The Day We Played The Getting Lost Game
What started out as another Sunday of chores and screen time turned into a fun packed adventure full of unexpected delights.
All posts filed under: give presence
7 family activities in Queenstown that won’t break the bank
If throwing yourself head first into canyons doesn’t suit you or your bank account, don’t worry. There’s still plenty to do in Queenstown.
A Day Out At Rocket Ropes
This activity is not for the faint of heart or, as it turns out, for the 40-something year old mum of three who is still recovering from a knee reconstruction.
9 Reasons To Give Kids Experiences As Gifts
It’s about making time to spend with each other, doing something we’ll all enjoy, or something we would never have dreamed of doing otherwise – creating memories to share and stories to tell.
Mothers Day. Better Late Than Never?
This year, Mothers Day didn’t quite go to plan. I’d given my kids a very specific brief. I didn’t want any presents, I just wanted their presence. “It would be nice to get out and do something together”, I told them. Imagine my surprise when my Mothers Day present turned out to be a horse riding experience. I was overwhelmed. What an amazing gift. And what wonderful children I have grown. Children who have clearly spent a long time saving enough money for us to all go horse riding together. There was silence. And nervous shuffling, before Miss 9 admitted that not only were we not booked to go horse riding that day, they hadn’t saved a single penny. The thought that they might actually have to pay for the gift they were giving me clearly hadn’t entered their heads. I thanked them graciously. After all, revenge is a dish served cold. A week or so later I took them to their favourite toy shop. I told them I’d love to buy them a present …
An Open Letter to my Kids this Mothers Day
Don’t worry. I’m not asking for much. No expensive gift with a price tag that is supposed to reflect the enormity of your love for me. Just let me sleep in.
Why we made a vineyard-free visit to the Hawkes Bay
Crazy as it might sound, we actually and quite intentionally planned a trip to the Hawkes Bay – one of New Zealand’s best wine producing regions – that didn’t include visiting a vineyard.
Giving Presence – Have I Gone Too Far?
There’s nothing I love more than being on holiday. It doesn’t have to be a long holiday, or even a holiday to anywhere fancy. As long as I’m not at home facing the endless list of things that need to be done, then life is good. Which is why I think ‘giving the gift of an experience’ is a concept I’ve embraced. OK, maybe we’ve gone passed embracing and are now in a serious, long-term relationship. You see, last year the experiences I gave the kids for their birthdays were fun days out doing something they each loved. Miss 10 went horse-riding, Miss 8 went skiing and Mr 8 had a not-so-great day out at the Monster Slide festival. This year, I may just have taken it to a whole new level by using the idea of ‘giving presence’ as an excuse for a holiday (or two). I didn’t see anything wrong with this approach until a well-meaning friend pointed out that I might be setting the bar a bit high – creating an expectation that …
A Day Out At: Wet and Wild Popup Waterslide Park
This was 2 hours of complete and utter fun, and not just for the kids.
5 Tips for Giving the Gift of an Experience
Giving presence is about spending time and creating memories with the special people in your life.
Polly Unsaturated 