Memory Gifts… The Very Best Gifts!

For years we have been giving the kids memory gifts for Christmas. They do get physical presents, but we really try to limit what they get as we would prefer to spend money in general on fun, making memories and having life experiences. I have always looked ahead thinking that when I am 80, my kids won’t remember the year they may have received an Apple Watch or AirPods, but I guarantee they will remember our adventures to Disney, the concerts we have attended, travelling a large part of the US and Canada, etc.

These memory making experiences have also brought us closer as a family. I am always thankful that our teenagers and even our oldest who has her own family now, still very much love spending time with us. We have created some amazing bonds that I am confident will last our lifetime. I can see us planning many fun adventures all together even when all of the kids have their own families.

Back to the present, this year I found hard. Last Christmas our big adventure was going to be spending a month in Alberta. We had tons of exciting ideas of things we could do with our cousins who live in Calgary. We bought tickets to see Dude Perfect which would have been a highlight for all of us. Of course with Covid, that entire month long adventure did not happen. We certainly made some amazing memories here this summer and ventured places in NS that we had never been as a family. I am so thankful for them, but also excited to be able to hug our family out West and have some fun with them.

This Christmas we would have been planning another Disney adventure with the Fisher’s for this coming 2021 summer. That of course is on hold until it is safe, who knows when that will be, but I assure you, we will be making more memories in Florida with the Fisher’s in the future!

We decided to give the kids a coupon book this Christmas. They can choose 1 per month and the coupons are items like an Escape Room, Take Out Night, Order a Pizza & watch a movie together, Clayground, etc. They are already talking about January ideas and which one they will pick. 🙂 We didn’t want Covid to take away this gift, we just had to alter the way we think and plan them.

I spent time recently looking back at some of our Memory Making Adventures and decided to share them in this post! The first year we decided to change up Christmas and spend more on memories was the year the girls received tickets to “So You Think You Can Dance” in Moncton. They were so excited. Noah received tickets to see the Globe Trotters. Everyone was excited!

The following year we planned a month long across Canada/ US road trip to Alberta. Along the way we full-filled my life long dream of seeing an NKOTB concert. The girls were also little fans, so I was excited to share this memory with them. It was by far my favorite concert to date! On our way back from Alberta we took the kids to a Bluejays game which of course was a huge highlight for Noah & Sandy! We visited some amazing cities along the way. Chicago was one of our favorite and we very much look forward to going back one day!

Boston has been a huge highlight for us over the years. We have planned many adventures in and around this great city. The NKOTB concert was there and we also surprised the kids with Ed Sheeran Concert tickets at the Gilette Stadium, where we also took in the Zoo so Noah could see some gorillas. One year we planned a multi family adventure to Boston for New Years! It was record breaking cold temps, but we visited the NS tree in Boston, took in some museums and had a lot of fun!

Two really big highlights for the kids was a March Break trip to Toronto to see the Raptors! We also went to the Toronto Zoo, did our first escape room as a family and went to the CN Tower. It was an amazing week!

The other highlight was of course our month long trip down south to New Orleans and then over to Florida to spend a week with the Fisher’s at Disney! This was probably our kids favorite adventure yet! So many cool cities along the way and definitely tons of adventures!

In addition to all of these above adventures, we have had lots of hotel night getaways with friends, tickets to games like the Hurricane’s, lots of Acadia basketball, smaller trips throughout the Maritime provinces for summer & winter fun. I am beyond thankful for all of these memories we have made as a family and I am so excited to be able to adventure in the future with these kiddos and our amazing friends & family. We have really tried to teach the kids that they can’t take what they have with them, but they can certainly always look back on the amazing adventures we have had with so many people.