Grandparents' Day 2026 Teaching Resources

Celebrate Grandparents' Day 2026 in your primary classroom with our ready-to-print activities, gift ideas and more! You'll find All About Grandma and All About Grandpa templates, student and family interview activities, gift ideas for nan and grandad, greatest grandparent certificates and many more ways to honour Australian grandparents.

Looking for ideas to mark this day in your classroom in 2026? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including when to celebrate, how the day came to be in Australia and ideas from veteran teachers for celebrating grandparents with your students.

What Is Grandparents' Day?

Grandparents' Day is a time we set aside as Australians each year to celebrate the older people in our lives and to maintain connections across generations. It's a great day to recognise not just grandparents but also special elders and other people who take on a grandparent-like role in families or communities.

Celebrated around the world at different times of the year, the Australian event is thought to have begun in October of 2010 in Queensland, when the state became the first in the country to establish a day just for these special people.

It's now honoured all across Australia, and primary school students and teachers play a major role!

When Is Grandparents' Day 2026?

Grandparents' Day is always on a Sunday, although the exact date changes yearly. This year, it will be held on Sunday, 25 October 2026.

Unlike some of the other days we mark on the calendar throughout the school year, it is not a public holiday.

Creating Grandparents' Day crafts is a popular activity among Aussie teachers. 

Grandparents' Day Activities for Schools

If you're planning to celebrate Grandparents' Day at school with your students, our teacher team has plenty of ideas to make it a very Happy Grandparents' Day!

• Plan a grandparent visit to the classroom — Your school may already have this on the calendar, or you can chat with your school principal about adding a small assembly for classes to celebrate these special family members.
• Create Grandparents' Day cards and poems — Add some curriculum alignment to your holiday celebration by having your students work on their writing skills by crafting cards or writing poems for their grandparents.
• Assign grandparent (or special person) interviews — Teach students the importance of collecting the stories of older generations with a simple interview assignment that tasks kids with asking a few questions of either a grandparent or another special person in their life.