My friend Tan doesn’t give gifts. She gives experiences. I learned this recently when she asked if she could take The Hamster to Medieval Timeswith her son to celebrate his birthday. Since her son’s birthday is right on the heels of the Hamster’s, I was a little confused. By the time I sorted this all out in my head, I was sold on the idea.
This, of course caused me to consider the aptness of this concept in our commercially driven world. If you house is anything like mine, mounds of toys occupy every corner. And in this age of the extravagant birthday party, “small” means at least 8- 10 more toys are likely to move in. If instead my DS enjoys a day out with a child he likes doing something special and I spend some precious time alone, we both appreciate the gift.
The beauty of this type of present is that it need not be expensive. There are many things my family enjoys that are totally unknown to my friends’ children. Unexpectedly allowing them to join in on our family traditions can be a wonderful treat.
So, instead of gifts, at the next few birthday parties we attend this year, I think The Hamster will be giving experiences. Should you wish to join us – here are some ideas!
1. A day at the zoo
2. Cooking/baking/sewing/knitting – whatever your skill
3. An obscure museum
4. The local amusement park
5. The fire station/ airport/port
6. The beach/pool/lake
7. Playing your family's sport
8. A professional/semi-pro sports game
9. Making something your family makes
10. Sleepover at your house
11. A visit to an ethnic or cultural event your family enjoys
12. A visit to a farm or ranch.
13. An introductory lesson in something neat - paid for by you!
More about the Thursday Thirteen meme.
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Thursday, February 22, 2007
The Gift of Experience
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14 comments:
Thursday Thirteen has come to an end.
I have enjoyed my visits here and consider us friends.
Thank you for sharing your thirteens with me.
The comments you left me filled me with glee.
It is hard to believe it is really true.
I am trying very hard to not be blue.
Happy TT'ing!
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Raggedy
I love the idea of giving kids experiences. We have a membership to our local art gallery and take our little chicken and her friends there on a regular basis. I agree that you can always get more gifts - it's great to create memories with out of the ordinary experiences.
Whenever my Mom or sister are flummoxed with what to get my 11 and 13 year old children, I tell them a gift certificate with a promise to take them shopping is the best thing! They will love going with someone else besides Mom!
Thoses are great ideas! I've decided to start right away with this idea.
An excellent idea. I'm not big on my kids having parties every year--which their friends like is positively neolithic of me. I just don't think that getting a dozen more presents every year is a good thing.
Scribbit,
I have a friend with 3,- the one who gave me this idea, who alternates . Each child gets a B-day party every 3rd year- in between they get a family party. It's a great idea. This year, actually is the first non-family party my DS gets.
I love the idea of giving experience gifts. I’ve especially encouraged my kid’s grandparents to spend time with the kids during their birthdays doing special projects and sharing their skills. My daughter constantly talks about the time she spent sewing a quilt with her grandmother and designing and decorating a cake for her birthday.
I’ve been researching the introductory lessons available in my own town. There are so many fun things to try! Outdoor adventure classes like scuba diving, horseback riding, river rafting, and fly-fishing. Life-skills classes like self-defense and stranger safety, cooking classes, How to Get Your Book Published. Art and craft classes like portrait and life drawing lessons, and music lessons, knitting and jewelry design.
I’ve also noticed that some of the museums we go to on a regular basis sometimes have behind the scenes tours that are more interesting than the official exhibitions.
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Giving experiences sounds like a great idea. It's the experiences that we remember anyway, not the toys. My brother and SIL give my kids savings bonds for their birthday and Christmas presents. They usually give them a very small toy too or outfit. The kids never know the difference and the money will be put towards something useful, like a car or college education.
Thanks for stopping by nowhimwell,
We too beleive in small gifts for birthdays and holidays.
If anyone doubts the truth of this I have a suggestion - think back to when you were little, perhaps you can remember one special gift or birthday treat, but the ones that stick with me are the occasions when my parents made special time for me - it didn't need to be associated with a special occasion - their attention made it special.
Best wishes
Great thinking mcewen- you're right! That IS what I remember. Thanks!
Yes, the experiences are what I treasure most. I remember a few toys that were really special to me, but most things could be traded for someone to spend time with. One of my fondest memories is my mom taking us to Hammocks Beach, NC. We would ride the ferry across to Bear Island. The beach was very private. We'd lay out, walk, and look for shells. What great times we had!
Karen
Thrifty Mommy
Karen,
That's such a nice memory. That gets me thinking about memories of transportation. One of my fondest is of my grandmother taking me "downtown" on the bus. I may have to write about this sometime.
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