THE GIFT OF TRAVEL

Last Christmas I gave my son who was nine years old at the time a 'mom and son' trip to Walt Disney World as his big Christmas gift. He is the youngest of four children and I figured we had enough junk laying around the house from prior holidays so I knew a WDW vacation would be a welcomed present. Yes, it was hard keeping it a secret and there were times I thought I would crack but I was able to pull it off full secret and all. Since the Magic Bands were going to be delivered a month after Christmas (our trip was not until February) I decided to buy him a new special Disney stuffed animal that was purchased to 'tag along' on our vacation. Along with the stuffed toy was a letter saying "Please bring me along on your mom and son trip to Walt Disney World in February" HE WAS ECSTATIC! 
I was so excited to be able to spend a few days alone with him away from the house, responsibilities, work and things that come between us on a day to day basis. I just wanted to focus on the two of us and create life long memories for him to remember the time we spent together while we were there. Since the trip was in early February I was able to include him in alot of the actual planning before hand. He customized his Magic Band, helped choose the dining reservations, and also made decisions with me on the Fast Pass + selections. This trip was created by the both of us for the both of us and he enjoyed every single minute we spent planning it before we even left. It was so special to him that he was included in each part of the process because when we were on vacation he felt responsible for the wonderful time we had during our dining and FP+ selections because he knew he was a part of making it happen. 
We spend countless dollars on birthday parties as well as holiday gifts, each year making sure the gifts get bigger and more expensive. Why not decide to spend the money on the gift of travel? The gift of memories? The gift of your time? Take the time to travel one on one with your child giving them your undivided attention. Create lasting memories with your child while they are still young. Allow them to take those memories into their adulthood and pass them along onto their children. There is no better gift than the gift of travel.