Every year I spend countless hours shopping for and wrapping my kid’s gifts for the holidays. Christmas morning comes, they open said gifts, and all we’re left with is a heaping pile of garbage. Literally, garbage. I can tell you my kids don’t remember that dollhouse or that race-car they got, but what they do remember is that trip to the movies in our X-mas pajamas. They remember decorating cookies at the holiday festival, and they remember story time with the Grinch at the local book store. And before you lose your breath, I’m not suggesting you get your kids nothing–although I do believe the holidays are about much more, and that’s for another blog post on another day.
This year, I’ve decided I’m done with the crap, and I’ll be gifting my kids nothing but memories. Memories that will last much longer than any Elsa doll. And if you’re excited about this idea, and want to try it out, I’ve got you covered. Let’s do this.
You can probably take all these individual “memory makers” and wrap them individually under the tree, however, I decided to create a coupon book. There are several online with more pages, but I chose to buy this from Amazon for both my kids. I’ll leave the delivery and wrapping part up to you.
Now let’s talk ideas. And let’s be real, memories can cost just as much as toys, and often times more. So I’ve created a list of both free (or very cheap) ideas, and some that will cost you some money.
Free (or almost free) fun:
- Hiking, or a nature walk
- Trip to the park
- Picnic at your favorite outdoor place
- Community events (there are always a ton, check online)
- Trip to the library (especially fun during story time)
- Trip to the beach (if you live near one)
- Trip to a museum
- Game night at home
- Volunteer work (trust me on this one)
- Camp out in your backyard
- Camping trip
- Date with mom
- Date with dad
- Date with ________
- Community concert
- Visit the animal shelter, or local Humane Society
- Stay up a half hour or hour later past bedtime (for little kids)
- Trip to the pool (for the summer months)
- Favorite meal coupon
- “boss for the day”–a pass to be the boss and call the shots for the day
- Tickets to the movies
- Tickets to an amusement park
- Tickets to the zoo
- Tickets to go on a vacation
- Trips to indoor playgrounds like Chuck E Cheese, My gym, or lazer tag
- Tickets to the aquarium
- Tickets to a broadway show
- Tickets to a concert
- Tickets to a local fair or festival
- Spa Day
- Miniature golf
- Bowling
- Boat ride, whale watching, or all things water related if you live near a coast
- Classes or lessons–Like cooking class, art class, dance classes, piano classes, sports clubs, science camp…etc
- Tickets to a sports games
- Trip to favorite restaurant
- Go out for ice cream or their favorite dessert
- Waterpark passes
- Annual passes to their favorite places
- Roller skating or ice skating
Love all these ideas! I will definitely be doing this for Christmas. Thank you for sharing and here’s to making more memories and leaving Elsa on the shelf! 😝
Hahaha yes!
Oh I’m in!! This is such a great idea for any family member! I’m going to do this for my niece and nephew.