Long before tablets and smartphones became the standard babysitter, visits to Grandma’s houses meant new experiences and discoveries. The activities and traditions fostered during these visits created memories that were passed down through the generations. Let’s take a look back at Grandma’s house and the special memories that kids nowadays will never know.
Table of Contents
- 1 1. Exploring the Button Jar
- 2 2. Making Paper Dolls from Catalogs
- 3 3. Cookie Jar Raids
- 4 4. Playing with the Rotary Phone
- 5 5. Attic Treasure Hunts
- 6 6. Learning Hand Crafts
- 7 7. Reading from Old Books
- 8 8. Helping in the Garden
- 9 9. Playing with Wind-Up Toys
- 10 10. Making Scratch Paper Art
- 11 11. Learning Family Recipes
- 12 12. Playing with the Cuckoo Clock
- 13 13. Listening to Radio Shows
1. Exploring the Button Jar
Every Grandma had a mosaic jar full of collected buttons from clothing purchases over decades. It was a treasure to look through every single button and hear stories of where that button originated from. The history of each individual button made the simple task of sorting them by color, size, and shape an incredibly entertaining activity.
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2. Making Paper Dolls from Catalogs
Sears catalogues and other retail store flyers were not just for shopping. Grandma always saved the newest catalogues for the kids for this purpose. They would cut out the figures and clothes from the flyers and create elaborate stories with the paper people. This was a common activity on rainy days.
3. Cookie Jar Raids
Then there were Grandma’s cookie jars. They always seemed to never be empty. While Grandma pretended not to see the lid of the jar open, the cookies always tasted better because they were acquired by stealth.
4. Playing with the Rotary Phone
An irresistible and satisfying part of Grandma’s house was the rotary phone. Most kids were not yet old enough to be allowed to use the phone, so they would practice the etiquette of phone answering and dialing with Grandma. The coiled phone cord provided a jump rope when there weren’t any calls to answer.
5. Attic Treasure Hunts
The attic held wonders that most children wouldn’t care about. Old trunks, photo albums, and old toys each had their own story waiting to be told. Grandma carefully told us each story.
6. Learning Hand Crafts
Whether it was knitting, crocheting, or embroidery, Grandma’s hands were never idle. She would patiently teach these skills, starting with simple projects that often ended up wonderfully crooked. Grandma loved to teach us about crafting and showed us how to sew, knit, crochet, and do so much more. She had a great knowledge of the craft world.
7. Reading from Old Books
The children’s books covered Grandma’s bookshelf and the smell of the doll house and the dog-eared pages of the fairy tales and the worn books of poetry brought grandpa to our house and they would read them to us.
8. Helping in the Garden
Grandma’s garden was a wonder and a place of joy. It was filled with beautiful flowers and vegetables that we would learn to pick. It was here that we learned patience, nature’s rhythms, and to help shell peas on the porch to learn the lessons of the garden.
9. Playing with Wind-Up Toys
The wind-up drawer held a mechanical circus. Each toy had its own personality, and watching them never became old.
10. Making Scratch Paper Art
All Grandma’s trash was kept for crafting. We learned to make art on the back of the old greeting cards and run paper chains with the letters; we learned to be resourceful and creative.
11. Learning Family Recipes
I learned how to make special family recipes that weren’t written down anywhere. While standing on a chair in the kitchen I had to guess the measurements. Things like “a pinch”, “until it looks right”, and other vague instructions turned cooking into a guessing game. While I navigated through family recipes, I heard stories about how old they were and where they came from.
12. Playing with the Cuckoo Clock
As a kid, one of my favorite things to do was wait for the cuckoo bird to come out. I remember that catching the bird was a big milestone for me in my adventure of learning how to tell time. On one occasion, my Grandma even got caught moving the hands of the clock so the bird would come out.
13. Listening to Radio Shows
It was an amazing experience sitting around the radio listening to stories. They were some of Grandma’s favorite programs from when she was a child, and she taught me how to use my imagination to picture the stories.
