Find fun, simple Grandma Camp ideas for toddlers! This post covers planning tips, activity ideas, supply suggestions, and snacks from our very first Grandma & Grandpa Camp.
A friend recently introduced me to the term “Grandma Camp,” and then I started seeing it everywhere! It’s a fun, trendy way to describe setting aside dedicated time with your grandkids. It can be very flexible, depending on the time of year, when the grandkids are available, their ages, and more.
We’re only three years into this wonderful world of grandparenting, with a three-year-old granddaughter and a four-month-old grandson.
A few weeks ago, we hosted our very first “Grandma Camp” with our granddaughter. She lives many, many miles away, so those two days with her were truly precious. The first thing we did when planning was invite Grandpa, too! So, technically, ours was Grandma & Grandpa Camp!!;)
Planning Your Grandma Camp
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Honestly, we didn’t do much extra planning to get ready for Grandma Camp. Our sweet little granddaughter is three, so the main thing was setting up a comfortable, safe place for her to sleep.
We set our guest mattress on the floor against a wall and propped pillows along the open side so she wouldn’t roll off during the night. If grandkids stay over often, a bed side rail might be worth buying, but this setup worked like a charm.
After her parents dropped her off, one of our first stops was our grocery store, since her mom and dad said she loves shopping there. We let her help pick out her snacks and a few fun things to play with at Grandma & Grandpa’s house. I have a tote full of toys and books our boys loved, which worked well for reading time, but the toys our boys enjoyed just aren’t what our sweet little darling is drawn to!! (Understandably so!)
We also have dear friends further along in their grandparenting journey who have all the fun grandparent gear. They generously offered to lend us things for the few days a year our granddaughter visits, which is a real blessing for us in our small townhouse with limited storage.
Fun Ideas and Simple Supplies for Toddler Grandma Camp
The point of Grandma Camp isn’t to have the latest and greatest toys and activities, but to make our grandkids feel loved and special. We were pretty relaxed about our schedule, but we did have a few options ready for “activities and play time”! Many of these are simple, inexpensive ideas that have stood the test of time. If you want to stock up on “Grandma supplies,” I’ve linked some options that can be purchased from a major online retailer here. Or, if you’d rather shop online, you can find them all in my shopping lists for the US and Canada here.
- Blow Bubbles: I confess I don’t remember ever blowing bubbles with my boys, but goodness, Remi loves them! May we all find such joy in watching a light-as-a-feather bubble drift to the ground or catching it in our hands…
- Play with water: We’re lucky to live near plenty of water (pools, lakes, and the ocean), but we chose to take her to a lake with a nice sandy beach. Although we packed lots of toys, her favorites were a bucket and a watering can. She also had a blast helping water our backyard flowers with the spray nozzle, so I’m sure any water toys would be a hit. I found this cute sprinkler (I used to love running through the sprinkler as a kid!) and a water table that looks like tons of fun.
- Build with large blocks: I have a ton of small building blocks left from the boys, but they were a little too small for a three-year-old. She loves building big-block towers with her dad, and the little farm animal and bus set she played with here was a hit.
- Hug a Dolly: Remi was quite concerned about her “babies” (dolls) she left at home, since they didn’t fit in her airplane suitcase, so we let her choose one to snuggle at our house. She picked the cuddly “Miss Rachel” doll (the non-singing one!), since she loves watching Miss Rachel online. (A great kids’ show, by the way!).
- Go for a walk: Remi has specific needs because cerebral palsy affects her legs, but she loves going for walks in her wheelchair. We took her to our favorite walking spot right by the ocean, and she loved showing “Miss Rachel” (her dolly) all the pretty things and smelling lots of flowers along the way!
- Bake cookies: Last year we had so much fun baking cookies with Remi. I chose a simple peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe that can be stirred up in a bowl, and she loves to help. One thing my grandma friend told me about that’s a huge help for baking with grandkids is a standing tower. Have you heard of them? They’re like a step stool for kids, with a guard all the way around so they don’t fall. Our friends loaned us one, and it worked beautifully. (It’s also handy for teeth brushing time.)
- Color or play with sticker books: Remi loved stickers last year when she visited, and she still does. Now she also enjoys coloring in her sticker book, which was a fun activity that works well in restaurants, too.
- Read books: We remember reading books and singing songs with our boys. I love pulling out the books we read to them and now reading those same stories to our grandkids…
- Play hide and seek with yellow ducks: I found a set of little yellow ducks I’d totally forgotten about, and she played with them for ages. One of her favorite games was hiding a yellow duck for us to find. Such simple fun… and such cute little giggles every time we found it!
See Grandma Camp in Action!
Press play below to watch a few snippets of our time with our granddaughter!
Snack Ideas for Grandma Camp
We discovered that our granddaughter’s eating habits look a lot like her daddy’s at her age!;) He had a very particular palate, so we sympathize with her parents when they struggle to get her to eat healthy foods. But at Grandma Camp, we let her choose her snacks!;) (It was only two days, after all!)
These were some of her favorites:
- Squeezable fruit pouches. Goodness, these are a wonderful invention!! Her favorite was apple strawberry, and she went through the whole box of four in two days. At least she got a little fruit in her.;)
- Fish-shaped snack crackers. When we asked if she liked these at the store, she said, “Yes, I like them. I wish they were gold duck crackers, though!” (She’s very much into yellow ducks these days…) We sometimes served these on a little plate with cheese cubes and cubed ham. The crackers always disappeared first…
- Boxed macaroni and cheese. What can I say? I like it, too!;)
- Peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Sometimes she likes jam, but right now she prefers honey.
- Muffins. Breakfast was a bit tricky, but she really liked blueberry muffins. (The hot oatmeal was a big fail…)
- Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies she helped bake, served with a glass of milk.
- Dunkable frosted snack cakes were a hit on lake day, and the fish-shaped crackers might have been dipped in the frosting, too.;)
- Water. We got her a little water bottle with a straw that she loved, and we made sure to offer it often.
Do you have Grandma Camp stories of your own?
I absolutely love hearing your brilliant ideas and the memories you’ve made at your own Grandma Camps! Feel free to share in the comment section below and tell us about the creative ideas you’ve used!
