Stuff is overrated. You can find all kinds of studies that show more stuff equals more stress. I don’t need a fancy study to tell me that, though. Our house is “stuffed” to the brim. Four people fit fine, but add in all the other things that go with those people, and there is too much. So when Christmas and birthdays roll around it seems like we are adding more than we are getting rid of, even with the seasonal purges.
For our family, 2018 is going to be the year of gifting time. Instead of toys we are gifting experiences. We usually use the Want, Need, Wear, Read gifting strategy, but this year I thought it would be fun to do something a bit different. My husband and I are going to split it up to where we each come up with 2 different activities we will do separately with each of our sons, then we can come up with 4 experiences that we can do as a family. That way each kid will still get 8 gifts, they’ll just be in the form of a certificate or voucher. The experiences can vary in cost from free or inexpensive to a bit heftier price tag.
Here are a few low-cost ideas for activities in Wichita:
- children’s theater
- park play date
- picnic
- miniature golf
- bowling
- batting cages
- driving range
- local festivals
- movie date
- camping trip
**These would be perfect for activities that could easily be tailored to fit the differences in ages and abilities of individual children**
Here are a few ideas that cost a bit more but still would be fun:
- spa day
- live, local performing arts single or season tickets
- gift them a fun summer camp experience
- paint night for families at one of the local paint and take studios
- concert tickets
- tickets to waterpark or amusement park
- sporting event tickets
- overnight stay at local hotel
- surprise weekend road trip to KC, OKC or Tulsa
- annual membership and visit to local museums or zoos. (Don’t forget the reciprocal programs for a lot of these memberships that can be used across the country!)
- Have a “Yes Day“
**These types of gifts would be perfect for the family-themed experiences**
This strategy lets us focus on our family and know that we aren’t contributing to the piles of junk that sit in the toy room. My boys are getting to the age where they *kind of* understand the value of money and know that time spent together is often more fun than the toys that they’ll enjoy for a minute and then forget about a week later. Family members will still bring presents on their sleighs as they come to celebrate with us. I’m also sure Santa will deliver the games or athletic gear they’ve been eyeing. All in all I’m sure they won’t even notice the lack of stuff, but they will definitely remember the time we’ll spend together.