We’ve been invited to yet another kid’s birthday party this month. The dread increases by the day. I see disaster in my head already, wound up children, helium balloons everywhere, catching by the pool side. I never understood why adults had to be invited to children’s parties. Unfortunately, our daughter really enjoys such occasions, free food and heaps of friends to play with, what’s not to love. And so, we shall brace ourselves and go.
There’s also the problem of getting a suitable gift. Humblet
hardly plays with her toys because she’d much rather be rummaging through the
recycling bin or spinning her stuffed animal friends around the washing
machine. So we’ve come to realise that toys have little value in a child’s life, much
less gadgets, don’t even get me started on those. This makes the problem worst because we have no
idea what to get other kids. Buying books was our solution for awhile, but this
was only deemed acceptable by the adults and not the young recipients, who were more
than likely to toss these ‘gifts’ into their growing pile of wrapping papers
while grabbing yet another victim to rip open.
Then we one day, we had an epiphany when a close friend
asked us to take her son out somewhere for his birthday. Truly, a light bulb
moment! We’d buy these kids an experience,
rather than crack our heads over what gift to buy. A complete win-win. The child
gets an unforgettable fun day out, not to mention a MacDonald’s Happy Meal
while the parent gets to have a break from parenting for a bit!
Here’s what we did with this birthday boy if you’d like to
read –
For his fifth birthday present, Shane was given three options,
he could choose between the Zoo, the SEA Aquarium or the Bird Park. We were so
pleased he chose the Aquarium because that was exactly where we wanted to go
too! So we bought tickets and got ourselves equipped. Borrowing marine life
books from the library and showing Humblet pictures of sea creatures right up
to the day of our adventure. Thankfully, children under three went for free, so
we only had to pay for one kid.
When we arrived to pick him up, he had his little outing bag
all packed. Water bottle, toy car, a change of clothes and we were off. We chose
a week day and were rewarded with a relatively mild crowd that afternoon.
Luckily for Shane, the Aquarium was having some event for Chinese New Year and
so he got a bunch of craft things and a stamp card to occupy him throughout the
walk.
We were a little apprehensive at first because didn’t know
if we could manage two kids, but it turned out to be a wonderful day for us as
a family too. Shane played the wonderful big brother, ensuring Mya had full
view of the fishes, as well as excitedly pointing out certain ones he could recognise. Our prior research did not go to waste, as this five-year-old wanted to know all
sorts of things including – why jellyfish had no hearts, whether abalone was
snail or shellfish, how sharks slept at night and so on. We were more than
happy to answer his questions or point him to the right information board when
we were stumped.
Midway through, we took a break at the huge Viewing Gallery.
The kids gratefully stuffed their faces with snacks and packet milk, while we
rested our legs. When the announcement was made for all Aquarium guests to go
to the Viewing Gallery for the Chinese New Year Prosperity Show, we snuck off
to the Ocean Dome.
That was my favourite part of the entire trip, because we
suddenly discovered that we had the whole dome to ourselves with everyone else rushing for the performance. J.G. and Shane
completely took advantage of the situation lying flat on their backs to enjoy
the huge rays swimming overhead, while Mya and I stood on the raised platforms
to look for the sharks in the tank.
That evening, after a nap in the car on the drive back, we
treated him to a Happy Meal and topped it off with ice cream. When he got home
and his mum asked him how it all went, he succinctly used these words, ‘it was the best day ever.’
--
Hearing those words were our greatest reward that day. We’re
already planning where to take him for his sixth birthday.
So next time you’re wondering what to buy for a kid’s
birthday, perhaps you could consider giving them an experience instead. A
cycling adventure or water sports at the beach? Maybe even a trip to a museum
or an interesting farm tour to feed the animals?
One thing’s for sure, every child loves an adventure.
Grateful,
Amy
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