It's Autumn! Not only is it MY favorite season, I've also managed to cultivate a true love for this season in the hearts of most of my grandkids (there are a couple of summer holdouts – and one who prefers winter). We're having fun enjoying autumn ballets, creating cute Fall pumpkin table decorations, and decorating for harvest and Halloween fun.

This week, we enjoyed a twist on one of my old favorite ideas – making our own scarecrows. I have a 15 year old (at least) store-bought and much beloved "Old Faithful" scarecrow that my grandkids LOVE to play with and we decided he needed some company.

We've done a variation of this several times over the years since the first one I made with my young kids using papier mache heads (MESSY!). In past years, we used men's clothes from Grandfathers or Goodwill. This year, we added to our fun with an idea I discovered in Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars by Sharon Lovejoy, by making junior Scarecrows using clothes my grandchildren have outgrown.

Below are the final results – aren't they cute! Since the grandkids are coming to my house this weekend, they chose to have the scarecrows keep my senior mom and me company on our couch - our new "Scarecrow Decorations Couch Buddies!"  Come Sunday, we'll have to rearrange them to greet all the little trick or treaters along with some of our Fall pumpkin table decorations and candy and cards.

The head on their new scarecrows isn't as cute as my Old Faithful (in my opinion). We used white plastic trash bags stuffed with newspapers. I suggested they use our Crayola washable markers to draw faces on the trash bags. Don't ask me why but all the kids said they did not want to make faces on their scarecrow's heads. They preferred the "natural look." Overall, though, we think they are a tad cuter than our original, but shhhhh – don't tell Old Faithful.  

We sure had fun with these happy autumn decorations activities for grandparents and their grandchildren and will enjoy our delightful family memories for years to come. My grandkids haven't stopped talking about them!  A sweet treat for this Sandwich Generation granny nanny and her grandkids. Not to mention the senior parents who will love the photos from my easy to use digital camera! And speaking of fall pumpkin table decorations and fun activities for grandparents and their grandchildren, Lori at All You Have to Give is posting about How to Carve a Pumpkin God's Way for her girls Bible study. It's another of those fun and easy crafts for kids and seniors alike! Be sure to check it out. 

By the way, as you can probably guess from my two reviews in Fun Resource for Activities for Grandparents and Their Grandchildren and Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars is Full of Fun Activities for Grandparents and Their Grandchildren, I have definitely found Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars by Sharon Lovejoy to be a great resource for Sandwich Generation families, with plenty of fun and creative ideas. Hmmm, think how perfect it is for Christmas gifts as well.  :)

Kaye

P.S. Did you want to order your own copy of Toad cottages and Shooting Stars? Just click here.

Kaye

Happy Autumn! Are you looking for some fall fun pumpkin decorations activities for grandparents and their grandchildren? I found some gorgeous designs at Midwest Living's 20 Fall Pumpkin Decorating Projects. These are wonderful for older grandkids who would love a bit of a challenge.

Then again, for the younger grandkids or if you'd like something simpler, Crayola washable markers and tiny pumpkins make for a fun evening as well. My grandkids and I had a terrific time with these little pumpkins.

I was especially pleased to realize that baby wipes erased mistakes easily. Perfect for perfectionist grandkids or those on the autistic spectrum who get easily frustrated when they make a mistake.  (Not to mention granny nannies who want to improve the smile on their pumpkin ).

As we worked on this project, I realized it also makes for easy crafts for our beloved seniors. In fact, this is one of those activities that should even work for the elderly parents in our family with dementia. It's very simple to do, it doesn't matter how it looks – we'll all love it, and it's easy to clean up any messes for any age. Truly a sweet autumn treat for a multi-generational Sandwich Generation family to enjoy together or in smaller groups.

While grand big bro decorated and erased his pumpkin and will finish it later, grand-twins each took a different approach. Grand-twin one had fun decorating his autumn pumpkin. Then he brought an "alien" in to inspect the work.

Grand-Twin two enjoyed a very colorful approach and had a blast on all of the pumpkins surface.

Hands can get a bit messy doing this, but thanks to baby wipes and washable markers – good friends to all of us granny nannies – it all cleans up quite easily. 

If you and your grandkids, not to mention your senior parents, also decide to indulge in these fun and easy pumpkin decorating crafts for seniors AND grand kids, you might enjoy a fun Autumn pumpkin party coming up on October 26. We're looking forward to it. In the meantime, what sweet fall table decorations these will make for our dining room table and what fun family memories thanks to my trusty and easy to use digital camera! Don't forget to use yours!  

P.S. For more fun Fall Pumpkin Table Decorations and yummy recipes, click here and here.

Kaye

Grandkids and Christmas are such a sweet combination! One of our favorite Christmas traditions is making Christmas presents for their parents, grandparents, and each other. My local grandkids and I have already started and are taking our time. I’m looking forward to visiting my long distance grandkids before Christmas and having a fun weekend doing a bunch with them all at once.

A bunch of what you might ask? This year we’re sticking with the same grandma game plan as last year. I went to Michael’s, which is my favorite place for art and craft supplies, and bought a bunch of cute wooden Christmas tree ornaments and some fresh new art supplies. Since my grandkids are still pretty young, our needs are pretty simplistic – kids’ scissors, washable Crayola markers, and glue sticks. As they grow, though, I’m sure I’ll be getting more interesting kids craft items.

We have had fun for the past couple of weeks, coloring and decorating one Christmas ornament each time they visit. They each chose one ornament for themselves, as well, to start them off on their own collection of Christmas tree ornaments. I did this with each of my kids, and they still enjoy the ornaments they made and/or received each year. One very important tip – make sure you put their initials on the back of each Christmas ornament, along with the name of the recipient. I also like to put the date on the back. It's amazing how quickly we forget just a couple of years down the road.

I’m watching the sales ads closely right now. When I head to the opposite coast to visit my long distance grand-sweeties, I’ll either take more Christmas ornaments I found here on sale, or I’ll stop and pick them up there, depending on how good the sale is and how full my suitcase gets!

Christmas Day is only one day out of the year. Having fun with your grandkids making Christmas ornaments, cute Christmas decor, and delicious Christmas cookies stretches the fun out wonderfully and creates such delightful family memories! How about you? What are your favorite activities for grandparents and grandchildren during the holiday season? We'd love to hear. And for more fun grandkid ideas, be sure to sign up for the SandwichINK free email.