What Your Grandchildren Really Want This Holiday Season

I remember well my first piece of personal mail. Age of seven, I believe. Mother had subscribed me to a kids' nature newsletter - four pages, black and white, on smudgy newsprint. I held it in my hands and carefully studied the label. My name. My address. All mine! I took it to my room to read. Once. Twice. And then again. I stored this first issue, and each subsequent one, in a shoe box wrapped in pink birthday paper.

Years later, I made sure my own three daughters had subscriptions to kids' magazines so they could experience that same feeling of prideful ownership. A few years back, I repeated the gesture, this time on behalf of grandchildren. One of my choices was Cricket magazine. Issues arrived faithfully, along with calls of gratitude that triggered revisits to the memory of myself, staring in youthful disbelief at the postal label that bore not only my name and address, but the message that I was important enough to be acknowledged with mail of my own......

Here’s a gift your grandchildren will treasure all year long – Cricket.

As the holidays creep up on us, the question of what to get for the grandkids for holiday gifts becomes less of an activity in speculation and more of a nagging feeling. Many kids have so many toys that their parents actively campaign against receiving more of them. And giving gift cards or money just doesn't seem very festive. What's a grandparent to do? 

How about the gift of reading?

Books always make great gifts and your local bookseller will have excellent suggestions for your grandchildren, no matter what their ages or reading levels. But, if you want something just a little more special, a gift that keeps on giving, try a magazine subscription. With the gift of a magazine, your grandchild will receive a reminder of your love all year long as each issue lands in their mailbox. 

Once you settle on a magazine as the perfect gift, you have a lot of choices, so here are some guidelines to help you cut through the noise and discover a magazine with the exact qualities your grandchildren will love. 

WHAT MAKES A GREAT MAGAZINE?

First, let's start with what makes a great magazine. Just like great picture books, the best magazines contain 5 key characteristics:

• Beautiful illustrations
• Well-drawn characters that kids can relate to
• Stories with substance
• Re-readability
• No advertisements

Most magazines will contain one or two of these attributes but fall short in other ways. For example, a magazine that has no ads may lack lovable characters or beautiful illustrations. If you do your research, you'll discover that very few magazines combine all of these attributes into one product. Some of the few that do are Cricket Media's "Bug Magazines": BABYBUG, LADYBUG, SPIDER, CRICKET, and CICADA.

MEET THE "BUGS"

For more than 25 years, BABYBUG has provided babies and toddlers with high quality stories and poems specifically selected for this age group combined with beautiful illustrations. LADYBUG is perfect for preschoolers with its beautiful illustrations and lovable characters. SPIDER is made specifically for emerging readers, giving them the chance to read both on their own and with a parent (or grandparent). CRICKET, the flagship publication for 9 to 14-year-olds, has been recognized for its high-quality stories and artwork for more than 40 years. In fact, your kids probably grew up reading CRICKET! And CICADA, for teens ages 15 and up, is perfect for older teens with its contemporary illustrations and stories today's teens will relate to.

So, now you know what makes a great magazine and you are well on the way to finishing your holiday shopping. Your grandchildren (and their parents) will thank you every time a new issue lands in their mailbox. To make sure your grandkids don't miss an issue, subscribe to BABYBUG, LADYBUG, SPIDER, CRICKET, or CICADA at Cricket Media/GRAND.

This is a sponsored post for which I have been compensated by Cricket Media.