Christmas with long-distance grandparents: ideas that bring you closer
Updated
To share Christmas with faraway grandparents, plan one call with a job (opening one gift each, a carol, a story read aloud), keep a few traditions in both homes on the same day, mail anything physical by mid-December, and give a gift that keeps you in touch in January, when the decorations are down and everyone misses each other.
How do you plan a Christmas call that isn't chaos?
- Pick the time in advance, allowing for time zones, and keep it short: 20 to 30 minutes.
- Give it a shape: each grandchild opens one gift from the grandparents on camera, the grandparents open one from the kids.
- Put the phone or tablet on a stand at a child's eye level, not in someone's hand.
- End with something together: a carol, a toast, or everyone saying one favorite moment of the year.
Which traditions can you keep in two homes at once?
- Bake the same cookies on the same day, from the grandparent's recipe, and compare results on video.
- A Christmas Eve story: the grandparent reads the same book every year, live or recorded.
- Matching ornaments: each year, one for the grandparents' tree and one for yours.
- An advent countdown with a small question for the grandparent each day, asked on calls or by voice note.
- Watch the same holiday movie on the same night and text each other your favorite lines.
When should you mail gifts so they arrive in time?
For 2026, the US Postal Service recommends mailing by December 17 for Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail within the lower 48 states, December 18 for Priority Mail and December 19 for Priority Mail Express. For international mail it recommends December 9 for First-Class Package International and Priority Mail International, and December 16 for Priority Mail Express International. Earlier is safer.
Running late? Gifts that arrive by email (tickets, a class, a weekly activity with the grandkids) need no shipping at all.
What can the grandkids make for them?
- A drawn Christmas card, with the original posted and a photo sent the same day.
- A short video of each child singing, or explaining what they love about their grandparent.
- A coupon book of calls: a story call, a recipe call, a game call.
- A list of questions they want to ask their grandparents in the new year.
What if you can't be together on the day?
Pick another day to be "your" Christmas together: the weekend before, the day after, or Epiphany on January 6. The date matters far less to kids than the ritual. A call where everyone wears the same silly hat can become the tradition they remember.
What can you start in January?
The weeks after the holidays can feel very quiet for grandparents who live far away. A gift that begins in January, such as a weekly call ritual, a shared book or a game played together, gives everyone something to look forward to once the tree comes down. Our holiday gift cards start on January 3, 2027 by default for exactly this reason.
Sources
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- USPS: 2026 holiday shipping deadlines (checked )