My little sister Gracie and I are eleven years apart. She is two and a half and I am fourteen. Some of my friends with adoptive siblings do not have that big of an age difference. My point? How do you connect with your sibling when there is a big age difference? Maybe there is a small age difference between you and your sibling and you are looking for ways to connect with them? I have found that doing some things that Gracie enjoys doing are actually really fun.

For the girls I have found that having a tea party is a great way to connect with Gracie. We will make tea together and on occasion we will make a batch of chocolate chip cookies. We will also make tea sandwiches together. Typically this is a ham and cheese sandwich cut up in quarters. Gracie will help me set up for the party and then she will invite her big stuffed bunny rabbit and Elmo doll to join in on the fun. You may want to include food from their birth country. For Gracie I might add fortune cookies or Chinese dumplings. You can typically find the dumplings in the frozen section of most grocery stores. Sometimes we will eat the dumplings with chopsticks. This is always fun to try.

Gracie just received tons and tons of Barbie dolls and little accessories like clothes and a Barbie house. Yes, I know Barbie dolls can be a little immature, but I have found it fun to dress the Barbie dolls and do their hair.

For boys you might want to play a sport or a game with your sibling. Of course they may not know all of the rules but they love it when you include them in your games. Simply rolling a ball back and forth can be a lot of fun.

Some sibling do not have that much of an age difference. Here are some ways for you to connect.

Most girls love to shop. For most of us it is programmed into our DNA. Not really, but at times it can seem like it. Show your sister you care by treating her to a new pair of earrings or my personal favorite the best friend jewelry for sister. You can find these in Claire’s. I have even found the Chinese symbol for love you can buy as a necklace at Claire’s.

For the boys, like the girls and shopping, sports are probably programmed into boy’s DNA. Make good use of ESPN and Sports Center and ask your sibling to watch some sports with you. It is also really great to watch sports from other countries especially during the time the Olympics are going on. Look for your sibling’s birth country and cheer for that country as well as USA.

What if you are an older sister trying to connect with your little brother or an older brother trying to connect with your little sister. Coloring can be so much fun. Pull out the crayons and color a picture together. Rent a movie your younger sibling would like to watch and pop some popcorn together and enjoy the movie together. Sidewalk chalk is another thing Gracie and I love to do to have fun.

Be creative. In the process you will be making memories to last a lifetime.