58 Grandparents Day Quotes to Show Them How Thankful We Are

It may not come with an avalanche of presents like Christmas, or a roasted turkey with all the trimmings like Thanksgiving, but Grandparents Day is pretty darn special nonetheless. After all, this is a holiday dedicated to some of the very most important people in your life, the ones who have always spoiled you silly and to this day adore you no matter what. At the very least you probably want to send Gigi and Gramps a message in honor of the occasion, but in case you're wondering what to write in a Grandparents Day card, we've rounded up 58 Happy Grandparents Day quotes. Some are sweet and sentimental, some are witty and wise, but all will let them know how grateful you are, today and every other day, for their love and support—not to mention all the baking lessons, fishing trips and good, solid advice they offered up over the years.

Celebrated the first Sunday after Labor Day since President Jimmy Carter established it as a national holiday in 1978, Grandparents Day will fall on September 10, 2023. This is a great time to give your grandmother a thoughtful gift (you can even DIY it!), and your grandfather a meaningful present. When you're signing their card, think of adding one or more of the following quotes for the perfect finishing touch. You can also check out our Grandpa Quotes That Honor Their Special Place in Your Life and Best Grandma Quotes to Express How Much You Love Her if you want to salute them separately!

1. "Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children." —Alex Haley
2. "Sometimes our grandmas and grandpas are like grand-angels." —Lexie Saige
3. "The simplest toy, one which even the youngest child can operate, is called a grandparent." —Sam Levenson
4. "They say genes skip generations. Maybe that’s why grandparents find their grandchildren so likable." —Joan McIntosh
5. "When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window." —Ogden Nash
6. "Grandma and Grandpa, tell me a story and snuggle me with your love. When I’m in your arms, the world seems small and we’re blessed by the heavens above." —Laura Spiess
7. "Grandparents are there to help the child get into mischief they haven't thought of yet." —Gene Perret
8. "No one who has not known that inestimable privilege can possibly realize what good fortune it is to grow up in a home where there are grandparents." —Suzanne La Follette
9. “Becoming a grandparent is a second chance. For you have a chance to put to use all the things you learned the first time around and may have made mistakes on. It’s all love and no discipline. There’s no thorn in the rose.” —Joyce Brothers
10. "There is nothing more wonderful than the love and guidance a grandparent can give his or her grandchild." —Edward Fays
11. "A child needs a grandparent, anybody's grandparent, to grow a little more securely into an unfamiliar world." —Charles and Ann Morse
12. "Grandparents are like stars. You don't always see them, but you know they're there." —Unknown
    
    
13. "It is one of nature's ways that we often feel closer to distant generations than to the generation immediately preceding us." —Igor Stravinsky
14. "I know you've loved me since I was born, but I've loved you my whole life." —Unknown
15. "Grandparents, like heroes, are as necessary to a child's growth as vitamins." —Joyce Allston
16. "A grandparent is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend." —Unknown
17. "Telling stories to my children that I was, in my turn, told by my parents and grandparents makes me feel part of something special and odd, part of the continuous stream of life itself." —Neil Gaiman
18. "Grandparents are always being told that they are living history to their grandchildren, that they give the children the reassurance of their roots. For me and many grandmothers I have talked to, it works the other way as well. They give us continuity." —Ruth Goode
19. "A grandparent is old on the outside but young on the inside." —Unknown
20. "Grandparents can have a profound influence on their grandchildren. Their time is generally not as encumbered and busy as the parents', so books can be opened and read, stories can be told … Children then obtain a perspective of life which not only is rewarding but can bring them security, peace, and strength." —Ezra Taft Benson
21. "Surely, two of the most satisfying experiences in life must be those of being a grandchild and or a grandparent." —Donald A Norber
    
22. "What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies." —Rudolph Giuliani
    
23. "Grandparents are the best kind of grownups." —Unknown
24. "Because (grandparents) are usually free to love and guide and befriend the young without having to take daily responsibility for them, they can often reach out past pride and fear of failure and close the space between generations." —Jimmy Carter
    
    
25. "I loved their home. Everything smelled older, worn but safe; the food aroma had baked itself into the furniture." —Susan Strasberg
26. "You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them." —Archbishop Desmond Tutu
27. "Grandparents are a family’s greatest treasure, the founders of a loving legacy, The greatest storytellers, the keepers of traditions that linger on in cherished memory. Grandparents are the family’s strong foundation. Their very special love sets them apart. Through happiness and sorrow, through their special love and caring, grandparents keep a family close at heart." —Unknown
    
28. "Some of the world's best educators are grandparents." —Dr. Charlie W. Shedd
29. "Grandparents are both our past and our future. In some ways they are what has gone before, and in others, they are what we will become." —Fred Rogers
30. "Young people need something stable to hang on to — a culture connection, a sense of their own past, a hope for their own future. Most of all, they need what grandparents can give them." —Jay Kesler
31. "Elephants and grandchildren never forget." —Andy Rooney
32. "Few things are more delightful than grandchildren fighting over your lap." —Doug Larson
33. "The old are the precious gem in the center of the household." —Chinese Proverb
34. "Being grandparents sufficiently removes us from our responsibilities so that we can be friends." —Allan Frome
35. "I'm made up of the memories of my parents and my grandparents, all my ancestors. They're in the way I look, in the color of my hair. And I'm made up of everyone I've ever met who's changed the way I think." —Terry Pratchett
36. "What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change, and they give me a million dollars' worth of pleasure." —Gene Perret
    
    
37. "I feel like my grandparents and parents gave me a tremendous amount. And if I can pass some of that on, then I’ll be very happy." —Caroline Kennedy
38. "Children brought up by their grandparents are generally spoiled." —Spanish Proverb
39. "It's funny what happens when you become a grandparent. You start to act all goofy and do things you never thought you'd do. It's terrific." —Mike Krzyzewski
40. "Have children while your parents are still young enough to take care of them." —Rita Rudner
41. "Everyone needs to have access both to grandparents and grandchildren in order to be a full human being." —Margaret Mead
42. "If I would have known that grandchildren were going to be so much fun I would have had them first." —Bill Laurin
43. "Never have children, only grandchildren." —Gore Vidal
44. "God gave us loving grandchildren as a reward for all our random acts of kindness." —Janet Lanese
45. "The best baby-sitters, of course, are the baby’s grandparents. You feel completely comfortable entrusting your baby to them for long periods, which is why most grandparents flee to Florida." —Dave Barry
46. "'You're more trouble than the children are' is the greatest compliment a grandparent can receive." —Gene Perret
47. "Some of our greatest blessings call us grandma and grandpa." —Unknown
48. "Grandparents are a treasure in the family. Please, take care of your grandparents: love them and let them talk to your children!" —Pope Francis
    
    
49. "An hour with your grandchildren can make you feel young again. Anything longer than that, and you start to age quickly." —Gene Perret
50. "I grew up with my grandparents around. I think that's important for a child. If for no other reason than to hear stories about their parents when they were children." —Al Roker
51. "The best parents get promoted to grandparents." —Unknown
52. "If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I’d have had them first." —Lois Wyse
53. "Why do grandparents and grandchildren get along so well? They have the same enemy — the mother." —Claudette Colbert
54. "A grandparent has silver in their hair and gold in their heart." —Unknown
55. "The very old and the very young have something in common that makes it right that they should be left alone together. Dawn and sunset see stars shining in a blue sky; but morning and midday and afternoon do not, poor things." —Elizabeth Goudge
56. "Holding these babies in my arms makes me realize the miracle my husband and I began." —Betty Ford
57. "Grandparents should play the same role in the family as an elder statesman can in the government of a country. They have the experience and knowledge that comes from surviving a great many years of life’s battles and the wisdom, hopefully, to recognize how their grandchildren can benefit from this." —Geoff Dench
58. "No cowboy was ever faster on the draw than a grandparent pulling a baby picture out of a wallet." —Anonymous

Jill Gleeson

Jill Gleeson is a travel journalist and memoirist based in the Appalachian Mountains of western Pennsylvania who has written for websites and publications including Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day, Country Living, Washingtonian, Gothamist, Canadian Traveller, and EDGE Media Network. Jill is the travel editor for Enchanted Living. Learn more about her journey at gleesonreboots.com.