NEED TO KNOW
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Over 24 years, grandma Noreen took all 16 of her grandkids on one-on-one trips
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In 2024, the adults surprised her with a trip to Hawaii — Noreen’s first visit to the islands
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Noreen’s oldest grandchild, Britney, shared the experience on TikTok where viewers found happiness in the family’s story
Noreen is a grandparent unlike any other — she took all her grandkids on one-on-one trips when they were just out of middle school.
Grandma Noreen, who prefers to be identified without a last name for privacy, had a lot of plans for retirement with her husband. However, he suddenly died in 1996, leaving Noreen “at a loss.” But four years later, she asked the parents of her oldest grandchild to take her on a trip. From there, a new tradition for the family was born.
Britney Lindgren/Tiktok; Courtesy of Britney Lindgren
L-R: Erik, Britney, Katie, Lyz, Grandma Noreen, Anna, Scott, Tristan, Bill
“It was always their choice, with maybe a tiny bit of help from grandma,” the 87-year-old tells PEOPLE. “It took 24 years to do 16 grandchildren and I finished last year.”
Britney Lindgren, the oldest grandchild who is now 39, chose New York for her trip in 2000. Others opted for East Coast destinations like San Francisco, Seattle and San Diego. There were even a couple Midwest road trips, leaving their home state of Illinois to tour Iowa, Nebraska and Lake Michigan.
“I don’t know where it came from to be honest,” Noreen says of her love of traveling. “I enjoyed every trip, every single trip and I did not lose a grandchild.”
Britney Lindgren/Tiktok; Courtesy of Britney Lindgren
Grandma Noreen on Royal-Moana Beach
She adds: “I’ve always been close to my grandchildren. But doing one-on-ones is wonderful… And you have to remember they were 14-year-old grandchildren.”
In 2024, Noreen took her youngest grandchild to San Diego, marking an end to the tradition. But it got the kids thinking. Noreen always wanted to go to Hawaii, but never had the opportunity to do so.
“I hate to hear my grandma say she’s never done something and she wants to do something,” Katie Spyniewski, 27, says. “So then the wheels started turning and I talked to my cousins and my parents and I was like, ‘What if we took grandma? Do you think we could make it happen?’”
So the grandkids split the duties to make this dream a reality. On Christmas day 2024, the kids presented Noreen with a Hawaiian lei and a card, explaining their trip for next year.
Britney Lindgren/Tiktok; Courtesy of Britney Lindgren
L-R: Anna, Lyz, Grandma, Scott, Tristan, Britney, Erik, Katie and Bill in front of a tank on Schofield Barracks, their grandpa was a tank commander.
“There was much crying and sighing,” Noreen remembers. “In fact, I didn’t even tell some of my friends right away because I couldn’t even believe it myself.”
“It sounds a little weird, but then when I let loose, I let everybody know I was going to Hawaii and who was taking me,” she adds.
In July 2025, Noreen and eight of her grandkids flew to Hawaii for a one-of-a-kind vacation. The family enjoyed gorgeous sandy beaches, a lei making class at the hotel, a visit to where Jurassic Park was filmed and a stop at Schofield Barracks — where their grandpa was stationed during the Korean War in the 1950s. And of course, the family opted to tour the island in a large travel van, big enough to fit the entire crew.
Britney Lindgren/Tiktok; Courtesy of Britney Lindgren
L-R: Tristan, Scott, Katie, Anna, Grandma, Lyz, Erik, Bill, Britney with their travel van for the week, outside of Kualoa Ranch
https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf
“Traveling with a big group was wonderful because I was never, ever, ever alone,” Noreen says. “The kids took care of absolutely everything, whether it was a drink or a full dinner or the hotel, everything was taken care of by them.”
As a way to remember the trip, Lindgren asked her family if she could film some TikToks along the way. To some of her cousin’s embarrassment, they reluctantly participated. But, the trip and the family’s story went viral.
“[Seven] million people have seen the two videos, which is hard to comprehend,” Britney tells PEOPLE. “That is incredibly overwhelming in a great way because it’s 99.9% positive feedback.”
The first video, posted on July 23, shows the family jumping over a phone in the airport and landing their feet on a Hawaiian beach. The second video captures the moment a flight attendant gave a shoutout to Noreen, explaining her story to the entire cabin — to which fellow passengers celebrated with applause.
“She didn’t just build a life, she built a legacy. Enjoy your vacation, grandma Noreen,” one comment with over 27,000 likes says.
Another viewer wrote: “Now she’s OUR grandma.”
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“It just made me feel good that there’s so many good people in the world,” Noreen says of the response to the videos. “So to know that people are happy and it made them happy and maybe gave them a good thought, I don’t know how to express it, but it gives me a feeling that there’s a lot of good people in the world.”
As for the family tradition, the kids plan to continue it on with the next generation.
“Making memories and keeping your connections with the people you love is far more important than any single thing you could ever own,” Lindgren says.
Read the original article on People
