Facebook

Grandma's Clever Gift Proves Christmas Doesn't Come From A Store

Darlene Howell Waller is a grandmother who decided to give her grandchildren the ultimate gift last Christmas.

Instead of buying the usual toys or clothes, things that make awesome gifts, but are ultimately forgotten as time goes on, she came up with a great idea.

Her adventure box is truly the gift that keeps on giving!

Finding a unique Christmas gift for children is tough these days.

Unsplash | freestocks.org

Sure, there’s always toys and clothes, but many of these items only last a short period of time. Then, they just make clutter in the home before they are given away.

Even though kids love getting presents, most of them miss the point of Christmas.

Remember in The Grinch when we learned how the best things don’t come from a store?

That’s why Darlene decided to do something different for Christmas.

Facebook | Darlene Howell Waller

Knowing that another toy would just be added to the pile, Darlene got to work on a DIY gift that is so clever and really easy to copy.

She calls it her “Adventure Box”.

Facebook | Darlene Howell Waller

She gifted her grandchildren this box containing 12 envelopes inside.

Each envelope represents a different month of the year and was decorated with clues as to what the envelope might contain.

So what was in the envelopes?

Facebook | Darlene Howell Waller

The idea was that Darlene’s grandsons would open one envelope at the start of a month. Inside the envelopes, Darlene had chosen an activity for them to do together.

How cool is that?

I am already so on board with this idea. This is a great way for grandparents or parents to spend quality time together.

She also attached a note to the box.

Facebook | Darlene Howell Waller

In the note she wrote that she was gifting her grandsons, “the gift of time.” Isn’t that the sweetest? Really that’s what Christmas is all about.

One month contained movie tickets.

Facebook | Darlene Howell Waller

An easy family activity that everyone can do together. Tip: buy your movie passes at Costco. They are way cheaper there and you can even find family packs sometimes.

Another month contained passes for bowling and arcade tickets.

Facebook | Darlene Howell Waller

Again, a simple and relatively cheap outing for the family that you could save for a rainy weekend. It gets everyone out of the house and spending time together.

If you want to make your own adventure box, don’t feel like you have to spend a lot of money.

Unsplash | Kelly Sikkema

Buying 12 months of activities can add up, but they can be something simple.

Plan a trip to the park or buy some ingredients to stay in and make cookies. As long as you’re spending time together, that’s what matters.

As well, you can start planning your adventure box well before Christmas.

Each month, you can put a bit of money aside or buy a gift card. Then, when December rolls around, all you have to do is put your activities in an envelope.

This will make Christmas shopping less of a financial strain in December.

These adventure boxes aren’t just for kids.

By Stephanie Lynn

If you have no idea what to get your spouse or partner, plan a couple’s adventure box! It’s a way better idea than getting them another sweater.

Fill the box with pre-planned dates for the year.

It allows you to take the stress out of planning dates and ensuring that you two spend time together. Dates could be something like trying a new restaurant or cooking a meal together.

Since Darlene’s idea went viral, parents and grandparents are also making adventure boxes for Christmas.

There are even sites that offer printables if you want to make your box fancy.

I Can Teach My Kids

Ultimately though, it doesn’t matter what your box looks like. Just send something from the heart!

Thanks so much for this great idea, Darlene!

I am definitely going to start doing this with my family. It really is the Chrismas gift that keeps on giving!