The purpose of the holiday, as stated in the preamble to the statute, is "to honour grandparents, to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children's children, and to help children become aware of the strength, information, and guidance older people can offer."

Florists and greeting card companies were overjoyed by the creation of the holiday but it hasn't panned out as a big gift- or card-giving holiday. Hallmark predicted that by 1983 Grandparents Day would be the sixth biggest holiday for greeting card sales.