With people spread out all over the country (and farther!) and with the hassle and cost of holiday travel, grandparents often find it difficult to be with grandchildren to celebrate the holidays. That can be rough on both grandparent and grandchild. This week, Grandparents.com published one real gem of an idea in its suggestions for bridging the distance: work on something together that can be shared when you next meet in person.
Let’s take one of our customized Storybook Quilts as an example. Many grandparents choose one to give as a wonderful surprise — but consider instead collaborating with your grandchild to create a handmade, original, customized Storybook Quilt. This is a wonderful way to enhance closeness and create memories that will be treasured for a lifetime (or two!). And NO special skills are required!
Here’s how it works. For the sake of this story, we’ll assume that “Grandma” is the giver and “Olivia” is the recipient. But, of course, it could include Grandpa, be for a boy, or be two Storybook Quilts for twins!
Step 1. Grandma gives Olivia a Storybook Quilts gift certificate for Christmas (or for Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or a birthday). Olivia receives a special, handmade card with a special message from Grandma.
Step 2. The holidays pass. January arrives with its sudden quiet and, often, dark and dreary days. The blahs are waiting in ambush.
Step 3. Grandma and Olivia begin to customize their Storybook Quilt, corresponding with us back here in the workshop. (We’ll help with ideas, when you need us, and guide the process along.)
First, Grandma and Olivia think and talk and think and talk — and finally choose one of the eight (soon to be nine) Storybook Quilt themes: Maurice the Cat, Maggie the Dog, Dapper Dan the Snowman, DanZy the Rabbit, Vroom Vroom the Car, Amos the Bear, Luna the Turtle, Winnie the Frog or Per — oops! That’s our January surprise!
Then, they decide what words will be embroidered on the special square in the quilt.
Together, they write a message to be printed in the storybook and a pick a photograph to include there, too.
Dapper Dan Storybook Quilt Package
And, last but not least, Grandma and Olivia decide
how they want to tailor the story, adding in their own names and details about their family’s life. This then is woven into the story by our expert writer.
Storybook Quilts e-mails photographs as the quilt is made so that Grandma and Olivia both can watch it come to life.
Step 4. The completed Storybook Quilt is delivered in time for the next get-together. Grandma and Olivia open the package together, snuggle up under the quilt and Grandma reads Olivia their story.
What a gift! What a memory! What a way to overcome the miles! What a great way to fight the Winter blahs! And, of course, your grandchild doesn’t have to live far away for you both to enjoy this creative project.
Storybook Quilts are available in eight themes and with various types of personalization and customization. To see them all, visit us at www.StorybookQuilts.biz Or give us a call to find out more. You can call us free using the Google Voice service on our order page.
We look forward to making your gift the most memorable ever.
At Storybook Quilts, we have been searching for a way to give back to families, especially children — both are the focus of our mission. As someone whose professional life has included a focus on how best to aid people in developing countries, I repeatedly have been struck by how often the most basic need is overlooked. That need is water. Clean water. The little boy in California has that and likely always will. Not so for the children of Haiti or dozens of other countries. Aid to provide housing, food, medical care – all are important, but none can really succeed without clean water and sanitation.
