Date Night Gift

 I thought about monetizing this one- putting the stuff up on etsy with my printables. And maybe I will eventually, but we'll see.

The idea of this one is that you have a pre-planned date for every month of the year. You can do this with your spouse if you'd like, but I encourage it for the kids. Each kid should have a set of these. How you want to divvy it up is up to you.

If you are a single parent, then you would have a date with each kid each month.

If you are in a two parent home, you can take turns (maybe parent 1 takes the odd months and parent 2 takes the even, or if you have lots of kids maybe Mom has the boys on odd months and the girls on even months and Dad does the opposite). Maybe a couple times a year both parents can attend (birthday month, maybe?).

I recommend having a set date each month for that kid. Usually the day of their birthday, but that doesn't always work out. Maybe instead, flexible dates like, "first Friday of the month" for kid A, "second Saturday of the month" for kid B, etc.

What you will need:

Planning sheet (you'll notice it has 14 spots- two are backup) Right click, save as if you want to use mine.

Writing utensils

Manilla Folders (12 per kid)

Printouts or your own artwork

Date Outlines (the pretty much look like this)

"The Rest"

The first date is the planning date. Before you begin this, have your rules set. When we did this the first time, we said that only 2 dates could cost more than $10. Two had to be completely free. One date had to be outside. One date had to serve someone else. One had to be a getting to know you date.... I don't remember the rest- it was YEARS ago!

Prepare the manilla envelopes so that the kid's name and the month is on each one. You can use printables or do your own artwork or have your kiddo help with this part.

Have a list of ideas before you begin. You'll want to make sure they are age appropriate for each child. Your 14 year old probably isn't going to want to make macaroni noodle necklaces with you. Remember in the preparing of these that you're supposed to be enjoying the date, too. So if you absolutely detest the feel of grass on your skin, don't suggest rolling down the hills at the park. Here's a starter list of ideas for you, but do NOT feel confined to these, nor should you feel like you have to put all (or any!) of these on your list:

Preschool:
Playdoh Mats
Food Jewelry
Animal Charades
Sidewalk Chalk

Going to the Park
McDonald's Playplace
ABC Scavenger Hunt
Zoo
About Me Pages
Photo Memories (esp if they are digital)/Making a chatbook
Splash Pad
Baking/Cooking
Handprint Art (and fingerprint art)
Science Experiments
Games (Candyland, Jenga, Etc)
Building (Duplos, regular blocks, etc)
Making a Fort
Themed Movie Night (please don't be boring and just watch a movie)
Library (there are games you can play here, or go on one of their activity nights, or plan on doing the activities they have out for kids)
Whole House Cars (masking tape roads all over the house)
Cabelas/REI
Getting dessert only at a restaurant

Sensory Activities

Blowing Bubbles

Bug Hunt

School Aged Kids:

Getting dessert only at a restaurant

Water Balloon Fight

Building a Snowman

Baking/Cooking

Games

About Me

Walk down Memory Lane

Hike

Swimming

Squirt Gun Art

Park

Cardboard Boxes (totally open ended)

Science Experiments

Themed Movie Night (same rules as every other age)

Library

Would You Rather

20 Questions

Yoga

Dance Party

Make instruments

I Spy

Fly Kites

Preteens:

Writing Games

Visit a Garden Center

Loving animals at the shelter (do NOT come home with a new pet without the other parents permission)

Make a YouTube or TikTok video

Workout Buddies

Wedding Plans (I'm not pushing kids to get married young, but you would be amazed at how much you can learn about your kid when you let them show you what they find beautiful, exciting, etc). This one just needs Pinterest, pretty much.

Make Slime 

Make jewelry

Dance Party

Arcade

Bake/Cook

Themed movie night

Scavenger hunt 

Games

Jump Rope/Hopscotch

Sidewalk Chalk Art

Learn a hand clap 

Mad Libs 

Make a fairy garden

Make Smores

Teens:

Arcade

Hike

Plant a garden

Bake/Cook

Themed movie night

Decades Date (80s- roller skating, wearing neon, etc. 90s- roller BLADING, going to the mall, etec)

photo shoot

scavenger hunt

YouTube game (finish the lyrics, try not to laugh, trivia)

Make a Playlist (yes, it will take hours)

Games

Video Games

Create a recipe book

Polymer clay

Visit a museum

Go to a concert (free ones in the park)

Find an online tour of your city or one near you

Have a budget and shop for each other

Serve food to the homeless

Learn a TikTok dance

Family History

Let your kid teach you about something they are passionate about

Hang out at a campsite (roast stuff, tell stories, play card games)

Work Out Competition

Plan their dream room

"Life Plan"

Legos

Please come up with your own as well (I'd LOVE if you shared them here!!).

Once you've got your lists, your envelopes, your planning sheet and your kid, it's time to start.

Review the rules and let them pick which thing should go on which month. You may need to remind them that sidewalk chalk will be easier in June than January, etc. Or if there's a concert you are taking them to, make sure that is in the correct month. Once you've got your grand plan with the kid done, there is more for you to do. Depending on the kid's age and attention span, you can have them keep helping or you can do this part on your own. They can help you decorate the envelopes now, too, if you'd like.

You need to decide now what. supplies you'll need for each of the activities planned. Decide if you want to purchase all supplies ahead of time, have gift cards for them, or cash to purchase the items. If they are items you already have, get them now so they don't get lost (exceptions being like, legos or something that you use many times).

The rest is part of the gift.

-Fill out the specific date night outline for each date. 

-Gather your materials. If they don't fit in the envelope and you've decided not to do gift cards/cash, then put that month's supplies in a box and mark it appropriately. Make a note in your outline where you put the box, because you wont remember when it's time, I promise. Don't put gathering the items off. This is why we failed before. We inevitable couldn't afford the things we wanted to do. Buy the tickets, get the gift cards, withdraw the cash- whatever. The point is to take all the prep work out of what your'e doing. 

-Schedule the dates in your calendar. Get the time off work if needed. If there are conflicting things, adjust the dates. Have a contingency plan with your kid for if something comes up that conflicts with the date (maybe backup dates?)

-Make the invitations. Once you have all 12 invitations, mark in your calendar a week before each date and write in the calendar where you put the invitation. Be sure to give the correct invitation out for that upcoming date.

-Put all the envelopes together and wrap them however you'd like. Have some kind of trinket or something that they'll get to keep also, because you will be in charge of the envelopes. Put them someplace safe. And tell your kid where that is. And your spouse. And your best friend in a searchable Facebook Messenger chat. And write it in your calendar.

-Have fun!! Try to take photos during your dates so you can maybe make them a chatbook or something at the end to commemorate the good year you've had.

As an example, let's say that your 8 year old really wanted to go for a hike for their May date. In the manilla folder, you would have:

- a plan of where the hike would be 

- a game you'd play on your hike (or on your way to the hike if you'll be in the car for a bit)

- a note telling you where the box is that would have

    - bug spray

    - water bottles

    - a snack or gift card to purchase the snack (depending on how far away this date is)

    - a backpack in it. 

You'd have the date set aside on your calendar and be watching the weather (in case you need to adjust the dates). 

Let's say the date is scheduled for May 8th and the weather for that day looks good. You'd give your invitation to your kiddo around May 1st and glance over your needs, in case the bug spray and backpack got used elsewhere, giving you time to gather.

Then when May 8th rolls around- boom! You grab your gear, your kid, and go! 

Remember to take pics for keeping the memories!

Themed Boxes 101

 I should have done this in blog post form YEARS ago, because I don't even know how many times I've tried to type the idea up in a response to someone on FB or whatever.

This is ADHD gift genius right here. This is my baby idea.

Usually, this is a Christmas thing, but you could use it for ANYTHING- Graduation, birthdays, anniversaries, whatever. We're going to go with Christmas for multiple children in this post because that's my experience. The beauty of this is that you can do it on (almost) ANY budget!!! It's more fun if you have at least $10 per person and some crafty hands or friends with crafty hands.

The years we do theme boxes, we have our themes picked by July. We do this for a couple of reasons. #1 is that the kids can help choose their theme and then they've forgotten what it is by mid September. Reason #2 is you can take advantage of sales (yard or store or online), trades, etc. 

We've done the theme boxes twice now. The first year, the themes were D&D, Musicals, Pokemon, Barbie, Paw Patrol, and Rainbow. The second year, the themes were US Navy, Costume, Dragons, Amazonian Animals (mostly sloths and llamas), Minecraft, and Dinosaurs.

So what do I put in the boxes? First I make your budget. Or don't, it's totally up to you. If your budget is small, your plan will look something like this:

Small Budget Boxes:
1. Something to eat

2. Something handmade

3. Something to do

4. Something to display

and then you'd head to the dollar store. I will also post a list of practically free things you can do with different themes at the end of this post. (SQUIRREL)

Not that I ever had GIANT budgets, but let's be honest, I have zero idea how much I (or Santa) spent. When we lived in Utah, I was a stay at home mom and had DI at my fingertips and LOTS of opportunities to trade. So my kids got some really cool stuff that took lots of time by lots of people. When we moved to Kentucky, we had the sale of property and the guilt of making the kids give up so much to move here, so I may have gone a little overboard.

When I have a decent budget, the rules look more like this:

1. Something to eat

2. Something handmade (not necessarily by me)

3. Something to wear

4. Something to read

5. A cup

There are two ways to present these. The first year I did it, they each got ONE box that was just filled with their stuff. They did NOT have equal amounts of things and that was ok. I think. Nobody has brought it up in therapy to my knowledge. The second time, though, one kid requested that everything be wrapped because it's more fun that way. And so everything was wrapped and they then needed equal amounts of things. That amount ended up being 28. It took several hours to open things on Christmas. But some of the wrapping was fun, Wrapped things in wrapped things- it was great. 

Instead of breaking down every single thing that  was in 12 different boxes, I'll give you the highlights.

Paw Patrol: Dollar Store Activities, a blanket (gifted from a friend whose kids had outgrown it), a stuffie from DI, books, and more dollar tree toys.

Pokemon: A hat I had someone make, Pillows and blanket by grandma, cake pops by a friend, a tshirt made by a friend, some stuff from Wish, Pokeballs from DI that I filled with dollar tree toys, and a Pokemon Cursive book that I'm pretty sure he has never even opened. What I did NOT get him that I desperately wanted to but didn't have the money when I saw it and then couldn't find it after was this hand drawn Pokemon book that I saw at FanX. It would have been epic.

Musical Theater: T-Shirt and Cup I traded for. Game I made myself that took hours but I still think is genius (if I do say so myself), music (she doesn't sing anymore), a gift card to see a couple of plays at Empress in West Valley- naturally right when it shut down. DVDs, Cookies that I painted to look like playbills. Art that I painted for her.

D&D/Stranger things: The poster!!! There is a company that has special needs kids make art and then they are sold in malls for whatever you want to pay. I think I paid $20 for that poster and one of the Savior with a kid. Such a cool thing. Dice bag I traded for, 3D printed cookie cutter, DI Special movies, a game, Cup and T-shirt I traded for, and a Funko. Oh, I did attempt to make some little felt stuffies of the Stranger Things guys, but they were way harder than I thought, so I think he only got one. The most special of those gifts, though, was a book I got at FanX- the author drew him a personal D&D character when he signed it (Xander was with me when I bought it).

Barbie: This one was special. My Daddy built her this dollhouse. It is still one of her prized possessions. She had several 3D printed things here, a book collection, doll furniture made by friends across Facebook, and supplies to decorate the house the way that she wanted (including a gift card to Michael's for paint, etc) and supplies to make her own doll stuff with the help of My Froggy Stuff Also- some of the fanciest doll dresses Wish had to offer

This was my favorite. I LOVE the idea of Montessori projects, but have never had the ability to reel it in and get stuff like this made. So I enlisted the help of some friends. Gosh, I loved this one. She had a peg doll matching game, sorting trays, rainbow fairies, and all kinds of little learning activities.

Before I show you the next ones, beware that it's a little bit gluttonous. And honestly, it was too much. While it made me so happy to DO, when i saw everything put together, I was a little sick to my stomach about it. Nobody needs this much stuff. But again, they had left so much behind, I wanted them to just... I don't know. Have the things.

I did Bengals for the husband. We went to a Bengals game at the beginning of the season, their only Thursday game that year, to see how we felt about being in this new area with a new team. We hadn't watched much football in the previous years because we weren't attached to any team and had no way to watch the games anyway. Needless to say, I don't think that date will ever be topped and we are Bengals Fans for life. Roger's was mostly food. The merch I got mostly at this store called Home Buys- it's like a Walmart surplus, lol. There are some playing cards in there, too. But mostly food that I bought a pack of black reusable lunch containers and slapped some stickers on the top.

Yes, Abraham IS cryin in that pic. and yes, it DID break my heart because I think I physically worked the longest and hardest on his. But to be completely fair, this kiddo was so overwhelmed. I made him the minecraft boxes, hand did that stiff plastic canvas bag. I traded for the crochet creeper, found a clearance t-shirt or two, and the best- a joke book. This kid LOVES to tell jokes. And I found a minecraft one. :D

I had my nephew, Austin living with us for this Christmas and let's be honest, my siblings pretty much bought his stuff. It was so fun to put the list together and he may have been my favorite to watch open them. His theme was cars. We introduced him to the Fast and the Furious just before Christmas. He got a car detailing kit, car accessories, projects to do (model car, etc). I did crochet him a scarf. I think his favorite (mine, too) was a set of pens that all looked like tools in a stack of tires.

US Navy- I'll be honest, my heart is aching writing this because I miss my kid SO BADLY right now, but I'm so proud of his decision to do this hard thing. His box was a lot of fun. You can see the blanket. I had a friend make him some shirts. His "something to eat" was my favorite- I found out which countries have Navy Ports and headed to Jungle Jim's- there's something from each of those countries in that box. The books were donated by my brother. He does have a tumbler in there, too. And, one of the cheapies that's also a fav- a yellow submarine tea steeper thingy.

Lorelai's theme was dinosaurs! I traded for the crocheted dino. He favorite was something that was surprisingly affordable- it was a set of dinos that you "build" with "power tools". Lots of shirts- either on clearance or from Once Upon a Child. Some stuffies, school supplies....I can't even remember.

Jules was the easiest and hardest box. After Halloween was awesome for costume bits and pieces. Lots of makeup (that she gave to her sister because she doesn't like anymore). But my very very very favorite- which I can't remember how we tied into the theme, but my fried Ruby at Mama's Little Shop of Herbals let me send her some custom artwork made by my friend's daughter so that they all fit with the Lunar Chronicles. Seriously, they are incredible.

Paisley's theme was Amazonian Animals. We were kind of all over the place on this one. Used clothes, new stationary, handmade jewelry, notebooks, some kits to make cookies and brownies, and so many little trinkets. Three stuffies, which are still her favorite.

Dragons!!! I had his shirt and tumbler made for him, found some amazing art at FanX, made a box for his dragon egg, dragon gummies, a stress/stretch dragon thing, and I just don't remember all the things!

Anyway, I hope these help! OH! And here are somethings you can do for literally any theme.

1. "Paint" cookies- the recipe for the paint is food coloring and milk. You put a stiff white icing on any cookie and boom- you have a canvas

2. Notebooks. There are several different ways to bind- if you want to find someone with a binder, cool, but you can also stitch them closed. All you need is either printed pages in the theme (for real, google some coloring pages), or a patterned piece of paper in the theme (craft stores have paper per piece), printer paper, and boom.

3. Food. Pick a color scheme. Somethings already have them- for example if you're doing iron man, you're going to use yellow and red. Get a food container in one of those colors and put treats in, handmade or otherwise. If you want to splurge and put a sticker of the the theme on top, there ya go (water bottle stickers are the best because. they can handle being washed). Bonus points if the treat inside is another color in the theme!

4. Artwork. If you are not an artist, you know someone who is. I guarantee it. Please don't steal art by printing out images from etsy. But if you post on FB that you'd like some artwork in a certain theme and you're willing to trade or have an extremely limited budget- you'll probably find it.

5. Perler Beads- if you can't find a pattern on their website, head to pinterest and look up embroidery patterns for the thing.

6. Books-  bet your library has a booksale fairly often. You can find books for less than $1 or again, ask on FB. 

7. Stories or Story Prompts- you don't have to be a writer to spark your kids' imagination. Peruse the internet and you'll get some really cool quotes or ideas. Type up a list of those quotes

8. Coloring books- if you can't find them at the dollar store, you can print them. If you have a little budget, there are some beautiful ones on Amazon for literally any theme. LITERALLY ANY- you can buy a farting animals coloring book.

9. Movie and Book Lists- all it takes is a little time and internet research. You can even talk to your librarian about what they've got available (don't give the library books/movies AS the gift, though, in case it is not understood that they need to be returned)

10. Online experiences- you might have to be creative for this one. It might be making a Pinterest board with your kid. It might be a free online class. It might be an interactive website.

11. Jokes- again, you & Google can make it happen.

12. Recipes- Pinterest is your bestie for this one. 

A little something for you planners-

 It's finally hot outside!!! At the Fish house, that means time to plan Christmas!!! I know, we were just there! But normally by now I have a pretty good plan and this year, things are a little different.

So I had started doing the themed boxes every other year. It was nice because they can be done on any budget. But when we did it in 2021, we went way too overboard. And guess what? The kids' interests haven't changed much (I'll do a different post on theme boxes if I haven't already, for those who would like to use that idea).

This morning I woke up and was browsing Pinterest a bit and came up with these ideas for Christmas 2023. I'll talk to the kids today and see what they are thinking. I'm pretty sure I know which ideas they'll love most, but we'll see if they prove me wrong yet again.

A. A trip during Christmas, probably to Utah

    1. This will mean probably no gifts, unless Santa brings them one

    2. I do have to figure out the work schedule thing.

B. Serve a Family

    1. We'd either pick a family with at least half as many kids or choose some angel tree cards

    2. Again, this would mean instead of their gifts- which I would LOVE to see them pick, but I don't know if the littles are at that maturity level yet.

C. Christmas Bucket List- Imma be honest with you- we don't do traditionally fun stuff hardly ever. I'm so tired and broke during Dec because I'm trying to make their gifts or wrap their gifts or whatever that all the stuff we've wanted to do- rarely happens. So instead of Christmas morning gifts in the traditional sense, all of Dec would be a gift

    1. We could do 12 Days of Christmas for someone

    2. Bake/make candy/ deliver

    3. Gingerbread Houses

    4. The lights at Coney Island

    5. Making snowflakes

    6. Popcorn and Cranberry Garland

    7. Whatever else I pretend doesn't exist during Dec because I"m too tired

D. An Experience

    1. A future trip to Utah. Or to see some historical stuff, but it would be Utah.

    2. Zoo membership

    3. Mini Trip Plans

E. Give to Our House- I am pretty sure they won't pick this one. But I love this idea!

    1. Paint for the bedrooms & the Bengals Den

    2. A better carpet cleaner

    3. Outside furniture/toys

    4. Stairs slide

    5. Organizers

    6. Small Furniture (desks, bookshelves, etc)

    7. Artwork

F. Date Nights. I'll do a post about these, too. We've done the planning part of this, but the follow through was a little bit sad because we ran out of the funds. So this time, we'd do the planning NOW and present the dates WITH THE FUNDS/SUPPLIES for Christmas

G. Family Business Startup- My kids are always trying to earn money for this or that. This would be an actual plan on how to do that.

    1. A little Dave Ramsey business book for the whole family/charts/planning pages

    2. Ideas by Age

    3. Startup supplies/Funds

    4. Vending opportunities

I'm 99% sure they are going to pick a trip to Utah. I highly doubt we can swing it AT Christmas because of the way my work goes, but maybe they'll be ok with the plans to go for Spring Break. We wanted to do spring break 2023, but couldn't swing it.