Ten non-stuff things that you could have got your kids for Christmas (not including a World Vision goat)

We got stuff for Christmas. Good stuff, but it's all stuff.
So many people were driving around with so much stuff in the boots of their cars yesterday. And pushing each other at checkouts to get all the stuff they were obliged to buy for all those other people who were going to give them stuff too.
The cost of unwanted Christmas presents in Australia has been estimated in the order of AUD$1B every year since 2010.

SO for next time, maybe don't get them stuff.
Don't simply get them a World Vision goat certificate. While there appear to be lots of happy kids with baby goats, one of the key objectives of Christmas is that your kids are happy too.

Here are ten alternatives.

1. Tickets to live music (anything from the Wiggles to a rock festival to a folk festival depending on the age of your kids)
2. A creative writing workshop, community theatre, a music or painting course (these run for even very young kids, and most people have a latent dream of becoming an ar-tiste of some kind.
3. Hot air balloon ride, glider flight, light plane flight, hovercraft ride, fishing charter etc.
4. Membership of an organisation or subscription to a magazine of interest. "Horrbile Histories" for an 8 year old boy, or you could cover bee-keepers club fees, or pay for a subscription to a rock magazine, New Scientist, or even contribute to their membership fee to a professional organisation
5. A tray of tree seedlings so they could plant and nurture their own forest - either on your land, on your nature strip (choose plants to match the power lines please!) , or in a public or pseudo-public place (see Guerrilla Gardening)
6. Surfing lessons, horseriding lessons, kung-fu lessons, ballet lessons etc. over summer, or for the next year.
7. A cheese-making course, a salami making course, or your local equivalent
8. A trip to somewhere they've always wanted to go. For young kids this might be the Zoo, or the city fire station. Or a museum of special interest. Ring these kinds of places and see what latitude they have for a 'special tour' for a 'super fan'. You could travel further - My 5 yr old wants to go fossil hunting at Lake Mungo in southern NSW. The neighbour wants to go caving at the Jenolan Caves. White-water rafting on a local river is also on his list.
9. Do any of the above as a family. It's more 'bonding' that way.
10. Give them cash. Paper money. In a red envelope for good luck. Not a gift certificate but a nice crisp paper sheet (although paper money is actually plastic with a clear window in it here).

Just a thought.

Merry Christmas, everyone!