Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that in many cases, experiences can be more
Speaker 1: novel and exciting than things. We often think of gifts
Speaker 1: as objects that are wrapped, but by expanding the universe
Speaker 1: of gifts to consider experiences, we may increase the chances
Speaker 1: of giving someone something they really like. For the past
Speaker 1: few years, my husband and I have given our older
Speaker 1: boys a short trip each year as a big Christmas present.
Speaker 1: For instance, in twenty twenty three, I took my second
Speaker 1: oldest to Acadia National Park. In twenty twenty four, my
Speaker 1: husband took him on a diving trip. In twenty twenty four,
Speaker 1: I took my oldest child to New York City for
Speaker 1: a few days. These were fun for the kids and
Speaker 1: were really good bonding experiences. Sometimes it's hard to get
Speaker 1: a lot of one on one time with a teenage boy,
Speaker 1: but a trip kind of forces the process. I've also
Speaker 1: given my husband the gift of a weekend off to
Speaker 1: go do something fun with his brother. For instance, they
Speaker 1: went skiing for a weekend once. My husband skis with
Speaker 1: our kids a lot, but he was happy for the
Speaker 1: chance to go without worrying about helping someone else into
Speaker 1: a snowsuit. Perhaps you too have someone in your life
Speaker 1: who would enjoy a special experience. You might promise to
Speaker 1: take an older relative out to lunch, into a museum.
Speaker 1: You might take a teenager to a pro sports event
Speaker 1: in a town an hour away. If you are co
Speaker 1: parenting with someone, you could each give each other the
Speaker 1: gift of a weekend or a few days away, available
Speaker 1: for whatever you choose to do within your budget, secure
Speaker 1: that all the childcare and household needs are covered. That
Speaker 1: sounds better to me than a scarf. Little kids do
Speaker 1: like toys, and it's fine to get them those toys.
Speaker 1: But I also heard a great idea the other day
Speaker 1: of giving an elementary school aged child a coupon book
Speaker 1: for lots of different little experiences. These would be things
Speaker 1: like staying up half an hour later or going out
Speaker 1: for ice cream with dad. The child could cash these
Speaker 1: in when they wanted them and enjoy getting those experiences
Speaker 1: over a longer time rather than just on a holiday.
Speaker 1: So as you are thinking about your gift list, see
Speaker 1: if you can add in a few experiences alongside the
Speaker 1: things you are wrapping. And by the way, you can
Speaker 1: definitely wrap an experience. When I gave my husband permission
Speaker 1: to go on that ski trip, I wrapped up a
Speaker 1: pair of doll skis for him. If you are taking
Speaker 1: someone to a concert, you could give them a T
Speaker 1: shirt or other merch from that artist that gives you
Speaker 1: something under the tree and also the knowledge that the
Speaker 1: fun will last, likely long after that tree is gone.
Speaker 1: Experiences can make memories, and those tend not to run
Speaker 1: out of batteries or get broken quite so quickly. In
Speaker 1: the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 1: to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening
Speaker 1: to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,
Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
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Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.