I love Christmas. I love the festive spirit, the lights, the snow and the feeling of togetherness. We love cutting down a tree, decorating, and making (and eating) cookies. The kids love flipping through catalogs, making lists, and sending Santa letter’s.
Our holiday tradition has been to give them some gifts, with a focus on gifts that allow us to spend time together as a family. The gifts of time are always our favorite – and best of all, they never end up in a yard sale or re-gifted. Here are some of our favorites and others on our list to try someday.
Annual Memberships
A few years ago my mother-in-law gave us a membership to the New England Aquarium in Boston, MA as a family gift. It was perfect – we love the aquarium, seeing Myrtle the turtle and exploring Boston, MA.
One year we got a pass to the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, NH at Odiorne Point State Park. This is a great option for families with kids. They offer free history tours, tide pooling and educational programs. There is a great playground, walking and bike trails, tide pooling, picnics, etc. We have the NH state park license plate which allows you to avoid the parking fee.
This year I bought a membership to Tower Hill Botanic Garden along with tickets to their Night Lights event. I’ll wrap the passes along with some fun, LED accessory like scrunchies. We went to the Night Lights event a few years ago and it was incredible. We had to bundle up because it’s mostly an outdoor event, but it was beautiful! I’m looking forward to doing it again this year.
Here are a few other local ideas for season passes:
The Night Lights event at Tower Hill Botanic Garden is magical.
Family Trips
A night at a hotel with a pool was something we did for many years. We would wrap a new pool towel, goggles or pool toys along with a note that the family was going away for a night, usually the week of Christmas break. Typically we would go to Portsmouth, NH so we could enjoy the surrounding area as well as the pool.
If you like the Sound of Music, the Von Trapp Lodge in Stowe, VT is a great place to get away. We skied at Stowe and then relaxed in the pool and outdoor hot tub after. With this gift we bought and wrapped the Sound of Music movie along with a note about the hotel’s history.
Since we plan to ski a lot this winter, we are going to put together a box of their favorite ski snacks and some accessories like a cute hat and scarf.
The hot tub at the Von Trapp Lodge in Stowe, VT was the highlight of this weekend trip.
Day Trips and Activities
Sometimes it’s nice to have a few local options for things you can do together in an afternoon, or that the kids can do with friends.
Assemble a pack of gift certificates for things like bowling, going to the movies, escape room, an art class, rock climbing, an arcade, etc.
No matter what you do, the gifts of time can be the greatest gifts! Creating memories together can be sweeter than any gift you can wrap.
