With nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, I’ve become an expert on Christmas gifts. Sure, you can buy the latest toy or gadget, but it is the memories that will last for years that bring the most joy. What will I get my munchkins for Christmas?
Museum Memberships
As a child, I only had the opportunity to visit a museum or zoo via school trips. Once my daughter was born, I made sure she was exposed to every museum and live theatre the city of Philadelphia had to offer. As the grandchildren began to arrive, I first went with the big trucks or dollhouses…But I soon noticed that the toys had lost their entertainment value after a few weeks.
Those toys were expensive, but isn’t Christmas supposed to be all about the kids enjoying their toys? You’re really taking a big risk when you purchase toys for children. It may be the toy of the year with every single commercial telling you that your child or grandchild will be so happy with this or that doll or truck…but I remember my Christmas memories…and to tell the truth…I don’t remember the toys as much as the trips to the huge department stores like Lit Brother’s Enchanted Village or the musical light show at Wanamaker’s.
In my Italian family back in the late 1940s and ’50s, Christmas wasn’t the big day. It was Christmas Eve with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins coming over to our house to cook the seven fishes. We children would get a silver dollar from our grandparents. I don’t think there was an exchange of gifts, because all I remember is the bustling activity in the kitchen as the women prepared the fish and side dishes.
After dinner, we all packed up and walked to church for the midnight mass. On Christmas Day, our tree was not surrounded by tons of toys. The girls would get a new doll, my brother, a truck or toy gun, and there would be packages from the aunts and uncles, but those gifts only offered clothing. My memories, now as I look back, are all about the trips to see the Enchanted Village, the show at Wannamaker’s and the food from Horn and Hardart’s automatic restaurant.
I know my grandchildren, and what they desired more than toys was adventure. Because I worked at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, I was able to buy memberships for the grandkids to almost every museum on the parkway, as well as the Philadelphia Zoo. The memberships were worth the price because memberships to museums and zoos guarantee many a behind-the-scenes tour not offered to the general admissions.
Conclusion
Museum and Zoo memberships are the perfect gifts for any child. Memories will last forever, while toys will be forgotten. Right now, due to severe budget cuts in the U.S., museums are closing their doors. My Academy of Natural Sciences is now only open on weekends. This will put a damper on school trips, which sucks, because many children only get exposure to museums through them. So do your children a favour and buy a membership for your favourite museum or zoo.
Whenever I am with all the grown grandchildren, their fondest memories are about the fun we all had at the different museums and zoos. Now, my grandbabies are having babies of their own. I have continued the tradition of giving memories as a Christmas gift. My great-grandchildren are now learning about dinosaurs and ocean life at the Adventure Aquarium. I am hoping that when the great-grandchildren speak of me, after I have left this world, they will remember our adventures.
