Give the gift of time, no batteries needed
‘Tis the season for gift giving. While kids typically ask Santa for the latest toy or gadget, parents (and grandparents) searching for other options might consider giving an experience they can enjoy alongside their child.
While nontraditional gifts might be hard to wrap up and place under the Christmas tree, they offer the potential to create special family memories long after the last holiday tune is crooned.
Ideas range from enrolling a young person in a class they might like to try to buying passes for a local recreation outlet to simply giving some uninterrupted time with a parent or loved one. The ideas vary and suit every budget.
Marsha Pratt, director of Kingdom Kids Christian Preschool in Mt. Lebanon, has raised five daughters with her husband, Tom. She’s worked with children for nearly 15 years.
“I think experiences are huge. What they say they want, what is on TV or their iPads versus what they will remember later are two different things,” said Pratt. In the case of her own family, each of her children was given a letter that contained the gift of one-on-one time with their parents that they could “cash in” later.
“It could be anything from going on a specific bike ride somewhere to a park, to seeing a movie or a play,” said Pratt. “It could be going to the museum without everybody. And they loved that. Their friends would say they wished they could do that, too.”
A former elementary school teacher and mother of four, Erin Ritchey of Upper St. Clair and her husband, Stephen, plan something similar each year.
“Santa always brings some toys, but my husband and I want to give something from us as well, and that’s where we usually try to do the nontraditional type of gift. We try to focus on experiences, quality time together, and we especially like to do things that involve a choice for them because, we feel like, as a kid, you don’t get to choose all that much in your life,” Ritchey said.
“One of their favorites is a ‘yes’ day, with parameters (we are not adopting a giraffe or anything like that). Those are the gifts they remember … they will say, ‘Remember the year we did that and we got to eat ice cream for breakfast?'” Ritchey based the day on the “Yes Day!” picture book published in 2011 by Amy Krause Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenhled.
Pratt said her kids enjoyed “yes days” as well, with boundaries.
“Ice cream for breakfast, PJs all day, just time when the kids kind of feel like they are in control. Depending on their age, you can guide them in things they can choose,” she said.
Pratt recalled her grandmother, when on a tight budget, giving a box “with Scotch tape, paper, sticky notes, glue … things that were disposable, but as a parent we would dole out carefully. It was like a ‘yes’ day in a box.”
Passes to their local recreation center to swim or take lessons are great, especially with something they just want to try out, Pratt said.
For kids who like to cook or be in the kitchen, Crate, located on Greentree Road in Scott Township, offers Cooking with Kids classes for ages 6 and older and camps for kids ages 9 and up during the summer.
It’s a way to create memories in the kitchen.
“In my opinion, food memories are the best memories I have with family members, friends, whether we are creating food together or sitting around the table chatting. And whenever they take these recipes home and re-create them, they can talk about the experience that they’ve had together in our kitchen,” said owner Jen Clark.
Classes are two-and-a-half hours and include eating what is prepared. Classes fill up quickly, and gift cards are available. For more information go to www.cratecook.com.
To teach your child about investing, consider purchasing a share of stock. The company, GiveAshare, sells single shares of stock, allowing the recipient to become a real shareholder and receive a framed certificate.
“Our goal is make it easy for people to buy shares as a gift,” said Erin Clerici, co-owner of GiveAshare.
The intention is to primarily teach kids, but they have found adults can benefit as well.
“We really want to use it as a tool to teach kids, or anyone, about stocks and investing and give them a tangible piece of a company they can relate with … a visual representation that they can put on their wall reminding them about the value. And then every mailing from their company becomes a learning experience,” said Clerici.
The cost depends on the stock’s market price. The lowest stock available is priced at about $48, and with fees costs about $94 for an unframed certificate. GiveAshare is based in Arizona, www.giveashare.com.
Passes or tickets to museums such as the Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium, The Pittsburgh Children’s Museum, Heinz History Center or Kennywood are options for spending a day or multiple ones with your family or one-on-one.
“It seems to be a very trendy thing right now, giving the gift of experiences, so Kennywood season passes are the perfect kind of gift,” said Taylor Bulischeck, marketing director for the Kennywood Park.
“Our season passes that you can buy during the holiday season are good for the entire next year, so that includes our core summer season as well as our Halloween event, fall fest and Christmas event holiday lights. With select passes, the gold and platinum, you get all the events all year long, unlimited admission to the park plus great perks, depending on which pass you purchase,” said Bulischeck.
For information, go to https://www.kennywood.com/.
“The memories that families make at the zoo last a lifetime,” said Katie Hughes, director of marketing for the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium.
“As a Pittsburgh resident, and from people who come to visit us regularly, anyone you talk to in Pittsburgh talks about times they came to the zoo and the excellent times they had had with their families,” Hughes said. “And it’s a great way to connect with wildlife.” December through February the zoo presents “Penguins on Parade” Saturdays and Sundays.
The zoo offers tiers of membership, including family memberships that includes two adults and all children in the household under the age of 18, as well as a grandparent membership for two seniors plus grandchildren under the age of 18. For more information, visit https://www.pittsburghzoo.org/.
“The experience gifts stretch out the magic of christmas. It’s not something they ‘open’ that day, but it’s something they still get to look forward to,” said Ritchey.