What now? The grandchildren are coming to visit ... What are we going to do all day?

Today's families often live far from grandparents. Getting everyone home for the holiday season or just for the weekend is eagerly awaited, but it can be stressful for grandparents who need to spend more time with their grandchildren.

When the whole family gathers for your holidays or weekends, do not panic. With a little planning, everyone will have fun and remember the visit warmly. Here are some ideas for entertaining grandchildren, including teenagers , at no extra cost.

1. Prepare in advance

Your children and grandchildren come to visit during the holidays or weekends. You want everyone to come home with very warm memories, right? However, most grandparents do not have much extra money to spend on distracting children. With some planning, your grandchildren will not indulge in TV, movies and computer games for the duration of their stay in your home.

Before they come, prepare music, books and games from the library or from friends and neighbors. Planning ahead will keep boredom and strife away from your home. Your grandchildren will enjoy 'playing' with grandparents.

2. Dance, dance, dance

Turn on the music and dance, dance, dance. Push the furniture back and create a dance floor in the middle of the room. Mix the styles. Play some hip-hop, big band music from the 40's, disco from the 70's, include Latin and classical dances. Dance until everyone is out of breath and laughing.

3. Have fun in the kitchen

Have the children help bake cupcakes and decorate them. Make cookies from scratch or from a roll of cookie dough purchased at the store. Take out the cookie cutters and let the children make designer cookies. Their parents can deal with any sugar overdose later.

Leave the grandson to prepare a recipe for lunch or dinner under your supervision. Let them plan the menu and prepare the dish. Children love to eat things they have chosen and helped them prepare. You and your grandchildren cook - the others clean up after dinner.

4. Enjoy reading together

Choose a book and read it together. Borrow a few classics from your childhood that you may have never heard of. Children's reading encourages children to read.

5. Play board games

Find board games - your fun is safe with them. Teach an older child to play chess. Give your teen a card lesson. Don't forget Scrabble or something else from your childhood. Look for games to rent. Make airplanes out of paper, other origami or cards for the upcoming holiday.

6. Put on a play

Have the children write a screenplay and put on a play. Play some popcorn and enjoy the show. This will enhance their creativity and entertain the whole family at the same time.

7. Build a fortress

Remove some blankets and sheets from the linen closet. Tell the children that it is good to use the pillows from the sofa and build a fortress under the table in the dining room . Give them one or two flashlights to use in their hiding place. Be prepared for a lot of whispering and giggling.

8. Knead the dough

Make raw play dough with two cups of plain flour, one cup of salt, one cup of water, one tablespoon of oil and food coloring. Mix the flour and salt with the water in a bowl. Add the oil and mix well. Knead the dough until smooth. You can use food coloring to make it more colorful. Spread newspapers on the work area for easy cleaning.

9. Go hunting for things

Play the game hunting for things set by topic. Ask the children to look for ten elements that are red or ten elements that start with the letter "C." Use your imagination.

10. Create a playground with rice

Mix a glass of white rice with a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol and three or four drops of food coloring. Allow the rice to dry for about an hour on foil or wax paper. Then spread it in a leaf cake pan. Add spoons, matchboxes, funnels, plastic measuring cups and anything else you come across that excites the imagination.

When this visit is over, prepare for the next one. Identify a drawer or container for storing handicrafts, new crayon boxes, construction paper, glue, baby scissors and any other trinkets and inspirations you come across. Put a few trinkets in the box to use as few prizes as possible.

Your children and grandchildren will want to come back and visit you often. Even better, when the children grow up and are adults, they will remember and smile at all the good memories of the holidays and weekends spent with grandparents.

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