5 Alternatives to buying ‘stuff’ for your kids this Christmas
Want the ultimate waste-free gift for your little ones this year? Outings, experiences & vacations are “valued by children, both in the moment and for long afterward in their memory,” according to psychologist and best-selling author Oliver James. “It’s all about talking nonsense with your parents, sharing an ice cream and moments of time in which your interests are genuinely taken into account.”
Indeed what could be better than a gift which makes your children feel truly valued, loved and part of a family? Rosa (almost 3) gets such joy from splashing in muddy puddles, exploring outdoor adventure play areas, in fact anything where she’s interacting with us and other kids.
If you're anything like us, with the exception of a few special items to make the toy cupboard more age appropriate, your kids probably don't need very much anyway. Our littlest one, in particular, has all her big sister's toys to play with and we get all her clothes second hand. So for the life of me I don't know what else she might need.
Plus there’s no wrapping, no breaking, and no inevitable disposable once they get bored of it. Stuff-free gifts are an environmental and parenting win-win.
Here are 5 of the best stuff-free ideas this Christmas:
1. A donation to a charity of their choice. To help them appreciate the value of money, as well as the importance of helping others less fortunate than themselves, you could do worse than to begin teaching your kids about charity early. Perhaps give them the same amount to spend on themselves so that they can appreciate the equivalent value of what they’re giving. And to help them with their charity choice you could preselect a few and write a child friendly explanation of what they do and why that’s important.
2. Membership to a local museum or attraction…we love kew gardens. It makes for a great day out and if you get a membership, you can go so often that it pays for itself after just a few visits. The Natural History Museum even does special kids ‘night at the museum’ events which older kids are sure to love.
3. Give them a ‘blank day out pass’ to a place, or event, of their choosing. Go hiking, on a picnic, to a theme park or the theatre. Anywhere that gives them joy. And, if you have two or more children, why not make it an opportunity to take them individually, to the place most special to them, so they can have real quality one on one time with you. If you don’t want to end up at soft-play again why not give them a big poster with some ideas to get them thinking out of the box
4. For older children, how about a gift card for a movie with all the pop-corn / pik-n-mix / naughty treats they can eat.
5. Why not try a toy rental-subscription like the one from Whirli. There are a range of different prices and for a low monthly or annual price you can enjoy an amazing array of toys on rotation with no waste. Just send them back when they’re bored / grow out of the toy and swap it for something new.
Finally, you can tie some of the above together by giving them a personalised calendar already filled out with all the fun things you’ve got planned: playdates, special one on one time, birthdays, lunch-date, movie night…that way the joy of Christmas will last all year round.