Give experiences

Wrap up something that will spread joy beyond the holidays 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that in many cases, experiences can be more
novel and exciting than things. We often think of gifts

(00:25):
as objects that are wrapped, but by expanding the universe
of gifts to consider experiences, we may increase the chances
of giving someone something they really like. For the past
few years, my husband and I have given our older
boys a short trip each year as a big Christmas present.

(00:46):
For instance, in twenty twenty three, I took my second
oldest to Acadia National Park. In twenty twenty four, my
husband took him on a diving trip. In twenty twenty four,
I took my oldest child to New York City for
a few days. These were fun for the kids and
were really good bonding experiences. Sometimes it's hard to get

(01:07):
a lot of one on one time with a teenage boy,
but a trip kind of forces the process. I've also
given my husband the gift of a weekend off to
go do something fun with his brother. For instance, they
went skiing for a weekend once. My husband skis with
our kids a lot, but he was happy for the

(01:28):
chance to go without worrying about helping someone else into
a snowsuit. Perhaps you too have someone in your life
who would enjoy a special experience. You might promise to
take an older relative out to lunch, into a museum.
You might take a teenager to a pro sports event
in a town an hour away. If you are co

(01:50):
parenting with someone, you could each give each other the
gift of a weekend or a few days away, available
for whatever you choose to do within your budget, secure
that all the childcare and household needs are covered. That
sounds better to me than a scarf. Little kids do
like toys, and it's fine to get them those toys.

(02:13):
But I also heard a great idea the other day
of giving an elementary school aged child a coupon book
for lots of different little experiences. These would be things
like staying up half an hour later or going out
for ice cream with dad. The child could cash these
in when they wanted them and enjoy getting those experiences
over a longer time rather than just on a holiday.

(02:38):
So as you are thinking about your gift list, see
if you can add in a few experiences alongside the
things you are wrapping. And by the way, you can
definitely wrap an experience. When I gave my husband permission
to go on that ski trip, I wrapped up a
pair of doll skis for him. If you are taking
someone to a concert, you could give them a T

(03:00):
shirt or other merch from that artist that gives you
something under the tree and also the knowledge that the
fun will last, likely long after that tree is gone.
Experiences can make memories, and those tend not to run
out of batteries or get broken quite so quickly. In
the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

(03:25):
to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening
to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,
you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

(03:49):
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