I had a message from our daughter-in-law asking if we could look after our granddaughters so that she and Leon could do some Christmas shopping.  So this afternoon we took the two girls (aged 11 and 13) out to lunch at Frankie & Benny’s, and then took them to see The Grinch at our local cinema.  Following this we brought them home to ours for tea.

I’d been wondering which activities would appeal to both of them when I originally agreed to babysit, and so bought some acrylic paints and a selection of pebbles for painting.  I reckoned this activity would keep them amused until tea time.

Freed of their phones, we all sat around the table, chatted and painted pebbles.  This activity, simple as it was, seemed to go down very well.  The girls commented on how quiet our house is, and we replied how we like it that way.  They’re used to the TV being on in the background at home, and at first they whispered until they became used to the silence.

They remarked about how much they’d enjoyed themselves when it was time to go back to Mum and Dad.  I know as soon as they get home they’ll be on their phones again, but hopefully they’ll remember how nice it can be to sit around a table with family members and chat face to face.

Painting pebbles is cool.