Christmas is such a fun time to spoil people with gifts, but it can be really easy to go overboard. I know my kids don't really need any more toys or electronics, but what else do you get them? It's what they like. I really felt strongly this year that I did not want to go that route. I didn't want to invest money into items that would be played with a few times and then forgotten. So this year Spencer and I did something a little bit different. We decided to give the kids an early Christmas present and take them to the Great Wolf Lodge. Check-in would be Friday, December 23rd and we would come home on Saturday, Christmas Eve, in time for family celebrations. Apparently, we weren't the only ones who thought this sounded like a good idea because a few of our friends jumped in on it too. The only question that lingered as we got closer to the date was how to tell the boys. I think I came up with a pretty fun idea. I found a picture on my computer from a previous visit to the water park. I inserted text on the photo and then printed it on 8X10 photo paper. I glued 2 extra sheets of card stock to the back for thickness and then drew puzzle pieces on the card stock side. I then carefully cut out all of the pieces to create a puzzle the kids could put together, revealing their gift.
On the morning of the 23rd, we gathered the boys around the kitchen table and told them that we would like to give them an early present. I handed over all of the puzzle pieces and they proceeded to put it together. When they finally got it assembled they repeated with excitement that they were going to the Great Wolf Lodge. Austin asked "When?", to which we relied, "Right Now!" They ran up the stairs and packed their bags in a hurry. We arrived around 1:30 p.m. and immediately headed to the water park. That evening our entire group went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and then hit the arcade afterwords. The water park opened up at 9:00 a.m.the following morning and we were among the first ones to enter. We stayed and played until 1:00 p.m. and then made our journey home so we could officially get our Christmas festivities started.
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| Ryan & Misti Ridgeway |
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| Mike & Amanda Chan |
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| Brian & Rebecca Chan |
On the morning of the 23rd, we gathered the boys around the kitchen table and told them that we would like to give them an early present. I handed over all of the puzzle pieces and they proceeded to put it together. When they finally got it assembled they repeated with excitement that they were going to the Great Wolf Lodge. Austin asked "When?", to which we relied, "Right Now!" They ran up the stairs and packed their bags in a hurry. We arrived around 1:30 p.m. and immediately headed to the water park. That evening our entire group went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and then hit the arcade afterwords. The water park opened up at 9:00 a.m.the following morning and we were among the first ones to enter. We stayed and played until 1:00 p.m. and then made our journey home so we could officially get our Christmas festivities started.
Great fun! Great times! Possibly a yearly tradition...???
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