Awesome Gifts that Aren't Things: trips

I'm wrapping up my series on gifts (get it? 😉) today with one more set of ideas for gifts that won't add to the endless clutter that piles up at home: trips. If you missed my other posts in this series, be sure to go back and read those- they are linked at the end of this post- to find even more ideas for experience-based gifts that kids will still get excited about.

I've gotten to that point where I look around the house and I feel like we just have way too much stuff. Mostly kid's stuff. Being the oldest grandchildren, my daughters have been doted on since the beginning, and it's definitely starting to catch up to us- it's crazy how often we will open a drawer and find an awesome game, book, or toy that we had totally forgotten we have.

So this year I'm focusing on getting the girls gifts that aren't objects per se. Things that will create memories, help them to grow, and allow us all to have fun without adding more clutter to our lives or feeding too much into the whole materialism thing, and I'm encouraging my family members to do the same (thanks, family!).

Over the last few weeks I covered some major categories: classes (clubs, lessons, teams etc) and quality time (memberships, outings, etc). Today I'm hitting one more type of gift idea: trips!

Trips can mean a lot of different things. They can be day trips or outings, full-on family vacations, or something in between. Here are some ideas to get you started in thinking of your own:

• Family vacation (Disneyland, other amusement park, or even Grandma's house in another city)
• Cruise trip
• Day trip to a nearby city- plan specific places to visit, restaurants, shows, activities etc
• Weekend camping, skiing, or fishing trip
• Road trip

The possibilities are endless!

An easy way to actually present the gift is to give kids their ticket, a brochure or map, or itinerary that explains what they'll be doing or seeing. But it's also fun to give them a photo album (the kind with the clear sleeves to stick pictures in) with a "title page" that explains what the trip is (or if you're going somewhere famous you can probably get an album from that destination with the name already on it, like for Disney). You could also give them a suitcase or backpack packed with everything they'll need for the trip and see if they can guess where they're going!

Remember, these gifts don't have to be expensive (although admittedly, trips are harder to plan cheaply than the other ideas I've shared). You could plan an awesome day at the beach, or plan an entire day hitting their favorite spots around town, from the candy store to the skating rink to the local park. The idea is to make it like an exciting adventure!

I hope this series has sparked some ideas that you can use this holiday season, or even for future birthdays, to focus less on the accumulation of things and more on the experiences you have together as a family. If you want to see tons more ideas for gifts that aren't things, here are my previous posts:

And make sure you're signed up here for the Organized Chaos Newsletter- this is my primary way of keeping in touch with you! Happy Holidays, everyone!