Birthdays and the holidays can be joyous and exciting, especially if you have young children. At the same time, if you’re a parent who’s thinking ahead to that time after the main occasion, you also can’t help but feel a little jaded and cynical.
The festivities can be so shallow. Scratch the sparkly surface and you uncover unsavory details like huge credit card bills, a mountain of trash, additional bits of clutter that were fascinating for exactly one day before they got old, etc.
It’s the norm, but you definitely don’t have to subscribe to it, especially if it teaches your children the wrong values. Birthdays and holidays can be more meaningful and intentional. It’s best that they learn this while they’re young.
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More Thoughtful Gifts
Presents are an integral part of the holiday equation. Hopefully, you can recognize that gifts for children don’t always have to be toys. Even educational toys don’t serve their purpose for very long. After a year or so, it might no longer be relevant to the recipient and end up in a donation bin somewhere.
Chances are you also buy them stuff throughout the year, so you might choose to try giving something else for special occasions. As modern-day sages intone, the best present to give is the gift of time and attention.
If you worry that this kind of present is no fun to unwrap, you can always wrap coupons or vouchers and make one immediately redeemable.
The Gift of Experience and Adventure
Instead of stuff, you can give them opportunities to bond with you through a shared experience. For very young children, you might have to consult a developmental milestone table to determine which activities are appropriate for them. Nonetheless, here’s a list of possible gift options, broken down into eight categories.
1. Shows
Check your city’s calendar of events and see if there’s a show that your kids might be interested in. Many of the musical kiddie TV and YouTube shows tour, so there might be something heading your way.
If your children enjoy plays and musicals, see what’s coming up from your local theater production outfit. There could also be concerts and ballets. Tickets to Disney on Ice, if you have one visiting near you, would also be timely for the holiday season.
2. Play Activities
There are so many possibilities for this option from your regular indoor playroom at the mall to trampoline parks. Older kids will probably enjoy something like laser tag or a paintball game.
3. Lessons
You can do sports, music, crafts, or some other sort of pastime. Try to think of something that you can learn and do with them.
Chances are you already have them signed up for sports and music lessons, so pick something that’s a little uncommon but easy to learn. You can try something like archery or ultimate Frisbee for sports and ukulele or beatboxing for music.
Other hobbies you can attempt to take on together are pottery, ceramic painting, gardening, etc. For smaller kids, you can sign up for something like healthy baking with toddlers or mommy-and-me craft lessons.
4. Passes and Membership
Figure out your children’s aptitude and gift them with multiple passes or an annual membership to a place where they can explore their interests. This could be to a zoo, a planetarium, a museum, an aquarium, an amusement park, a water park, a climbing facility, etc.
5. Outdoor Adventure
Take your pick from a long list of fun adventures you can have with your kids outdoors. You can go camping, hiking, fishing, riding on trails, birdwatching, whale-watching, tubing, foraging, etc.
Being out in nature is a bigger gift to them than you or they might realize. Many kids these days suffer from something that Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods,” calls Nature-Deficit Disorder. Time out in nature, especially when spent with you, is very nurturing and enriching to their young souls.
6. Trips
Travel is always a welcome gift. Experiencing different places is thrilling and educational to boot.
If your kids like trains, you might want to set time aside for a long train ride. Road trips are another great idea since they’re usually fun for the entire family. You can also hit two birds with one stone by visiting a beloved relative residing in a different city.
7. Projects
It could also be something that you know they want and that you can work on together. For instance, if they want a tree house, you can promise to spend so many weekends building one with them. Of course, you get to pay for materials and other related expenses.
It could definitely be something smaller and less labor-intensive like a dollhouse, a terrarium, or a small pond.
8. Simple Home Treats
If money is a little low, make your own coupons for simple but special activities you can do at home, such as game night, movie night, girl night, Nerf war, etc.
Treasured Memories
Your kids might not be getting something tangible that they can count as their possession, but an experience is something that lingers in their memory. Its benefits will also take root and become a part of them forever, helping shape their character and outlook.
