To Grandma's House, We Go: The Ultimate Grandparents Checklist

Whether your grandkids live 10 miles or 1000 miles away like ours, it’s nice to have your house grandkid-friendly so your kids don’t have to haul everything with them when they visit. As new grandparents, we want our home to be comfortable and safe for our grandchildren

I have compiled a checklist for you to use when you prepare your home for grandkids. If you are a friend of Living Large in A Small House, you have access to all of my FREE Printables in my Resource Library.

A woman holding a baby stands in a colorful flower garden. They are next to a white picket fence surrounded by a variety of blooming flowers. Trees and greenery are visible in the background, creating a serene outdoor setting.

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Essential Safety Gear

Having an extra car seat/ booster seat is such a great perk. Hauling a car seat through an airport isn’t fun for new parents who are figuring out how to travel with a little one.

A cabinet with two shelves. The top shelf holds a cast iron dish, a white dish, a metal bin with utensils, and a copper pan. The bottom shelf has a metal sliding rack containing a boxed Dr. Brown’s pitcher, baby bottles, and a white reusable water bottle.

The next thing on our safety list was prepping our house so that it was child-proofed. Our niece’s baby is almost two and when she was visiting recently in no time at all it was very clear what we needed to do in our house.

Install Outlet Covers
Put some safety rails around our glass-topped coffee table. We are thinking we might use pool noodles.
Get locks on the cabinets with cleaning products and glass
Install a safety gate for the stairs
Look into a door alarm as we live on water.
Put all the breakable knick-knacks out of reach of little hands.

Because we live on water and have a boat we need approved life jackets for young kids. You should also have them if you have a pool, live near a pool, or bodies of water.

A woman in sunglasses, wearing a light blue sweater, holds a baby in her lap on a boat. The baby wears a blue and white striped life jacket with yellow straps and a yellow checkered onesie. The background shows a calm body of water and trees.

Entertaining and Learning

Having some toys and books at your home is important even if your grandkids aren’t sleeping over. It’s nice to have things to entertain them at your home.

A woven basket filled with a gray elephant plush toy, a white lamb plush toy, a small striped bowl, and children's books sits on a wooden floor next to a small table covered with a lace tablecloth. The backdrop is a light blue wall.

Age Appropriate Toys

You don’t need to go crazy but some toys that are only at your home make them all the more appealing. Your grands might also outgrow them before the next visit so a few are all you need.

Children’s Books

I’m a big proponent of daily reading to kids so books are where I make my investment. They make the best indestructible books for little ones and then I have a shelve filled with my favorites.

A small basket that I found at Target was perfect for the toys and something I can stash away when they head home.

Craft Supplies

As the kids get older, making crafts with them is a fun pastime. Because of what I do I have some of the basics on hand but if you want to make a small craft kit, here is what I would include:

Colored Paper
Colored Pencils or Markers
Washable Paint & Brushes
Pipe Cleaners

Card Stock
Children’s Scissors
Glue
Envelopes

You can go crazy with craft supplies but I would keep it simple. If your grand are older you can take nature walks and collect things to make projects. I love pressed flower pictures.

PS – I refuse to have any kind of glitter in my house 🙂

A backyard patio set on brick paving features a child's swing with yellow chains and a blue plastic seat in the foreground. The area is furnished with a white wicker couch, blue and floral pillows, an umbrella, and patio chairs. Lush greenery can be seen in the background. — Click this picture to see our little guy enjoy his swing

Grandma’s Favorite Books

Comfortable Sleeping Arrangements

Having a nursery for our grand would be a lovely luxury but it’s not possible in our small house. We have a pack-and-play that fits nicely in our guest room. I bought a pad specifically made for the pack-and-play so that the bed is more comfortable.

Things are different from when we had kids. The cribs our children slept in are no longer considered safe. They also don’t have anything in them so no bumpers, pillows, blankets, or stuffed animals.

It’s a miracle my kids are alive!

Changing Station

While you don’t need a special changing station, having one is nice. We set ours up in the laundry room and this past weekend it was used by 3 Moms.

I found a changing pad that I can tuck away into a closet and I found two perfectly sized baskets at Target that hold diapers, wipes, and necessary supplies.

A woven basket filled with neatly arranged baby diapers, with one pack of blue wet wipes on top. The basket is placed in front of a floral-patterned wallpaper in shades of blue. A textured navy blue blanket is partially visible in the foreground.

A padded changing table with a blue, textured cover is placed on a white countertop. The countertop is surrounded by navy blue cabinets with gold handles. In the background, there is a blue and white floral wallpaper and a wicker basket on the counter.

Meal Time Must-Haves

Children can be messy when they eat so having the right equipment for your grandchild at mealtime is important. Infants and young children also have different food requirements. Checking with Mom and Dad what you need to have on hand for them is a thoughtful gesture

A top-down view of a kitchen drawer with a variety of stored items. In the center is a white wire basket holding green and beige bowls, plates, and utensils. Surrounding the basket are containers and a roll of paper towels. The wooden floor is partially visible.

High Chair or Booster Seats

I bought a booster chair that was very inexpensive and it went back after one use by my grandniece as she was able to push the tray right off the seat. It went flying along with spaghetti and raspberries.

My second choice is great. It can work right on the floor or be safely strapped to a chair for eating at the table. It also is adjustable so it can grow with your grand. It also folds away for storage.

If I had the space to store a regular-sized high chair I probably would have gone that route as I know this is one item that will be used by more grands to come.

Sippy Cups & Plates

I bought a nice silicone set that included plates, bowls, spoons, forks, sippy cups, and bibs. It worked well for us. However, you can use just about any kind of plastic ware that you have.

You just want to be conscious not to use anything that can break.

A baby in a high chair is joyfully eating, with a face and hands smeared with food. The tray in front of the baby has pieces of avocado and other food spread around. The baby, wearing a light-colored onesie with a playful lion pattern, would definitely bring smiles to any grandparents' checklist.

Healthy Snacks and Foods

It’s so important to have the foods and snacks on hand that parents want to feed their kids.

Our little is in the middle of baby-lead weaning so he’s discovering different foods every day. He also doesn’t have anything with sugar or salt so making good choices is important. We also eat clean and organic (for the most part) ourselves so we want the same for our family.

Getting a list from the parents ahead of time makes sure that you have food for hungry kids when they arrive. I appreciated a photo of the brands so it made it easier for me to find 😉

Cleaning Up after Kiddos

For laundry, we have a detergent that is free of fragrance and chemicals. The same with dish soap for bottles and Mom’s breast pump.

Baby bath soap and a baby bath are also something we have at our house.

A smiling baby wearing a navy blue outfit with white trim sits on a bed surrounded by colorful, floral-patterned pillows. The baby appears happy and is holding a small blanket.

Outdoor Fun

Having some outdoor toys is another thing you might want to consider depending on your grand’s age.

Bikes and Scooters

Good friends of ours have two grandsons who are now old enough to travel to their house on their own for a week in the summer. To keep them entertained, I would imagine having bikes or scooters might be a nice thing to have.

Sports Equipment

Having some wiffle bats and balls would be a great thing to have in stock. We have an antique cricket set and it gets used by visiting kids a lot. Don’t forget the unlimited fun that can be had with a soccer ball.

Play Sets

If you have the space and budget a playset for your grands. We bought a swing that we could install under our outdoor living room and our little guy loved it.

If we get a little girl grand, I have a funny feeling “Grandpa Handy” might be building a little playhouse.

A baby sleeping in a black stroller with a canopy, nestled on the sidewalk where grass peeks through. An adult's foot in a sandal and another in a shoe stand nearby, perhaps part of a grandparents checklist to keep watch. The baby is adorably dressed in a patterned outfit.

Other Baby Gear

Because our daughter travels alone on occasion with the baby we want to make sure we have most of the things she needs here so that she doesn’t have to travel with too much along with the baby.

These are some of the additional things we have at our house for the littles.

Play Mat
Sound Machine
Stroller
Blow Up Swimming Pool
Bath Tub Toys and Seat

Grandma’s Prepping

I’ve had so much fun not only getting ready for our grand visit but also deciding how to organize and store my grand things in my home. I will be sharing that in September with my Organizing Group (more details below).

We are also going to be watching our little guy without Mom for a weekend. I will be adding a Babysitter Info/Checklist to my library soon. I’m making it so it can be used by parents for babysitters whether it’s Grandma or the teenager next door.

If you like me have littles in your life, I hope you enjoyed this post.

Peace and Love,

Fall Organizing

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I’m an Interior Designer turned full-time blogger who lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago in a 1,300 sq., ft., home with my “Handy” husband, Keith.

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