Socially distanced Grandparent ideas

[Miltonkeynesmummy]

My parents are vulnerable and will be spending Christmas alone.

I'm looking for ideas of anything to cheer them up as they desperately miss the grandkids. I was going to get the kids to sing a carol outside their door- poor bastards.

But is anyone else doing anything else Christmassy but not directly with them?

We are spending Christmas Day separately, but will be meeting up in our garden on Boxing Day will a mulled wine (hopefully weather pending).

Do your parents have a way to do video calls? My husband bought his parents an Alexa show for his mums birthday, who is a complete technophobe. She said they love it and will often get a glass of wine on a Sunday evening and call us for a chat! Could be a good present for them?

We’re going to try putting on a nativity play by FaceTime on Xmas eve.

Depending on their age, could they do baking as a video chat? DD did this with her grandmother during lockdown. They got to spend time together, DD learnt some new recipes from her grandmother etc

12 days of Christmas small surprises if you live close by?

I also take pictures of whole books and send them to my mum, and then she reads to the kids by FaceTime while they turn the pages our end. Have also done this with my mum here on the patio and kids inside.

We are going to complete either a quiz or murder mystery game on Christmas Day via zoom or FaceTime with other family members. Also will FaceTime them when they open their presents and send them lots of pics through the day as they love looking through new pictures.

Could you meet distanced in a park and they watch while the kids play/feed the ducks?
I was going to get a cusion with grandchildren picture on so my mum could cuddle that but the thought makes me too sad!

Thanks everyone great ideas x

We live too far away to visit for an SD walk, wave across the garden etc. None of my siblings do. DM has been widowed for 27 years, lives alone a r us getting very lonely. But she has - rightly - asked us not to visit. Her attitude is that she’s got this far, ages she’s 3rd(?) priority for a vaccine, she’s not going to fall at the last hurdle by having my 2 school children (and different schools at that) in her house.

We have a date to watch a film together, with DSis too. All have the same film on, with FaceTime running. Also plans for a family game of charades on FaceTime Christmas Day - involving 5 households and 3 time zones - what could possibly go right?

Are you staying away altogether or is outdoors OK?

We're hoping to have mulled wine and mince pies around a "campfire", although, I'm struggling to look forward to that with the way the weather is here atm.

We're not seeing my parents on Christmas Day, but they're coming over on Christmas Eve - we will wrap up warm for a walk and have pain au chocolat and bacon sandwiches on the patio.

Also they're joining my DS's choir's carol concert on zoom the weekend before.

If you might normally go to the panto, you could find one of the live streamed performances over the Christmas period, watch it separately but simultaneously in your own homes, and arrange a zoom call for the interval to make it feel like you're there together.

Have you asked them if they want you to stay away? They may have had enough of being protected and would love to have a hug.

We live about an hour away so have invited my parents over for a garden visit - we've been only been allowed to do that a month in total since March as in a Northern Tier 3 area. We've got a gazebo in case the weather is ropey and a load of fairy lights. Thinking present opening in the garden with coffee and mince pies, then head for a walk. Folks are in their mid 60s and not ECV, but we have seen them outside when we could this year. All our friends are staying home for Christmas.

They would quite happily have us in for hugs but we are so close to a vaccine and they've got years ahead of them (hopefully). The stakes are too high.

Happy to be outside so I was thinking of hot sausage rolls and mulled wine when out for a walk. Plus a carol outside.

My dd is going to have s Teams call with me and DH will set it up on large screen TV do I will get to watch dgc open presents from us.

We are planning to do some escape rooms online with some relatives if they might be interested in that?

@TW2013

We are planning to do some escape rooms online with some relatives if they might be interested in that?

How do you go about organising that?

An Escape Room was my present to my parents last year and we hadn't done it before things went horribly wrong!

A pp suggested baking over zoom we did that with mil and the IDs and it really worked a lot better than I expected

HallFloor we haven't booked one yet, but there ranging from free upwards. Some are self paced whereas others (which tend to cost more) have a live person running it. You can run it over a number of devices and collaborate over zoom, face time etc.