We celebrate mothers in May and fathers in June, but did you know there is a special day set aside each year for grandparents as well?

The official National Grandparents Day was founded in 1973 by Marian McQuade. Her purpose in recognizing this special day was to honor grandparents, to give grandparents a day to spend time with their grandchildren and to help bring awareness to the important relationship between them.

Each year, Grandparents Day is observed on the first Sunday after Labor Day in September. Whether you live near or far from grandparents, you can show them that you care with a visit, a card, or other gift of gratitude. Grandparents Day is a wonderful time to show grandparents just how much they are loved and appreciated. Even the smallest remembrance is sure to brighten their day. The best part is that you can enlist your children's help in creating a card or special treasure made personally for them.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Make them a unique card with rubber stamps, scrapbook papers, and embellishments. It is a great way to use up some of those extra supplies.
  
  
  
  
• Create a small mini-album from chipboard or coasters. Be sure to include some photos of your children with their grandparents. If you don't have any of them together, you could always take photos of your children with something that the grandparent has given them instead.
• Buy a small photo mat or make one from heavy cardstock (or chipboard) and decorate it with papers, stamping, gems, shells, etc. Then, add a fun photo to the middle. For smaller mats, you could add a magnet on the back for hanging on the refrigerator.
• Ask your child what things they might like do with their grandma and grandpa. Use a word program on your computer to create a "coupon book" of them. Perhaps your child could mow the lawn for Grandpa, or bake cookies with Grandma. Maybe they could all share a movie night, a picnic, or an afternoon of yard-sale shopping together. Whatever ideas you decide can be printed, cut, and assembled pretty easily.
• Create a tin of refrigerator magnets using an Altoid tin, small picture cut-outs and glass pebbles. The kids can glue the pictures to the bottom of the pebble with a clear drying adhesive. Once they are dry, they can add a small magnet circle on the back. Use paper scraps, ribbon and stickers to decorate the outside of the tin.
  
  
  
  
• If your children's grandparents are not close by, you can still remember them by donating to an organization in their behalf. Whether it is a church, missionary,  local cancer society, or other organization, they would all benefit from your thoughtful gift.  You could also honor your grandparents by planting a tree. It could be in your yard, your neighborhood or in your community.
• Create a home video of your children. Have them share a story, a joke or a favorite memory with the grandparents.

Whatever you do to celebrate Grandparents Day this year, remember to focus on the relationship with them also. It is more important than any other gift you can offer.