We have a lot of “stuff” in our house and our life. I’ve been thinking a lot about different holiday gifts that will add to our kids- no our FAMILY life without adding a lot of “stuff” to our living space. Here are some of the ideas I’ve come up with:
1. Museum passes: the Children’s museum, the Science Museum, the Animal farm, the Zoo, or the Aquarium. These are places that our family would enjoy popping into all year round. The benefit of having a pass is that you don’t have to exhaust the family
with a long visit so that you feel as though you are getting your money’s worth. You can pop in for an hour or so and have a great time.2. Gift certificates for “Paint your own Pottery” places. You’ll come home with a trinkit or two, but the real gift is in the experience.
3. Kid’s magazines: Sports Illustrated for Kids, National Geographic for Kids, Highlights, Ranger Rick, Babybug, Cobblestone, Creative Kids, Ladybug, Comic books, Turtle, Your Big Backyard, or Zoobooks just to name a few.
4. Gift Certificates for bowling, a summer water park, mini-golf, gymnastics, kid’s gyms, indoor rock climbing, again these are experiential gifts that can be redeemed throughout the year.
5. A State Park Pass for long days of swimming, hiking, and exploring!
What can you add to the list?
[tags] experiential gifts, holiday gift ideas, holidays, parenting, family fun, family life[/tags]
Photo by Southern By Design via Flickr and is used under a Creative Commons License.
6 responses so far ↓
Erica // Dec 5, 2006 at 8:01 pm
6. Tickets to a kids show (wiggles etc)
Becky // Dec 9, 2006 at 2:13 pm
I can’t believe I didn’t think of these things when family asked what to get for the kids. It is too late now, but all of these will be on our list next year. I have really been wanting to get passes for the Zoo, Aquarium, Musuem, etc. I am kicking myself for not thinking about these!!!! But, thanks so much for the post. Great ideas!
Beth // Dec 10, 2006 at 6:59 pm
We have too much stuff too .. so our “gifts” are charitable gifts. Right now I’m raising money for ths Sharing Foundation, a charity that does work in Cambodia. When family asks what to give, I direct them to my blog, http://beth.typepad.com and tell them to click on the charity badge and make a donation!
Amy // Dec 11, 2006 at 2:03 pm
Definitely museum passes. One of the gifts we are getting this year is that my inlaws are staying with our daughther for a weekend while we go off for a grown-up weekend alone. This is something we haven’t done since my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer almost three years ago.
Everyone gets a gift in this scenario - we get time to recharge, the baby gets time with her grandparents, and her grandparents get time with her.
Lisa // Dec 12, 2006 at 1:31 am
Those are some great suggestions. I especially like the idea of giving museum passes, what a fantastic gift idea for a kid. I will have to keep that one in mind.
Holly Schwendiman // Dec 15, 2006 at 6:04 pm
I love these ideas! I’ve never thought of the museum passes, as gifts but that’s a great way to look at and share them! I love the magazine subscriptions, especially the new American Girl magazine for young girls. My kids also love Highlights. We’ve also done service coupon books having one for each month.
Hugs,
Holly
Holly’s Corner
Here via the carnival of family life. ;o)
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