If your grandparents are not allowed, make junk food in your house with a better and healthier alternative.

9. Skim pebbles in the pond

Or play games outdoors which your grandparents used to play when they were kids. At least as long as they can still play the said game.

10. Watch old movies together

It could be a cult class, a critic failure but a commercial hit or a commercial failure but a critical hit. Or both critical and commercial hit or even a critical and commercial failure. Allow your grandparents to choose one old movie and then you, yourself choose on old movie. They can be classic or never been heard before.

11. Watch a new movie

It could be anything you want just like the above one. It can also be of varied genre and language. Some movies could be:

  • Queen: It is a coming of age movie about a woman who learns she does not need a woman
  • October: A movie about finding yourself.
  • Don: starring Shah Rukh Khan might be a good movie if you want to compare then and now.

12. Find a common base between you and your grandparent

It might jut happen that you two love the same book. Hence, giving you a chance to discuss the words of the said book. You can exchange facts about wildlife. Talk about mutation. As long as you both can add to the conversation. Do not act like you know things when you do not.

13. Go together to fairs

Browse through the innumerable items placed there. Buy something for your grandparents. If you buy it of off your own money, it is even better.

14. Watch sports together

Need we say more? Even if you do not understand the point of hitting a ball with a bat, you can still feel the adrenalin rush. Just brush up on your skills before you actually begin discussing the ins and outs of the said sport.

15. Get beauty tips from your grandparents

They have plenty of natural, cheap and easy tips to get rid of blemishes and pores. Sure, they might bug you about the shade of your skin but if ignored, they have a treasure chest of working beauty tips.

16. Play car games or vehicle game

Such games are an amazing opportunity to learn about each other. Some games you can play are:

  • Twenty Questions: Here you ask each other twenty questions and get it answered. All questions should be answered honestly and to the point.
  • I Spy: One person spies something, gives a hint about it and everyone else guesses what it is.

Bingo: Need we say more? Tic Tac Toe: Some of you might know it as cross-cross.

17. Talk them on trending topics

Talk about current situations like feminism, sexism, racism, homophobia, classicism, castism and other serious scenes. Usually old people have a more primitive view on these ideas. Despite which you respect and love them. This will allow you a better look at people who think apart from you.

18. Teach them how to use smartphone

Play a game on it, create their Facebook or WhatsApp account and watch them get addicted. Later you can talk to them through the social network. Since old people feel lonely quite easily, this will help them feel as if they always

19. Party with them

They might be old but it does not mean they can not have any fun. Dance, sing karaoke and play games. Grandparents are just overgrown kids.

20. Look through old pictures and albums

Try to see how many people you know and get introduced to those who you do not. Learn the story behind the pictures. There might be some funny or even sad story behind those smiling faces.

21. Eat the food they prepared and praise them

You can also cook some food for them and get criticized. Really though cooking is a huge opportunity for all to get to know each other while having fun and learning something new. It is also a great opportunity to exchange recpies, learn something new and eat new as well.

22. Spend time with your grandparents

Turn off your mobile and keep away from any gadget. Give them all the attention they seek. Whole life they have squeezed their guts for the sake of money. Do you not think they deserve some attention after all these years? Do not allow you measly gadget to destroy your relationship.

Ankita

A daydreaming ambivalent who enjoys fiction more than reality. There's nothing unique about her which in and of itself makes her more unique than others. She was born to believe but somewhere things went wrong and she became a cynic.