Decision-Making Power.

Children don’t often get to make important decisions, such as what to eat for dinner or where to go for a daytrip. Give your child coupons, good things like planning a meal, choosing where to go during the weekend, which weekend night to stay up late or which show to watch.

Mummy/daddy Dates. Children value one-on-one time with their parents whether they have multiple siblings or are a one and only. Give children a small token gift representing what they do during future one-on-one time with mum or dad. It can be anything you and your child enjoy from a pair of goggles representing an outing to the pool to a bottle of nail polish representing a future mother/daughter spa day to a printout of a menu from a favourite restaurant where just the two of you will go.

Show Tickets. Many children are very excited at the prospect of seeing a live performance, whether it is a play, band, or event such as the circus or Disney on Ice. Look at the schedules to see what will be playing in the coming year. If you are able, buy tickets to wrap. If the performance you want to see is later in the year wrap small token related to the performance with a note explaining its significance.

Family Vacation. Research shows that people gain more pleasure from anticipating a trip than from actually going on a trip. Start building anticipation for a family vacation sooner rather than later by presenting the trip as a gift. If you’re not sure where you are going yet, part of the gift could be allowing your child input into the destination and planning process.