Do you have to travel a lot for your work? If so and if you have kids, you’ll know where I’m coming from on this one. When the kids are young, it’s pretty easy to get them a small gift while you’re away, because the act of giving them anything is mostly all they care about.
But as the kids get into late elementary school, it gets progressively more difficult to find something. And then there are the times when you’re rushing to/thru the airport to catch your flight and still don’t have a gift. Oops, no time to really shop and, therefore, either a crappy gift or no gift that time.
One idea to consider is establishing a standard collectable item that you give you kid(s). If you have more than one kid, they each can have a different collectable. I’m talking about things that are readily available at most souvenir shops around the town you’re visiting or in the airport gift shops.
Examples include lapel pins, ceramic thimbles, key chains, etc. Something with the name of the city or country you’re visiting is great. When you travel to a new place you haven’t been, or one your child doesn’t have a collectable from, you get to add to their collection.
Lapel pins can be attached to a small towel to display the collection and key chains can be strung together and hung from the ceiling of a bedroom. And when your kids get older, maybe they will continue the tradition themselves for their own travels.
These collectables might become your standard gift but, of course, don’t always have to be the only gift. If you have extra time to shop or find something really cool, it becomes a nice surprise.
See my other blog posts on parenting here.
Gordon Daugherty 