My Turn: A grandmother's holiday tradition keeps 'grands' coming back

My oldest child married a few months after I retired, and from that moment on I couldn’t wait to become a grandmother. As a mother of five and a middle school mathematics teacher, I loved starting traditions with my own children and doing projects with my students.

My first grandchild was a girl and I, of course, gave my granddaughter her first American Girl baby doll. I loved my dolls as a child and hoped my granddaughters would be the same. (And, so far, they are!) That was my first tradition with my grandchildren: The girls were given American Girl baby dolls, and the boys were given children's rocking chairs with the Yankee emblem.

Months later came my first granddaughter's first Christmas. With the first grandchild/niece of a large family, picking out a special present was daunting. That’s when I found a suitcase with the saying “Traveling to Grandma’s”! It came with a matching tote, too. And so another tradition was born: From that Christmas forward each grandchild (there are now nine) has received a suitcase monogrammed with their name — pastel colors for girls and primary colors for boys — on the first Christmas.

In the beginning the parents packed the suitcases with clothes, diapers and wipes and such for their sleepovers at Grandma’s and Popi’s. The totes were used as well. But as they got older, the kids did their own packing. Sometimes it was all clothes and other times it was mostly toys and books or special stuffed animals. One time my grandson packed his Greek icon to look over him while he slept. Another grandson packed his huge stuffed “Doggie,” who filled the suitcase.

When the grands, as I like to call them, knew that they were having a sleepover, they would be at the door, suitcases packed, hats and coats on. I loved it!

My husband, George, and I started with one grandchild sleeping over; then we went on to two, then three. Last summer we had six grands sleep over, all with their packed suitcases and each one very different. It is getting difficult to schedule a sleepover with all of them as the school-age grands are involved in their activities and sports, but we hope to carry the tradition forward as least once a year.

Other traditions have also evolved with the sleepovers: There's movie night, dinner at the local hibachi restaurant, reading a book before bedtime and more. Last February break, our oldest granddaughter read the book to her younger cousins and so a torch was passed.

This past Labor Day weekend a few arrived for an unscheduled sleepover. My oldest granddaughter, who is now 11, did not use her special suitcase but a Vera Bradley tote. I guess I looked disappointed, because she quickly explained that her clothes did not fit in her suitcase. I told her that it was OK, knowing I will have to start a new tradition as my granddaughters get older, and told her to keep her “Traveling to Grandma’s” suitcase under her bed to store all the memories she will accumulate.

My very good friend gave me a saying to hang in my kitchen — "Grandma’s House: The place cousins go to become best friends."

That is the most important legacy that I could pass on to my grands.

Maureen Lafferty Gipp,

Miller Place