It takes a village, right? Yet, for many of us, raising a family today means our village is scattered and separated by miles: a grandparent two states over, a cool aunt who lives across the country, a favorite cousin who’s on an entirely different continent. Gone are the days when every member of the family simply lived down the street or at least all in the same town. For a lot of us, home is now measured in miles, state lines, and time zones rather than a short drive to grandma’s house.
However, we’ve ironically never had more ways to stay connected and remain close. That grandparent two states over can still witness a first step happen live. The cool aunt can FaceTime after the first day of school. The favorite cousin can text a goodnight message from a different time zone. And there are even more creative ways than these that our team has implemented into their very own families — especially ahead of National Grandparents Day on September 13th, when long-distance grandparents and grandchildren are on all our minds.
If you've been looking for meaningful ways kids can connect with long-distance family, or just how to stay close to family far away without hopping on a plane, here's what's working for us.
Make the Call Feel Like an Occasion
A video call doesn't have to be a static square on a screen. If you're wondering how to make video calls fun for toddlers and grandparents alike, implement one small ritual, and suddenly it becomes something everyone looks forward to instead of another box to check.
Senior design manager, Hayley, built her own version right into an existing routine, instead of adding something new to the calendar. Every morning, she FaceTimes her grandma during a stroller walk with her 6-month-old, Poppy. Poppy's still living in her Zippies at that age, and her grandma loves watching her "pull on her PJs" and show off her flexibility with a few kicks in the air. No extra planning required, just a stroller, a phone, and a special routine that was already part of the day.
Another ritual you know we support: matching pajamas for family video calls. There's something delightful and heartwarming about Grandma popping up in the very same print as the kiddos, and it makes for a screenshot worth framing (especially if silly props are also involved).
Get a Little Creative (and a Little Tactile)
Some of the best activities for kids and grandparents skip the screen entirely, or at least use it in an unexpected way.
Copywriter Karli recently gifted her nieces in California a pair of TinCan telephones for their birthday, a nod to old-fashioned connection for her family that's mostly located in Indiana. It’s nostalgic, screen-free for kiddos, and feels more intentional than going through mom to get them on the phone. “I love that I can just call my 8-year-old niece directly now,” she says. “It has made our bond feel more special.”
Our customer service specialist Corinne and her family lean on Marco Polo for the same reason. "That way the videos can be watched when it's convenient, and we stay in touch," she says. It's a small shift with a big payoff: no scheduling, no time-zone math, just short video messages sent back and forth whenever there's something worth sharing.
And of course, we can’t forget about good ol’ handwritten letters. Senior logistics manager Rebecca grew up writing letters back and forth with her grandparents after they retired to the desert, states away from her East Coast childhood home. She still has the cards her grandmother sent all those years ago. "Getting to read them now still feels special," she says.
Sitting down to write a letter gives little ones a reason to sound out spelling and practice their penmanship, all while writing to someone who will treasure it forever. It’s a sneaky little literacy lesson disguised as a fun family activity. Plus, walking to the mailbox, or better yet, taking a field trip to the post office is its own kind of educational adventure. Let your little one pick out a stamp and explain to them how it will travel all the way from your hands to their cousin’s mailbox — mind blown!
Celebrate Every Milestone
Distance makes the big moments feel harder to share, but a few small habits can help close that gap. Our founder, Maradith, shared that her kids' grandmother, who lives across the country, sends care packages for every holiday, stuffed with themed stickers, decorations, and little knick-knacks. "They always look forward to those boxes," she says. The gift itself is almost beside the point. It's the anticipation, the ritual of checking the mailbox, that becomes the real tradition worth repeating.
Reena, our senior director of People & Culture, has a habit worth borrowing, too: she includes an old-school film Polaroids in every thank-you note so great-aunts and uncles have a physical photo of the kids for each milestone. It's a small, thoughtful touch that turns a routine thank-you into a keepsake someone will hold onto forever. Plus, they look so cute up on the fridge!
Turn Screen Time Into Family Game Time
Sometimes the best way to keep a video call going and avoid small talk is to give everyone something to actually play. These easy screen-friendly games work for kiddos of almost any age:
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Read My Lips: Mute the call, mouth a phrase, and give your player one minute to lip-read their way to the answer.
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Word Association: Volley one related word after another. Hesitate for more than five seconds or repeat a word, and you're out.
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Twenty Questions: Think of a hidden object and let the other player ask up to twenty yes-or-no questions to crack the case.
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Two Truths and a Lie: Share three "facts," two true and one fib, and see if they can spot the lie.
We know the actual miles may not be going anywhere, but a little intention toward maintaining family bonds across distance goes a long way, too. Whatever long-distance family traditions your crew chooses to build, we hope they feel a little less like effort and more like love.
