September 10th marks a celebratory worthy holiday that often goes unnoticed - Grandparents Day! While it may not be as widely celebrated as Mother’s or Father’s day, we here at Cypress felt that the day deserved some more recognition. Grandparent day is not just a day to thank your grandparents for always sending you money or feeding you when your parents won’t (although don’t get us wrong, that is greatly appreciated)! Grandparents Day is a holiday of honor and gratitude to the generation before us, without which we would not be who we are today. They were the ones who shaped who are parents are today, and for many of us, they have undoubtedly shaped our lives, as well.

How did Grandparents Day begin? Well, it started with no other than two grandparents themselves, Maria Lucille Herndon McQuade and Joseph L. McQuade. Together, they had a total of 15 children, 43 grandchildren, and one great great grandchild. Marian McQuade envisioned the day to be a day for family values, traditions, and simply families themselves.

In her envisionment, Marian McQuade wanted to convey three main things with this day: To honor grandparents and their heritage, give them an opportunity to meet or show love towards their grandchildren, and to provide the children with knowledge and guidance.

Now that you know a little more about the history behind the holiday, here are some ways that you can celebrate the day and show appreciation to your grandparents or grandparents in general:

1. Buy them a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a card, or better yet, a homemade gift.

2. Show appreciation by dedicating the day to doing what they like. They often spend their whole lives dedicated to doing what their children want to do, so simply spending the day with them doing whatever they like can mean the world to them.

3. Get the whole family together or plan a family reunion. We all get so caught up in the realities of daily life that it can be hard to get everyone together, but when we do, fun times are sure to be had. Grandparents’ Day is a great chance to make it happen.

4. We all have family recipes passed down to us by our great-grandparents or grandparents. Spend some time in the kitchen learning some of their old recipes and cook them an elaborate dinner.

5. Take a trip down memory lane by make a scrapbook full of pictures of them, your parents, and you throughout the years. This Sunday, share it with your grandparents and show them that you’ll never forget the memories you have all made together.