Today we stopped by Emeritus Senior Living, the residence of my grandmother-in-law, and Theo’s great-grandmother (sidenote: when Theo was born he had 3 living great-grandmothers [out of 4] which I thought was pretty special). We were there with other moms and kids and passed out treats and sang Christmas carols.

We were only there for an hour, and it was full of chaos and kids running around; background noise for those of us who live with young children day-in and day-out, but so much entertainment for those who are past those phases of life.

I also always bring our little dog, Poe, with us when we visit Emeritus because he is such a classic therapy dog. He is super tolerant of people holding him and petting him and he is so small and cute like a stuffed animal that he is never intimidating. Animals really are magic, sometimes.

This was our first Christmas outing, but we’ve done similar events the previous two Halloweens. Same basic idea: sugary treats, cute kids, a few songs, cute dog.

This is one of those activities that is so simple, but so meaningful for those who get to receive the gift of the company of energetic little bodies full of life. Cost: virtually none, just the cost of the goodies you bring. Time: 30 minutes, 1 hour max. (both the kids and the seniors get tired). Reward: Lots of feel-good vibes and positive inter-generational relationships strengthened.