Grandparents whose children and grandchildren live far away are always envious of those grandparents with their families nearby. This is never more true than at Christmas.
It can take some time to learn the ropes of long distance Christmases.
What are the things that you can do to make everybody feel closer? How can you express your love for your grandkids in a way that they will feel it?
Fortunately there are more ways to accomplish this than ever before. Catalogue shopping will often deliver to outlets in your kids' area. Gifts bought online can be sent to their door.
You can send money without having to trust a check to the mail. Paypal, online bank transfers, or going into a bank branch and making a deposit in your child's account, will all get to their destination in much less time, some of them will even arrive the same day.
If you've waited too long to be able to send a Christmas card in regular mail, you can spend a bit more to have delivery happen faster. Or you can be high-tech and send an e-card.
Facebook can go a long way towards making it feel like the people you love are not so far away.
Posting pictures of family, Christmas meals and treats, trees and decorations can create a sense of immediacy and intimacy, as you share your traditions.
Being able to see photos of your grandkids, around the tree on Christmas morning, wearing the clothes or playing with the toys you sent, will warm your heart.
I haven't mastered Skype myself yet but I've heard it can be a great way to get together.
Of course, if all this new technology makes you nervous, there's nothing wrong with doing things old school. After all, grandparents have relied on such methods for ages.
Making a long distance phone call to family across the world has been a time-honored tradition in many households.
To send gifts in the mail you need to have yourself organized weeks ahead of time, unless you want their Christmas presents to become Valentine's Day gifts because they arrive so late.
But if you can have your letters and cards stamped and ready to mail early enough, you are golden. Same goes for having presents gift-wrapped and covered in brown paper or stuffed into post office packaging, with plenty of cash in your pocket to cover the shipping costs.
These used to be the only ways grandparents could connect with their grandbabies.
Whether you do it the old-fashioned way or are savvy about all the newfangled tools out there, you're dealing with a situation grandparents have been dealing with since the first grandchild was whisked away by adult children with itchy feet and a spirit of adventure. This has always happened, even in the best of families, and always will.
We are lucky in this day and age to be able to span the distance in so many different ways. To all grandparents, to their grown children and to all their grandchildren around the globe, have a Merry Christmas.
Visit Jody's website and blog at http://www.ncubator.ca and http://ncubator.ca/blogger