Celebrating Grandparents Day at The Holiday Zone: Art and Craft Ideas

Arts and Crafts

Chain of Hearts

Cut sheets of red, pink, and/or white paper into 3/4-inch or 1-inch strips. Fold each strip, making a sharp crease in the center. Open strip back up into a V-shape, then gently fold ends toward center in a heart shape. Staple. Link hearts in paper chain format.

Use heart chains to decorate for Grandparents Day, or simply create colorful chains for grandparents to wear around their necks.

Grandparents Day Collage

Give children a stack of old magazines and encourage them to flip through and cut out pictures of people who look like grandparents. Encourage them to discuss the mental image the term "grandparent" brings to mind. Do all grandparents fit this stereotype? Encourage them to expand their search for pictures to include some people who did not fit their initial perception of a grandparent. Finally, arrange pictures neatly on a piece of construction paper and neatly title the collage. Older children may create a collage in the form of a frame to frame an essay on what makes a grandparent.

Handprint Wreath

Place child's hand on cardstock or thin cardboard and trace carefully around it. Cut out this pattern. Have the child then place the pattern onto colored paper, trace around it at least eight or ten times, and carefully out handprint shapes. Once handprints are cut out, the child should arrange them in a circle (palms in, fingers out, hands overlapping slightly) and glue. Decorations may be added after the wreath dries.

Finally, insert picture of the child in the center of the wreath and add a tag that says, "Grandma and Grandpa, you deserve a hand!"

Memory Quilt

Encourage children to think of a favorite activity they remember doing with their grandparents. Have each child draw a picture based on their memory, then write a sentence or two about it. Mount pictures neatly on colored paper and arrange on the wall in the shape of a quilt. Have the memory quilt displayed during Grandparents' Day activities.

Lavender Fields

Materials
Pre-cut organza circles OR 6-inch cloth squares (cut with pinking sheers)
Lavender or potpourri
Ribbon (1/8- or 1/4-inch in width)

Place a scoop (approximately 2 tablespoons) of lavender or potpourri in the center of a precut organza circle or a 6-inch square. Gather and tie with ribbon. Add a gift tag if desired.

Torn Paper Flowers

Materials
White card stock
Green paper cut into 1/2-inch by 6- to 8-inch strips (These strips will serve as stems.)
Sheets or scraps of colored paper in traditional floral colors (yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, etc)
Extra green construction paper for leaves.
Crayons, colored pencils, gel pens, and/or markers

Tear colored paper or construction paper into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch sections. (These do not need to be perfect squares; the irregular torn edges are part of the effect.) Glue stem to card stock. Next, arrange torn bits of paper in a floral shape and glue to paper. For added variety, use flat bits of torn paper for the petals and crinkle bits into tiny balls to create the center. Once the flower is complete, tear green paper into small pieces and use to form leaves. Finally, use gel pens, markers or other medium to add a special message Grandparents Day message.