If you're like me, the holidays can present a challenge of stuff. My kids do not need more things (and I do not need more items cluttering up my house), so this year we are giving experiences to our kids for the holidays and birthdays. They will still have a few goodies to open but for the most part we are trying to give our kids experiences that will (hopefully) create memories. These ideas are really geared towards older kids, who are honestly the hardest to buy for, and are intended to provide the family with an experience they can do together or carve out time for you to spend one-on-one with your child. Many of these can be a group gift for all of your children and hopefully will build lasting memories for you all!
Family Memberships
Museums, play places, gyms, etc. Think of the places your family enjoys together. There are some great destinations in Charlotte and not far away that can provide your kids and family with a year of fun. Some to consider:
- Discovery Place
- Whitewater Center
- The North Carolina Zoo
- Columbia Zoo
- Carowinds
Take a trip
Near or far, weekend or week-long... give the gift of travel.
- Wrap up some new snow gloves or a sled and plan a trip to the mountains for a day or overnight. Beech Mountain has a free sledding hill and this year offers tubing.
- Greenville SC or Asheville NC are a short drive and could make a great girls shopping weekend or day. Tons of great places to shop and eat; take your tween or teen for the ultimate mother/daughter get away.
- Wrap up a toy train and attach Amtrak tickets to it. Amtrak offers cheap tickets from Charlotte to Raleigh on a regular basis for a fun overnight trip to check out all of the great museums. Also consider tickets to Tweetsie Railroad or Great Smokey Mountain Railroad.
- Adventure travel: take a trip to a dude ranch or a spa.
- Explore the NC mountains. There are tons of great day hikes and cute little towns to explore along the way. Wrap the gift up with some cozy wool socks or a compass.
- Explore Charlotte, book an overnight, hit the ice skating in Uptown and act like tourist in our great city.
Stay Home
They say there's no place like home!
- New PJ's for the family, a movie, popcorn and a pint of ice cream followed by full family sleepover in the living room is sure to build an amazing memory for you all.
- Tickets for kids: we love when our kids make us coupon books, why not make one for them? Mom makes your bed for a week, get out of chores free day, dad puts your laundry away, mom/dad to yourself day, pick dinner, pick dessert, out for dinner, family football game, family hike, family game night kids choice, etc. Base the tickets on your family's interests and watch your kids delight in having some of the power in the house for once!
More ideas
Other fun experiences to consider.
- Take a class together: cooking, cake decorating, art, music, photography, jewelry making, and more. There are tons of classes that parents and children can take together. These are great also because you have a weekly committed date with your child.
- Family book club: read a classic together, meet once a week to talk about what you have read. Read the book to your younger children so they can participate also. Give everyone a copy of the book for the holidays and set aside some special time each week to meet and talk about the book. You can even write inside the book each persons ideas and thoughts to preserve the memories of book club.
- Show tickets: there are some great shows headed to Charlotte this year. Dinner and a show tied up with the soundtrack is sure to delight.
- Sky Zone passes for the family. Bounce, have pizza and trust me you will laugh and have more fun as a family than you can imagine.
- Family climbing at an indoor climbing place.
- Tickets to sports: check out the Charlotte Roller Girls, Charlotte Independence or Charlotte Hounds for inexpensive tickets to sporting events. You can also grab ticket to see college sports, basketball at Davidson or football at UNCC, auto racing, ice hokey, etc.
This year, think beyond the store; the ideas are limitless. Explore options that will give the gift of memories and time that lasts well beyond opening presents.
Thank you to our sister site, South Charlotte Macaroni Kid, for sharing these great ideas. Check out southcharlotte.macaronikid.com for all the scoop on family-friendly events in the Queen City!
