"Be the Change" Idea #3: The Grandparents Project

I often think about sending a photo, a funny anecdote, or a hand-drawn card from our girls to their grandparents and great-grandparents.

I just know - with all my heart - that getting something personalized in the mail would mean the world to them.

Despite my good intentions, sending out those cards always seems to end up at the bottom of my to-do list.

As such, I decided that the best way to proceed would be to assemble everything ahead of time so that I can grab a pre-addressed, pre-stamped card and get in the mail...every week.

So today I addressed envelopes. A lot of envelopes.

the-grandparents-project-3

My 3-year-old and I started by cutting various pieces of colored paper to fit each envelope. Then, we printed out labels that said: "What we've been doing this week..." We attached one label to each card. Then, we put one card in each envelope.

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While we were doing that, my 7-month-old was doing this (she's a crawling machine):

baby-crawling-legs-october-2009

The plan is to send one card to each set of grandparents and great-grandparents every week. I'll probably have my 3-year-old draw a picture on the card. I'll likely add a bit of commentary about what we've been up to. And then I'll enclose a picture of each girl from that week.

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I'm hoping that the weekly greeting will give our daughters' grandparents and great-grandparents something to look forward to.

Something like this, for example:

baby-7-months-old-october-2009

Tonight, I'll put stamps on all of the envelopes - and then we'll be all set for a month.

I'll let you know how this experiment goes. It seems easy enough.

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21 comments on “"Be the Change" Idea #3: The Grandparents Project”

  1. What a great idea! Your little girl is SOOOO cute in these pics. Don't you just love the fuzz on her head? My little doll has the same thing.

    PS...What's the name of those leg warmers she's wearing? I know you've featured them here before but I can't remember the name. It's getting quite chilly here in MN so we could use some.

  2. I have struggled with this, as well. My in-laws read my blog to keep up. However, my father and grandmother are not connected. This is a perfect solution for me. I am getting this organized this weekend! Thanks for sharing the idea!

  3. Good idea, Steph! I am going to try it myself. Not to every grand/great-grand every week though... maybe one letter each week. That way each set gets a letter about once a month. Thanks for the idea!!

  4. What a thoughtful idea! I especially like the idea of including photos as many grandparents/great grandparents aren't technologically savvy and have trouble with photos sent via email. And doing the prep work ahead of time makes this a very do-able project. Thanks for sharing!

  5. This is such a great idea! I have a family blog that sort of serves and a weekly update but nothing is the same as snail mail you can open!

  6. That's a great idea. Even though all our grand parents live in southern az I know how much they like getting mail/info/correspondance/updates/pictures/stickers/doodles/alphabet practice pages/drawings/...

  7. I am a big snail mail advocate. I know I appreciate even a postcard to let someone know I was thinking of them. I'm sure that the lucky recipients will be very happy with their mail!!

  8. This is such a great idea. I know that even my in laws who live only about a 20 minute drive from us would really appreciate getting a little card in the mail even just once a month would be great. I am going to have to get some of these together one day this week. You are such a friendly and thoughtful person and always seem to be doing things for others. You make me strive to be better and give more!!

  9. That's a great idea. I'd really like to be better about sending things to my in laws from the girls. It always seems like a hassle to me since it's international but I just need to get things together like you have so that I have the correct postage and everything ready to go. THanks for the inspiration.

  10. Great idea! I know my little ones' grandparents would love the update, especially since we live out of state from them.
    Grandparents deserve it!

  11. You are so cool! I wish that I could do something like that - I am always amazed by all the thoughtful things you do - I have a feeling if you lived in NE, I'd be seeking you out to be a "real" life friend =)

  12. That is a fantastic idea! Our family all lives so far away that we only see them a few times a year. Facebook has been great for sharing pictures with most of them. Cards do seem so much more personal. We have a huge family, so weekly cards to all grandparents and great grandparents would be a bit much. Maybe I could rotate who gets the cards each week.

  13. My parents (jb's only grandparents) live 10 minutes from us, so we spend so much time together we don't write cards... but there are lots of folks in our world who we aren't so fortunate to see. I have decided to make one day a week at daycare for card making so that the children I care for get this chance to send letters to those dear and maybe not so near. One week maybe JB will send a card to grandparents even though they're near! Such a great idea. PS. Tuesdays are my favorite day of the week (now); why? weekend theme galore from MM, followed by Tuesday Tours!

  14. This is a great idea! We send my grandmother a card once a month with pictures and a little note in it. She always looks forward to receiving that envelope in the mail... and if I miss a month I hear about it too :)

    I send pictures via email to my parents and all the aunts and uncles at least every other week - if I get busy and it gets to be more than a couple of weeks between picture emails I hear about that too!

  15. Great idea! We stamped S's feet in paint and then on paper, framed them, and sent them to his grandparents and great-grandmas. And it was daddy's birthday present, so we have one proudly displayed on our bookshelf. Feet are much easier than hands!

  16. Taylor loves writing letters to her grandparents. She draws pictures, makes cards, creates story books, etc. Then we stick 'em in an envelope and send 'em off. Great idea getting ready ahead of time!

  17. This is such a wonderful idea..quite ambitious, but wonderful just the same. Please let us know how it all turns out..I'm sure they will be so happy each time they look in the mailbox. BTW LOVE the picture of the leg warmers -so cute!

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