Last Updated on September 6, 2024
The world may not agree on many things; but if there’s ONE thing people can agree on, it’s that grandmothers are magic. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or how old you are. To grandmothers, it seems their grandkids are never too old for too much love.
What Do You Call Grandma?
Most of us have very fond memories of our grandparents, particularly our grandmothers. Some can recall going to Grandma’s on special holidays like Thanksgiving, and getting more dessert than at home. Many people drop by Nana’s house after school, taking a cookie or two before finally going home to their parents. Others will say that their grandmothers raised them. This is common in many parts of Asia.
Grandparents and grandkids share a special bond. It seems that although grandmas act like second parents, they’re gentler and more loving.
Most grandchildren look forward to visiting Oma because of homemade treats. Gifts from Grammie are also exceptional: woven sweaters, baked goods, potted flowers, painted ceramics, or a scrapbook filled with family photos. Each filled with hugs and a lot of love. Most folks would simply buy from a store.
Perhaps one of the most magical moments in a grandparent-grandkid relationship is picking out names. It’s that tiny detail that would cement small memories. For example: Abuela is a popular Spanish term for grandmothers. In France, kids could be heard asking for Grand-mère or Grand-maman. YaYa or YiaYia is used frequently in many parts of Greece.
If you’re visiting in Russia, don’t mistake Babushka for the dolls, although they’re named the same. The Malay word Nenek can be heard in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Meanwhile in Swahili, Bibi is the preferred term of endearment for grandmothers.
Activities To Enjoy with Grandma
Don’t forget that spending time with your Amma is still the best gift you can give her. Take time out of your busy day to call or actually visit. Mamie doesn’t mind how long you stay – what matters is time well spent. Know what your grandmother likes or enjoys and do that with her.
Does she love the outdoors? Gardening or going for a walk in the park are good choices. Does she love to cook? Join her in the kitchen and remake a family recipe. Don’t forget to ask her for a copy so you can replicate it at home! Does she love dancing? Take her to a small bar for a round of square dancing. No matter what you do, your Nanang will love the precious hours you spend with her.
If you’ve always found it hard to find the right words to say, these Grandma quotes can hopefully help.
Touching Grandma Quotes and Sayings
- “Every house needs a grandmother in it.” – Louisa May Alcott
- “Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just you all day and now the day was complete.” – Marcy DeMaree
- “A garden of love grows in a Grandmother’s heart.” – Unknown
- “As I learned from growing up, you don’t mess with your grandmother.” – Prince William
- “Parent-child relationships are complex. Grandmother-grandchild relationships are simple. Grandmas are short on criticism and long on love.” – Janet Lanese
- “Grandmothers and roses are much the same. Each is a God’s masterpiece with different names.” – Unknown
- “There’s no place like home — except Grandma’s.” – Unknown
- “Being a grandmother provides you with an opportunity to help your grandchild gain a sense of who he or she really is.” – Deborah Williams and Linda A. Johnson
- “Grandma’s heart is a patchwork of love.” – Unknown
- “Every parent knows that children look at their grandparents as sources of wisdom and security.” – David Jeremiah
- “Grandmas never run out of hugs or cookies.” – Unknown
- “A grandmother is a remarkable woman. She’s a wonderful combination of warmth and kindness, laughter and love.” – Unknown
- “When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window.” – Ogden Nash
- “There are grandmothers out there who would move heaven and earth for their grandchildren.” – Janice Elliott-Howard
- “It’s such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother, that’s why the world calls her grandmother.” – Unknown
- “Being an everyday grandmother has kept me young at heart, I know all the newest fads and fancies. I am way hipper than most of my friends.” – Trudy Jo Hahn Snader
- “We should all have one person who knows how to bless us despite the evidence. Grandmother was that person to me.” – Phyllis Theroux
- “Few things are more delightful than grandchildren fighting over your lap.” – Doug Larson
- “A grandma is warm hugs and sweet memories. She remembers all of your accomplishments and forgets all of your mistakes.” – Barbara Cage
- “Becoming a grandmother is wonderful. One moment you’re just a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric.” – Pam Brown
- “Grandmother: A wonderful mother with lots of practice.” – Unknown
- “Grandmothers always have time to talk and make you feel special.” – Catherine Pulsifer
- “Grandmothers are voices of the past and role models of the present. Grandmothers open the doors to the future.” – Helen Ketchum
- “If nothing is going well, call your grandmother.” – Italian Proverb
- “A grandmother is both a sword and a shield.” – Fredrik Backman
- “Truth be told, being a grandma is as close as we ever get to perfection. The ultimate warm sticky bun with plump raisins and nuts.” – Bryna Nelson Paston
- “A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend.” – Unknown
- “If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I’d have had them first.” – Lois Wyse
- “Just about the time a woman thinks her work is done, she becomes a grandmother.” – Edward H. Dreschnack
- “When a child is born, so are grandmothers.” – Judith Levy
- “Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.” – Alex Haley
- “A grandma is someone who’s dear in every way. Her smile is like the sunshine that brightens each new day.” – Unknown
- “For myself, one of the sweetest words I have ever heard is ‘Nana’.” – Zelda Rosenbaum
- “Everyone needs to have access both to grandparents and grandchildren in order to be a full human being.” – Margaret Mead
- “My Grandmother would say, ‘Make sure you look good. Make sure you speak well. Make sure you remain that Southern gentleman that I’ve taught you to be.’” – Jamie Foxx
- “The love between a grandmother and granddaughter is forever.” – Unknown
- “My grandmother always used to say, ‘If you know your past and you know where you have to go, why do you rehearse?’ I always remember this and it’s true. You have to start each day again—you can’t repeat what you did.” – Marian Seldes
- “Grandparents and grandchildren, together they create a chain of love linking the past, with the future. The chain may lengthen, but it will never part.” – Unknown
- “Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while…but our hearts forever.” – Unknown
- “I believe that God sent us Grandparents as our legacy from above to share the moments of our life as extra measures of His love.” – Unknown
- “Grandmother opens up a new world of change, challenge, and celebration in a woman’s life.” – Rebecca Barlow Jordan
- “A child needs a grandparent, anybody’s grandparent, to grow a little more securely into an unfamiliar world.” – Charles and Ann Morse
- “Sometimes our grandmas and grandpas are like grand-angels.” – Lexie Saige
- “Grandparents make the world … a little softer, a little kinder, a little warmer.” – Unknown
- “To all of the grandmothers who make the world more gentle, more tolerant and more safe for our children. Never doubt your importance.” – Mary-Lou Rosengren
- “Perfect love sometimes does not come till the first grandchild.” – Welsh Proverb
- “I love my grandma with all my heart. Nothing could every change that.” – Unknown
- “My grandmother is my angel on earth.” – Catherine Pulsifer
- “A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend.” – Unknown
- “You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.” – Albert Einstein
- “I love that I can tell Grandma anything and know that she will always have ears that truly listen and arms that always hold.” – Unknown
- “A grandma’s name is little less in love than is the doting title of a mother.” – William Shakespeare
- “What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies.” – Rudolph Giuliani
- “You are the sun, Grandma, you are the sun in my life.” – Kitty Tsui
- “I loved their home. Everything smelled older, worn but safe; the food aroma had baked itself into the furniture.” – Susan Strasberg
