Smile

Thanks to polar bear costumes, grandparents get to hug grandkids for first time since lockdown

Published

4 years ago

January 4, 2021

She Who Makes You Smile

Grandparents Barbara, 71, and Clive Walshaw, 73, surprised their three grandsons by wearing a polar bear suit so they could hug for the first time since March. See SWNS story SWLEhug; Grandparents who hadn’t hugged their grandsons since March due to Covid shared a loving embrace on Christmas Day - after surprising them in inflatable polar bear costumes. Barbara, 71, and Clive Walshaw, 73, said the heartwarming hug was the “best six minutes” they had all year as they got to hold their three grandkids for the first time since March 1. The couple have been shielding for nine months and haven’t been able to hug the three boys Quinn, six, Morgan, eight, and Mackenzie, 14 in all that time. Barbara said it was heartbreaking for the children when they were told they couldn’t nip round to see them and wanted to do something special for them for Christmas. They had originally planned to spend Christmas “together” on a Zoom call with a laptop at the end of the dinner table. Barbara, from Bramley, in Leeds, West Yorks., said: “At first they couldn’t understand why they couldn’t come round and it was so heartbreaking.

Grandparents Barbara and Clive Walshaw surprised their grandkids on Christmas day, after nine months of isolation.
They gave them safe and warm hugs through the use of inflatable polar bear costumes Barbara bought online.
Quinn, 6, Morgan, 8, and Mackenzie, 14 were so giddy seeing their grandparents covered with the giant costumes.

Hugs indeed boost happiness.

Grandparents Barbara and Clive Walshaw, who gave their grandchildren a warm embrace through the use of inflatable polar bears, said it was the “best six minutes” they had all year.

Self-isolating due to the pandemic, the couple shared hugs with the kids they hadn’t got to hold since March.

The grandkids were sad after knowing that Barbara and Clive would only be seeing them on Christmas via Zoom.

Normally, the close-knit family spends two to three days every week together. The boys would stay overnight in a spare room.

“It was really hard on all of the boys,” says Barbara. “We normally spend Christmas day with them and we wondered what we were going to do with all that’s been going on.”

If the grandmother had not chanced upon the inflatable polar bears online, the kids would have been heartbroken on Christmas. Thanks to the nifty grandmother, they have found a way to give safe hugs on Christmas day.

She said it was the “best £15 she’d ever spent” as it brought so much joy and a “pure Christmas spirit.”

The couple, who are in their 70s, went to the home of their grandkids in Kirkstall, Leeds, and let out loving cuddles to Quinn, 6, Morgan, 8, and Mackenzie, 14.

At around noon on December 25, parents Neil and Hazel Walshaw told their three boys that there was a rumor that there would be polar bear sightings in Kirkstall.

As the boys walked out, they spotted their grandparents hilariously bouncing over in the massive costumes.

“The costumes worked really well. Totally enclosed. It was the best idea I’ve ever had I think,” Barbara shared.

“The younger boy was a bit overawed by these massive polar bears, but when he realized it was us it was so lovely. So many cuddles. It was amazing. Everyone was so happy in those six minutes. And we laughed and cried. I loved it.”

The youngest grandson Quinn was so surprised that he went to and fro the house “to make sure it was real.”

Neil shared that it was the best hug his boys ever had, and a memory they would “never forget.” For him, “they are the best grandparents.”

Source: Good News Network