A YES Day with Grandma

Have you heard about "YES" Days?

A Yes Day is one day a year when children can fill their day with hearing "yes" to requests instead of "no". Doesn't this sound like a perfect opportunity for grandmas?

Yes Days have caught on since the publishing of an adorable book called Yes Day, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.  In March 2021, you can find it on Netflix.

You can get a preview of the book in this YouTube video.

If you are like me you will fall in love with the idea of Yes Days but will want some limits placed around the day.  I love the Yes Day idea because it can be customized to any age.  That makes it a wonderful annual event. The activities of the day can change annually to reflect the age and preferences of your grandchildren.

You'll want to check to see if Yes Days are already being scheduled in your grandchildren's homes.  If not, this will be an opportunity to start a new annual tradition with your grandchild.  If it is being implemented at home, you can give it your "grandma" special treatment.

Getting Started with Grandma Yes Days

Here are some steps to get started but I encourage you to make Grandma Yes Days your own.

1.  Buy the Yes Day book.

2.  Read the book with your grandchild well in advance of when you will schedule the Yes Day.  I recommend you hold one-on-one Yes Days if you have multiple grandchildren.  That way each grandchild will get a day that is all his/her own. This may not be a practical suggestion for some of you, so you can adapt this plan for multiple grandchildren.

3.  Make a list with each grandchild of the things they would love to do or have on a Yes Day.  Be sure to generate lots of fun and special ideas. You could start by talking about whether any of the ideas from the book would be fun. This is an opportunity to talk with your grandchild about why each request is special for them.  If the idea is impractical for a Yes Day you could start a separate list of "special wishes".  Be sure to discuss why the idea isn't practical for a Yes Day.

3. Record each of the Yes Day requests on a separate slip of paper to be placed in a Yes Day jar or box. You may want to color-code the slips of paper to aid in the selection process on Yes Day.  For example, all food requests go on blue paper, all outdoor activities go on red paper, all arts and crafts activities go on yellow paper, all screen-time activities go on white paper, etc.  Label the container with the child's name and allow the child to decorate it.  Place the container in a safe place and tell the child that one day in the future your will surprise him/her with a Yes Day.

4. Schedule a Yes Day.  You can tell your grandchild in advance or surprise them on the day. Let the child draw a certain number of requests from the container for the day.  This is where the color coding will help.  You may want to limit the requests to one of each color, for example. If you will have multiple grandchildren sharing the Yes Day, each should have a chance to choose the same number of requests from their containers.

5. Be sure to have your camera ready.  This is a perfect opportunity to record the day in videos and photos. 

Make Every Visit with Grandma a Yes Day

You can change this idea by making every visit with Grandma a Yes Day.  Here's how.

1.Follow steps 1 through 3, above.  

2. For every visit with Grandma, allow your grandchild to choose one or two request strips from the container.  You can add limits by guiding your grandchild to choose one of the blue strips.  If you have multiple grandchildren visiting at the same time, one could choose a blue request and one could choose a red request, etc.

3. Once the child's container is empty, refill with a new set of requests.

Yes Day Ideas

Some ideas to get you started:

• Have breakfast for dinner
• Do face painting
• Wear pajamas all day
• Watch a movie
• Have an indoor picnic
• Play a board game
• Read a book
• Make personal pizzas
• Bake cookies
• Stay up a 1/2 hour past bedtime
• Make icecream

Yes Days are a way to build anticipation and excitement into visits with Grandma and create lasting memories. Use them as an opportunity to engage with your grandchildren.  Most of all, have fun!