• My parents live pretty far away from us, and with the economy what it is we don’t often get the opportunity to visit with them. Thankfully we live in a cool age of technology so we can FaceTime or Skype at any time. Sometimes though, we need to do something just a little more special. Not much is more special than a hug. Especially a hug from your grand child. I realize, of course that the only way for my parents to really get a hug from my kids is to be in person with them, but this is a close second.

    First, you need a really big piece of paper. We used a roll of art paper like you would use on an easel. Roll the paper out on the floor. Have your child lay on the paper with their arms out, as if they were about to give the biggest hug ever. Trace around their arms (and heads if your paper is wide enough).

    When you are finished tracing let your kids decorate their hugs. They can write special messages, add stickers, or even add some quick snapshots of them. This is of course my kid’s favorite part.

    Be sure to write in big letters who the hug is to, from, and the date. Fold your paper up until you can fit it into an envelope. Of course, if your kids are older, you might need a bigger than a standard letter envelope!

    We send one of these hugs (per child) to my parents each year for their birthdays. It is always a blast hearing about how they had to keep unfolding to see who’s hug they got. My parents have saved all of their hugs, and get a huge kick out of comparing them to previous years to see how the kids have grown.

    Talk about a perfectly simple, inexpensive way to add a smile to someone’s day!