Trips for Christmas
I've mentioned before that we often give our children trips for Christmas and birthdays. Here's sort of how we do it.
• We (of course) match the trip to the child's special interest. Felix has gotten multiple trips to the Gulf coast to bird during spring migration. Once Clara received a trip to the Chicago Lyric Opera at the height of her love of Pirates of Penzance. The role of Mabel was being sung by an old girlfriend of the Composer's--so handy for getting that backstage pass and meeting the cast!
• We present the trip with a definite or near-definite date. Sometimes it's months in the future. Sometimes we offer the option of going immediately (winter) or waiting til warmer weather. We've always been surprised at how the kids are willing to wait in order to have a better trip.
• Sometimes it's just the child and Papa. Sometimes the child with both parents. Sometimes they choose to bring Daisy along (she's fun).
• We include some spending money. Life during a Christmas trip is different, more expansive, than life at home. And special car snacks are a must. Really junky!
• The Composer makes the world's best trip certificates for presentation. I like to keep them.
The kids really love these. Daisy's been enquiring about why she never gets a Christmas trip, and has informed me that she wants to go to the desert. We'll see.
19 comments:
I have picked up on this through some of your posts this past year and I love the idea! My hubby does, too, and as our children get a little older we would like to start doing something like this. Thank you for sharing exactly how you go about doing it!
Oh, fun! It's great to see how those lovely trips you've reported on come together. It's a great idea - thanks for sharing more!
That sounds like such an amazing adventure!
I'm a secret follower of your blog. Thank you for sharing a little more about these trips. The idea has fascinated me since the first time I heard you mention them.
I live in the desert... Arizona. Growing up in the pacific northwest, I've found the desert to be another world altogether.
lovely.
oh sweet daisy the desert - perhaps a big beach desert with some ocean attached. :o)
I love the trip idea, too, and how it comes together and pans out... Very nice!
And, hey, Vickie! I live in the Pacific Northwest and the desert, too! :-) The greater geographical area of the PNW is desert, but most of the population lives on the rainy, west side of the Cascades. Obviously, you already know this, but I couldn't help but speak up...
Susan
Thanks for sharing...I've always wanted to know how you all present it to the kids. We would really like to do this as well. If you need a place to stay "out in the desert"--we're only an hour from Santa Fe! Take me up on it!
Those are great gifts - ones that will last in memory forever!
I think it is dear that they want to include Daisy - sibling love is so important and special!
Thanks for sharing more about your trips.
I think the Christmas Trip gift is a brilliant idea. I am trying to think of the places I would have picked had I been given such gift. I may not have chosen the desert:-) - but what fun to have all those wonderful options!
Susan... I never really visited the desert area of the PNW. You live near the Gorge? I grew up in Clarkston, WA/Lewiston, ID, on the eastern edge of Washington. Fabulous weather there!
That is such a great idea! We are expecting out first, and I think once he or she is old enough, we'll have to start this tradition at our house.
I have always loved this idea, thanks for sharing more about how you do it!
What a fantabulous idea! That's brilliant and inspirational! Way to broaden the horizons of your children.
You should post a photograph of one of the certificates. I want to see what they look like!
What a wonderful gift! Thanks for sharing how you go about planning these!
I love this idea! It is so wonderful to not just give a thing, but a memory. How old were your kids when you first started this tradition?
Thanks for sharing that ... I've wondered before about the details. I love the idea and would like to adopt it in our family.
I am really glad you told us how the trips as gifts work. I love the concept too. I appreciated the point that you actually make a date for it, that is a crucial step....
If any of the kids ever want to come to New York City, please let us know! We'd love to show you around!!
For Giles, you must consider a deep sea fishing trip for your whole family right there in Savannah on a private boat. It is not expencive for 6 people, it is all day, and you get to keep the fish!
-- Carmen
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