What lovely things do you remember about grandparents?

One grandfather died when I was little so I only have a vague memory of him. Stayed with grandmother for a week every year, she was a painter so used to let us use her watercolours and try to teach us, used to pick figs in her garden, roam around her street on our bikes, go on the bus into town (great excitement as we never took the bus at home). She used to make pies with tinned mince beef in and had a pot of dripping by the hob. Used to play with my dad's old toys and games from the attic.

Other side moved around a lot so lots of different houses. My grandmother used to say funny little rhymes and made lace. She got Alzheimer's later on and used to steal bags and purses from the local shops and my grandad would have to go and give them back! He did nearly all the cooking because she was ill a lot. He was lovely and I lived near him when I was at uni so used to visit him. He loved watching sports. He had a white beard so for years was the local Father Christmas!

My grandma always used to make lemon curd on homemade bread for me when I was little. Their garden was huge and had a weeping willow tree which my friends and I would use as a den. They also had pear trees which we would always try to knock the fruit off long before it was ripe. My grandad (we called him Pop) was such a lovely man, would always treat us to ice cream and I'd always hurt my teeth with the coldness, he'd always say 'I'll put it in the oven to warm it up for you."

I'm crying 😢 remembering this.

Bowls of haunted house spaghetti shapes for lunch, the smell of my grandad's cigars, all my cousins and me bundling in to the back of his estate car for a ride out to the pub or the zoo, and the lovely nostalgic smell of his work books and pencil sharpenings, Nan coming out the front to play bat and ball on the green, and bizarrely the lovely smells of their under stair cupboard and shed

They were brilliant hosts. Their house was always filled with people and they threw BBQs and garden parties all the time throughout the summer. They were very sociable, kind and funny people.

I only had three as my paternal grandfather died before I was born.

I also lost all three (and my mother) by the time I was 11.

My maternal grandparents had 12 children and 47 grandchildren and I'm one of the youngest so I don't remember them well. They had plenty of chickens, pigs, a "pet" horse and they grew a substantial amount of vegetables and fruit so I always remember them tending to their garden and animals. I remember my grandfather having a loud laugh and my grandmother being quite tiny in stature. They were very sweet, in my memory.

My paternal grandmother lived with my family from Monday to Friday and returned to her house for the weekend. Her daughter, my aunt and her children lived in her house. She cleaned our house, cooked for my family and looked after me and my sister while my parents worked. My parents paid her a wage. I remember her well because of this. I remember her cooking and she always let me "cook" and she always let me help her plant flowers and help her in the garden. I adored her.

What a lovely thread OP!

Sleepovers with my cousin in my grandma’s spare bedroom that had twin beds with gorgeous white matching covers.

Porridge with raisins in the morning.

Charcoal and old tea bag boxes to draw.

Apple juice in a crystal carafe.

Lux flakes washing powder.

Jar of jellybeans on the bathroom windowsill for after hand washing.

Her Richard Scarry picture book.

My grandad always had sweets in his pocket, mainly chocolate limes and cherry drops and would always give me 2, one for now and one for later. He always took me to get a sweet mix up ( like the 1p and 2p sweets you used to get) every Sunday.
My gran was the closest person to me and was like a mum, she used to cut articles out of her daily papers that she thought I may like and make me a scrap book of them all, I still have a huge pile of these scrap books and cannot part with them, her passing 4 years ago broke me in a way I never thought possible, and she spent her last Christmas with me and my dc and we looked through the scrap books she was surprised I kept them all.

Thank you so much @Furries 😊

@elm26 - they sound like amazing people. Your daughter will grow up with the benefit of a mum who was raised by them - you’ll be able to keep their memory alive by passing it on to her.

Lovely thread.

Both sets of grandparents - sleeping over is probably the most vivid memory. It was decades ago, before the new-fangled duvets hit the shores of the UK. So, sheets, blankets and an eiderdown. I remember feeling tucked-in so tight you could hardly move, like being in a safe and comfortable cocoon.

Maternal grandparents lived in a ground floor council flat. It had a long, thin garden. Can remember walking up the path to the end with grandad as that was where he grew his strawberries. Was always so excited to pick them. And at the end nearest to the flat was where he grew his sweetpeas - they smelt heavenly and I’m instantly transported back there if I smell them now.

Paternal grandparents. Strong visual of the bowls that cereal was served in. My grandad on his hands and knees being a horse and taking one of us for a trot around the dining room. Their upstairs landing split off in different directions and had lots of little levels/steps - for some reason, this made it feel magical to explore, but scary at night! And, weirdly, a very strong memory of the laundry basket - white wood with a cork-type lid.

They've all been gone for a long time now. I wish I’d had longer with them - the older I get, the more questions I think of that I’d liked to have asked them.

My Grandparents raised me ☺️ I went from a house that saw multiple drug dealers, drugs being used in front of me, my Mum being high and setting the place alight with chip fat, sexual abuse, sleeping in cats wee because we had so many from where they weren't neutered and kept having kittens, forcing myself to stay awake aged 6 to make sure she didn't fall asleep in bed with a cigarette to being with my Grandparents full time.

Just the memories of complete peace, no shouting or seeing anyone high, a kiss and cuddle, somebody tucking me in at night, a wholesome dinner, being around my cousins as our house was the "family hub", feeling safe and loved, long soaks in the bath and having my hair washed by my Nan and then sitting in front of my Gramps whilst he brushed it, running around the garden with the rescue dogs, a full nights sleep without worrying about fires. I'll always be grateful.

They both died of cancer in their late 60s and I'll miss them forever. I'm 29 now and expecting my first baby and I'd give anything for her to know them, they were truly the most special people ♥️

Always stopping at the outdoor to get my nan a 'quarter of Bells' (whisky) if we were visiting. She also smoked Park Drive cigarettes like a trooper and had a bucket under the kitchen sink with loads of 50ps for the gas meter. She made up funny songs, let us play with anything we wanted to (and stay up late when she baby sat!). She came on holiday with us sometimes (after my grandad died) and one year we found £5 when she'd taken us out for the day. We were so excited spent it in the arcade and on fish and chips. She loved us so much!

Other side (dads parents) also amazing. I remember many sleepovers, helping my grandad with his word search, playing cards or draughts, 'helping' my nan with my own little apron and watering can. Going 'visiting' with my nan who randomly seemed to collect and deliver stuff like empty jam jars to people. My nan had a blue or purple rinse on her hair which I was in awe of. They would still take me to the park if it rained and I remember my grandad wiping the swing dry with his massive pocket hanky.

This is a lovely thread and I'm bloody crying now!

My paternal grandmother died a year ago and I remember her teaching me how to use a pendulum to ask questions. I remember her aga and her many many cats.

My maternal granddad died a few years ago and I remember he got me a play oven for Christmas one year and his dog ate apple cores.

I remember my mum's mum was always trendy and very creative. I associate gold sandals, maxi skirts and long nails with her memory.

My Gran was a cradle to grave Baptist ( her parents were Plymouth Brethryn so this was Christianity light version in comparison)

So I went to Baptist summer camps and remember going to church with a miniature hot water botttle to keep me warm there!

But also, always going to Durley Chine in Bournemouth in the summer holidays, always feeding the ducks with her at the local river, and me learning to sing hymns as she played the piano, and the lovely feeling of closeness and her joy in me doing so.

When I did my O levels, she told me to work hard and if I did well we would go on holiday together. I thought she meant Bournemouth, but she took me on a 6 week tour of the USA!! We had an amazing time visiting all the people she had been writing to ever since the war!

She was a true Christian, helped everyone and loved everyone, and while I am an athiest, I play hymns on the piano and remember her .. she made me feel deeply loved.

Now I'm a granny, I look after my little grandson 2-3 days a week and I strive to wrap him in the same love she showed me :)

Rock cakes and jam tarts!

I was lucky to know not only my grandparents but my great grandparents too (one of whom lived until 100 and met my son). As a child I had names for them all so i could tell the difference who we were going to visit!

Grandma Knit (who met my son) she used to sew my cardigans and had a fantastic summerhouse in her garden - we'd have tea in a proper China cups in that summer house and she'd listen to my chit chat whilst she knitted.

Then Grandad and Grandma Wheel - they had a 3 wheeled car which I found absolutely fascinating- you don't see many of them around now - they had a tartan rug on the back seat and grandad often took us kids "for a spin" round to the corner shop to pick up his paper and a bag of mix ups. I loved visiting them both - Grandad showed me how to grow tomatoes in his greenhouse whilst Gran sat in her orange deckchair eating shortbread biscuits and fruit loaf.

Then my mums parents. Summer days spent in their back garden listening to bird song, radio 1 and grandad mowing the lawn. Nana bought us those plastic glitter cups and make us mocktails - my cousins and I spent the days playing in grandads old row boat that he had dragged into the back garden for us to play in. They were only grandparents I stopped overnight at - we'd go to blockbuster to choose a movie and stay up until 9pm on a Saturday night....no idea how they both coped with six grandkids in the house it must of been chaos.

I had my Grandad H - he was nana Bea's partner who unfortunately passed away when I turned 9. Lovely man, smoked like a chimney had a lovely warm leather jacket and great laugh- he taught us how play twos and eights and lots of card games...he'd often take us and nana bea to the beach - pack up a picnic and a pack of cards with a blue stripped flask. I really miss that flask.

And finally my favourite Nana. I took care of her in her final years- she passed away two years ago and I don't think I'll ever get over it. I called her Nana Bee. She was the most kindest, loviest, fiestest and the most incredible woman I have ever met. She lived on her own, drove a car, had a job (until she turned 70) had a busy social life and was always out. I found her very inspirational. Nana B had introduced me to my love for ballet, we would take a box of quality streets to the theatre and watch all kinds of shows - she loved musicals but I adored watching the ballet with her.

I think the most favourite memory of Nana Bea isn't anything amazing - no fancy holiday, day out or incredible moments. It's just a mundane moment. 7 years old and sitting at her dining table, big vase of freshly picked daffodils from her front garden, Nana dusting, she'd let me play (carefully) with her tiny house ornaments , coronation street humming from the TV and every so often Nan was tutting at the storyline or giving a running commentary. She'd then turn to me, eyes all sparkley and wink whilst asking if I'd want a freshly baked tea cake " for our second afters ey?"

I really do miss them all and would absolutely love to have one more moment with them.

My maternal grandma used to make feeding gowns for us every year. And had a run of biscuits, we wee allowed 3 custard creams when we visited.

My paternal grandma made the most amazing stew and scones. She knitted us loads of jumpers as well.

Can we vote for this thread to go in classics? It's so good to hear all these treasured memories of love and care. Just really beautiful. It reminds me that though life can be hard, and not all families very functional, that someone giving a child that bedrock of love and trust is beyond measure. Happy memories can be something very precious, and sharing all this makes you want to pass down the love to the next children and grandchildren in the family.

Being sat on my Grandma's knee in the back of Grandads Cortina (it was the early 80's) whilst she sang "show me the way to go home" and "it's a long way to Tipperary". They picked me up every Friday for the weekend and I felt so safe and loved with them. I became a Grandma at 12.27 this morning, I hope my grandson looks back on me with such love.

My gran always used to let me eat as many ginger biscuits, which were my favourite as I wanted. At home Mum used to say 3 was enough.

My grandad used to set up for breakfast in the evening, it was like being in a B & B!

He lived near Dartmoor and used to love taking us on walks and telling us about the wild flowers and animals.

I had quite a tricky childhood and he was a very constant anchor. I miss him every day. He died in 2020 and because we were in lockdown he died on his own in hospital and we didn't get to say goodbye. Tho the last thing we said on the phone a week before was " love you"

I only ever knew my paternal grandparents as my mum's parents both died before I was born. So many lovely memories though. They had a beautiful house with a gorgeous huge garden, I spent so much time climbing/hiding in trees, playing excellent games of hide and seek etc.

Grandma used to let us come into their bed in the morning when we slept over, and would tell us stories from when she was a girl and went to boarding school. I was obsessed with Enid Blyton/Chalet School so loved hearing about the "real" version of those places (Howell's school in Llandaff for her). She knew so much about literature and theatre, and all sorts of fun poems for different occasions. Hot milk with dark chocolate digestives just before bedtime. She had a lot of health problems in her last decade, so wasn't so active with us, but still gave good cuddles. She died when I was 19, in my first year at uni.

Grandpa could be a bit trickier - almost certainly undiagnosed ASD or similar, and sometimes struggled to relate to teenage girls. But I know he loved us and wanted the best for us in his own way. He was much more active so would take us out rambling all over. He was an excellent mathematician, and when in ~yr8 I was at loggerheads with my teacher about negative numbers, he managed to write an explanation that I accepted - my teacher kept it till I left school! He did most of the cooking, and while some of it verged on the experimental, I have lovely memories of his ginger biscuits and chocolate cake with coffee icing. He taught himself the piano, wasn't particularly good but I always think of him when I hear the Moonlight Sonata, which was one of his favourites. He died when I was 24, in my final year at uni. Neither of them got to see me get married or have my children, but I'm sure they'd have loved them!

My Mum's dad made us poached eggs on toast for breakfast and they were (and still are) Grandpa eggs. This was in the 1970s and 80s!

Ahh this thread. It's triggered an avalanche of memories.

Dinner of traditional English salad - boiled potatoes, ham, celery with salad cream. Supper of ginger nuts or fig roles with a cup of ovaltine sat in PJs. Stunning gardens. Trips out on the train as my grandad used to work on the railways. So much love.

Lots of stories about the war which to my shame I didn't really value at the time. I'd read so many kids novels set in wartime and never think to delve into the real stories that were there in front of me. Now I wish I'd paid attention when my grandad talked about Burma and India; or my grandma talked about life at home.

I agree, so much love ❤️