, , , ,

Give the Gift of Experience Instead of Stuff

Experience Gift Ideas for Kids

Both of my kids have birthdays shortly after the Christmas holidays. For anyone else in the same boat, you may share my hesitation to see any new toys come into the house. As we are committed to decluttering our home, one option that needs more attention is giving the gift of an experience, instead of another item from a store. Whether your kids are 2 or 20, there are so many options for them to enjoy that are outside the box.

Here are some of my favorite experience gifts for kids.

  • Trip to a show
  • Children’s museum visit, or a specialty museum that ties into your kid’s favorite hobby
  • Visit the zoo or aquarium
  • Spend the day at a local theme park
  • Let your child pick their favorite restaurant for a special birthday dinner
  • Attend a concert
  • Spend the day in the city, be a tourist even if you don’t live that far away
  • Sporting event. From basketball games to a gymnastics tour, there are many different options.
  • Movie tickets
  • Tour a local farm or orchard
  • Cooking or art classes
  • A session of classes: music, sports, dance, etc.

Yo Gabba Gabba Live! Boston

Giving the gift of experiences is also a great suggestion for the grandparents and extended family looking to do something special for a birthday or holiday. We recently took a trip as a family to see the Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: Get the Sillies Out! event in Boston. It was just a delight to watch the kids get excited for the show. They danced, twirled, clapped and laughed the entire time. It made me realize that we are at the point where the kids are old enough to enjoy these type of experiences together now. (Although JJ is still saying “Loud” and covering his ears when Madison starts talking about the show!) I consider it a success when both Mom and Dad are happy coming out of the show and the kids are both singing on the car ride home.

As one of my readers said, “Making memories is better then a toy that will be obsolete sooner, then later.”

What are some other experience gifts you would add to this list?

Disclosure: We attended the Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: Get the Sillies Out! event to help facilitate this review and story. It in no way influenced my opinions shared here. I’m sharing this with the Tuesday Baby Link Up , Frugal Days and Your Green Resource.

Follow Me
/3 Comments/by
, , ,

Did You Know Jan 3rd is National Returns Day? #HassleFreeReturns

I did a large amount of holiday shopping this year online. It’s an easy way to get great prices, but also order from some unique shops on Etsy. As we sort through all the lovely gifts we received, we have a couple that need to be returned or exchanged.  January 3rd is National Returns Day. It’s kind of like a back-to-reality moment when you want to clean up your house and check those returns off your to-do list. On January 3rd, UPS will ship more than 520,000 from consumers back to retailers. As companies like Amazon report their biggest year yet, many people will line up to do their returns in the easiest way possible.

logo

Here are a couple ways to ship your packages in an eco-friendly way:

  • Skip the overnight shipping option. It increases the carbon footprint of that package’s return trip.
  • Repack in a used box. I save a few during the month in case I have any returns I need to do.
  • Use grocery paper shopping bags to wrap a return. The paper is strong and free!
  • Pack breakables in newspaper instead of bubble wrap or packaging peanuts. If you have a shredder, you can use the shredded paper.
  • UPS offers carbon offset options
  • Skip the drive to the store and have your local UPS driver pick up your returns.

While you are at UPS, see if your location will accept any packaging peanuts you received. Select locations will recycle them.

On January 3rd, I’ll be at our local Needham UPS location at 946 Great Plain Ave spreading the word about UPS’s Hassle Free Return options. They make it easy. I’ll be bringing my box to return to Amazon so I’ll give it a test run. You can follow me on Twitter @RandomRecycling and the #HassleFreeReturns. Our local sponsor is Wayfair, rsvp for the twitter party below to win a gift card for some personal shopping on their site.

There are also other events happening in Atlanta and Denver.

  • The UPS Store, 10800 Alpharetta Highway, Suite 208, Roswell, GA 30076 with Megan Cooper, @jamonkey
  • The UPS Store, 8200 S Quebec St Ste A3, Centennial, CO  80112 with Jen Goode, @jgoode

snap-2

JOIN THE PARTY FROM YOUR HOUSE!

DATE: Thursday, January 3rd

TIME: 3:00PM – 4:00PM EST

LOCATION: #HassleFreeReturns

HOSTS: @AudreyMcClellan @VeraSweeney

PANELISTS: @WhitneyMWS @JoLynneS @MyGOMOM @SavvyMommy

TWEETGRID: http://tinyurl.com/bl73oyw

PRIZES: (4) Giveaways throughout the hour!!
– $25 The UPS Store gift card
– (2) 1 $50 gift card from Sierra Trading Post
– $100 gift card from Wayfair

RSVP required to win, enter HERE.

RULES: You must be a US resident 18 and older to be eligible to win. Please see attached document for official rules.

Disclosure:

The UPS National Returns Day public relations team partnered with bloggers such as myself to help educate consumers about UPS National Returns Day. As part of this program, I received compensation for my time. They did not tell me what to say or influence opinions in my blog posts. UPS believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. UPS’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations. 

Follow Me
/by
, , ,

Stay Alert in the Ford Fusion

Ford Fusion Alert Driving

Raise your hand if you ever have fallen asleep driving?  Even one of those nanosecond naps counts as falling asleep. It’s estimated that more than 250,000 people fall asleep behind the wheel a day.  As many of you travel in the coming week, I wanted to highlight some initiatives to keep you safe. I went to an event recently to test drive the new Ford Fusion. Part of the new design are a few bells and whistles to help keep you alert and safe on the road. The idea is that the advancement of technology in cars can act as preventative measures, instead of reactive.

DSC_0006

I also got to hear from John Paul, the “Car Doctor” from AAA at the Ford Driving event.  He shared some scary stats about how dangerous the “micro nap” can be. Maybe you don’t fall asleep behind the wheel, but the driver next to you might. He suggests taking a 15-20 minute nap if you are doing long distance driving. The other factors are getting a little exercise and caffeine. A large Starbucks is the most caffeinated coffee you can buy.

DSC_0017

Michael Kane, a Ford Vehicle Engineering Supervisor, shared with us the latest in technology in the Fusion. (also available in some other Ford models)

  • Lane keeping system.
  • BLIS (Blind Spot Information System)
  • Active Park Assist (I did this in the Escape driving event, loved it!)
  • Auto Start Stop (no more idling!)
  • Cross Traffic Alert (gives you a heads up when backing out of a parking lot space if a vehicle is in your way.)

This video about the Lane Keeping System explains it in this short video.

Ford Fusion Lane Keeping System Animation

Ford Fusion Lane Keeping System Animation

Driving the Fusion was a pleasant, and quiet, experience.  Besides the fact that my kids were not in the car, I noticed how extremely quiet the car drove. I love that feature. The drive was great, pick up top notch and it has all the cool Sync technology built in. Plus, I love the commitment to new safety features in an affordable car.

Love the eco friendly options in the Ford fleet!

Love the eco friendly options in the Ford fleet!

I helped coordinate this event and wanted to give a huge thank you to L’Aroma Cafe in West Newton. The scones and coffee were delicious! Urban Sitter kept the kids occupied so we could focus on learning about the Fusion. Thank you to all the participants who brought in donations for the local food pantry as well!

Follow Me
/by