Grandparents + Grandkids: 15 Ways to Make Memories in Houston

Grandparents Day falls on Sunday, September 13 this year, but one Sunday hardly seems sufficient for celebrating one of childhood’s most important relationships.

Whether grandparents live across town or are visiting Houston for the weekend, the best grandparent-grandchild adventures have one thing in common: plenty of time to talk, laugh and make memories.

Here are 15 ideas.

1. Children’s Museum Houston. September is Grandparents Month at the museum, making this an especially timely outing.

2. Houston Zoo. Let the grandkids choose the animals everyone has to see.

3. Houston Museum of Natural Science. Dinosaurs have a way of bridging generations.

4. Hermann Park. Walk, picnic or simply sit together.

5. Miller Outdoor Theatre. Pack snacks and enjoy a free performance.

6. Bake a family recipe. Even better: have Grandma or Grandpa explain where the recipe came from.

7. Create a family-history interview. Kids can record grandparents answering questions about childhood, school, first jobs and family traditions.

8. Look through old photographs. Children are fascinated by evidence that their parents and grandparents were once children, too.

9. Visit Galveston. Walk the Strand, see the water and let grandparents share memories if they grew up visiting the island.

10. Have an ice-cream date. No elaborate itinerary required.

11. Plant something together. A flower, herb or small tree becomes a living reminder of the day.

12. Teach each other something. Grandpa teaches chess; the grandchild teaches him a video game.

13. Attend a sporting event. Astros, Texans, Dynamo, Dash, college or high school—the team matters less than sharing the experience.

14. Write letters to each other. Actual paper. Actual envelopes. Save them.

15. Create a tradition. Pick one adventure to repeat every year.

Children’s Museum Houston is making this particularly easy in September. Throughout the month, one grandparent receives free admission with the purchase of one child’s admission when tickets are purchased onsite. The museum is also holding a special Grandparents’ Day celebration September 13.

But the best Grandparents Day gift may not cost anything.

Ask grandparents to tell the stories nobody has written down yet.

How did you meet Grandma? What were you like at 10? What did you get in trouble for? What was Mom like as a child?

Record the answers.

Years from now, those voices and stories may become one of your family’s most treasured possessions.