Spinoff of the other thread. The grandmas are going to buy DD a ton of stuff for Christmas and I don't intend to try to stop them (first grandchild, first Christmas). So DH and I are interested in making our gifts to LO be more of the "disappearing" variety. But she'll only be just shy of 10 months old at Christmas. I feel like a membership to a zoo, children's museum, or aquarium would be better if we wait a year or so. Are there other ideas for a young baby?
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What about a gift certificate for a music class? Our children's museum actually has a floor that's for kids under 36 months and would be perfect for her, so I wouldn't rule that out. My 10 month old is just getting into it. Are there any toddler playscapes/indoor parks that have punchcards near you? That might be fun as she gets mobile.
It's not an experience per se, but in the vein of not-stuff gifts, my toddler has enjoyed subscriptions to Highlights' baby and toddler magazines.
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@PawPrints: we got zoo and aquarium (separate) memberships as gifts for my 11-month old her first Christmas and we used them a ton! It was fun to see what she picked up on over the year. Those are places I enjoyed going too and would meet friends for play/mom dates there though so it was definitely worth it for our family.
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Our LO was 8 months old last Christmas. DH and I took him to an aquarium over Christmas break as one of his gifts from us. We really enjoyed it. We didn't do a membership since it's over an hour away, but we enjoyed the experience as a family. I will most likely try to plan something similar this Christmas.
I like @rattles: suggestion of a music class. Or is there any other class you could do together?
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Yup, music class or Gymboree ...
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I think I'd want a gift certificate to take LO to music or swimming classes. One of my coworkers though said her LO has loved going to the science museum since he was 6 months old so they have a pass to that.
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I second music classes! My daughter is almost a year and we have visited a bunch of the places you mentioned. I sah and they really are more for me- but she genuinely has a great time! I was shocked that around 10 months she loved the zoo and was great at spotting the animals!
If you really don't feel like it's worth it though what about picking out an activity you will do at some point this year- like a "big" trip to the zoo and give her a book about animals and just put money in her college fund?
For my daughter this year we are aiming to do one big gift that we want for her anyway, we did a play kitchen for her birthday and we will do a learning tower for Christmas. It certainly won't disappear but we will get a ton of use out of both!
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We started going to the children's museum frequently around a year- they have a special section for under 3, plus a subsection for crawlers only. In the crappier weather it was amazing- but it's also really close to me, if I had to travel far I wouldn't have used it nearly as much. Remember you've got from 10-22 months to cover so even if she won't use it now she will in the next year.
I also would have enjoyed a gym class or music class for her at that age, especially once she started walking. Or swim lessons if you are wanting to do that anyway.
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The children's museum will easily be something you use a ton of between ages 1-2! At least, ours has a lot of great stuff for infants. And sometimes it's nice to just get out of the house and let them be entertained by new toys!
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We got a family zoo membership when my son was 6 months, and use it all the time. 10 months at Christmas means 14 months once it starts getting warm enough to really go to the zoo, which I think it absolutely old enough to start enjoying it. Plus even when she's too young to get too much out of it it's a fun and easy family day, which she'll enjoy.
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DD is only 4 months old and we bought an annual pass to the aquarium this weekend! Even at 4 months old she already loves watching the fish and other animals move around the tank.
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We did a zoo membership, swimming lessons and a drop in play group. If we had a children's museum I would have done that instead.
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I'd still take zoo/museum memberships!
But if you want something to use right away, def music class, gymboree/little gym, and swim lessons!
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I got a zoo membership when my LO was 11 months and she loved it. It was also cheaper, because kids under 2 are free, so I only had to buy an individual pass (which got me and an adult guest in) instead of a family pass (which would only get me, DH and LO in.)
I would also recommend checking out your children's museum to see what they have for infants and toddlers. Ours has a section that is limited to 36 months and under and is great for crawlers and begginer walkers.
Other ideas that we though about doing at that age - music classes, gymboree classes, swimming, season pass to an indoor play place, season pass to a local farm/petting zoo type place.
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We LOVED Music Together at that age.
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@Foodnerd81: You just made my head spin by pointing out she'll be 22 months old by the end of next calendar year. Wow. Thanks...
Good point though, an almost-2-year-old will enjoy these activities a lot more than my little 6-month-old.These are great suggestions, and I'm glad to know so many LOs enjoyed the children's museum, zoo, and aquarium while still quite young. I'm leaning toward the music class idea, and then we can do individual passes to the other places. Though, we do live only a mile from our city's excellent zoo (and we get discount passes through DH's work) so that might be a good tradition to start...
Good point though, an almost-2-year-old will enjoy these activities a lot more than my little 6-month-old.Reply
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