Gifts are not my thing. That whole love language test? I’m all of them, except for gifts. This can make the holidays a bit of a challenge given that I am as bad at giving gifts as I am at receiving them. Add in the fact that I would much prefer to give experiences and our families live far away, and I am all anxiety anytime a gift giving occasion roles around. In case any of you are in the same boat, I thought I’d throw out a gift that we got for my parents at Christmas that can easily translate to Mother’s Day if the grandma in your child’s life is as obsessed with their grandchildren as ours are.

We have the only grandchildren in the family on both sides and our families live 8 hours away. We are sure to see each other several times a year and Eli really really adores his extended family. It can be difficult to get in some one on one time when visits are not a part of the weekly routine which is where this got comes in handy!

It’s a date with the grandkid(s) package! This is maybe one of my most favorite gifts I’ve ever given. It is a gift for my husband and I (no kid!), a gift for my mom (she wants nothing more than to spend time with her grandkid), a gift for Eli (a day doing what he loves with someone he loves). The key part of this gift is allowing the grandparent to experience your child at their best. Since our families are so far and our visits sometimes have 4-6 months in between visits, Grandma may not necessarily know what to do with the little one. This day takes away any pressure for either side!

Included in our Grandma and Eli day:

Movie tickets: We checked out what was available at the time of the gifting, and bought specifically for the theater that was showing a movie Eli would be interested in.

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Gift card for dinner: Withhold your judgement, but Eli’s favorite thing to get to eat is Wendy’s chicken nuggets. We wanted to make sure this was a fun day so no arguments about eating the food in front of you.

Gift card for drinks: My husband works for this amazing coffee stand company, Dutch Bros. and Eli loves to go with him to get hot chocolate. My mom is also never one to turn down coffee.

Tickets to an Activity: Our local aquarium burns up a great two hours and is so much fun! You can feed fish, birds and sting rays!

Some other gift ideas to include:

A Family Movie Night: Make an in home date night for Grandma complete with dinner and movie goodies! Plus – enjoy a night of uninterrupted sleep!

Park Picnic Date: Bubbles, chalk, lunch, print out a map and send them on their way!

Above and beyond: Sneak onto their date and get some candid pictures of them enjoying each other! Put it in a nice frame and have the gift continue!