and 35 something gifts LATER ....

Both my boys have Birthday's in the fall. Arthur is the end of September, and Charlie follows in October. Charlie turned 5 this year. He wanted nothing more than to have a big party and invite his friends. Our options were trampoline park, karate birthday, or a place called Safari Land. Safari Land looked so dingy on the outside, so I was a bit apprehensive. I told him we needed to go "interview" Safari Land to see what it was all about. Let me just say, I was FLOORED, this place was amazing. A full-on arcade, an actual tiger roller coaster, a tilt-a-whirl, and a playland. Let's just say it was an extremely easy choice, Safari Land won by a landslide.

As one does, we invited his entire class; 20 kids but here's the thing, we also have quite a bit of friends, neighbors, and family. I thought to myself, realistically I bet maybe 10 kids RSVP, Safari Land is a 25 min drive, we should have 20 kids total. We had 35. Charlie has ALWAYS fostered my passion of going out and doing things but let's be honest he is 5, he's suddenly into toys or thinks he is. Kidsperience is getting some much-needed updates so, we just let the gifts happen. All 35 something gifts were stuffed in our tiny Honda Fit, along with the 4 of us, and we went home after the party. Now let me say,we have SO many thoughtful friends, family, and classmates and we are forever grateful for their generosity. Charlie opened all his presents to see what they were, played with a few and then sat the rest on the fireplace mantel. Every few days he would consider opening another one BUT there were so many things. It is now 37 days after his party, and we are still opening gifts up. Did I mention there were also- in addition to the kid's party, 2 separate family birthday parties...

Here we are in November, and it is time to start thinking about Santa and more gifts. I asked Charlie the other day, what he wanted Santa to bring him. He said, "Mommy, I don't need anything, I have so many things I haven't even opened them." This child I tell you, what a sweet one but, really... Santa makes toys, what do you think you are going to ask him to make?He blurts out- I wish I would have asked for a Monster Truck show, like I did last year. He remembers! How brilliant, How fantastic, this was the response I was hoping for. He recalls the year his family and friends bought him "Experience" gifts. Memories...

Most of these toys, he has already grown bored of unfortunately. BUT what if each of the 35 guests would have taken the money they were spending on wrapping paper, cards, and the gift and put it into an "experience"? All without even having to drag everyone to a tpy store, where you inevitabely have to yell and scream,it's not your birthday 500+ times. ( Oh, is that just me?) As the world becomes more expensive, these amazing experiences follow suit. A monster truck show for a family of 4, after parking, food, tickets and a souvenir could very well add up to $300+. It makes these sorts of things even more special. YES, this is why i developed and designed Kidsperience. #mom #kids #birthday #lesstoys #clutter #party #momboss #kidsperience #experiences #notoys #toys #giftgiving #gift #momsohard #new