Inexpensive Luxury Day Trip
Graduation from preschool deserves a luxury mini-vacation, 4-year old style.
When my daughter graduated from preschool,I took her on a day trip to luxury-land, kid style. The toy store, pizza joint and bath shop totaled under 25 dollars. Ideal.
My younger daughter recently graduated from preschool, and I didn't realize what a big deal the "moving on" ceremony would be. To me, if there's no cramming for a final exam, or nervous oral presentation of a year-long thesis, the graduation concept is a bit overdone. However, I'm clearly in the minority here; witness all the parents that brought bouquets and wrapped gifts for their 4- and 5-year-olds' having mastered the art of taking turns with the fingerpaint.
My own child observed all this gift-giving, of course, and wondered casually where her present was. A glance at her father's adoring expression was enough for me to know that "No present for you!" would be an unacceptable answer. And, that is how I came up with the concept of the Graduation Day of Luxury. I grandly swept my arms around, saying, "Why, your present isn't even here! You get to go to the toy store and pick out whatever you want!" [Note: We were going to go to the toy store anyway, since we had a classmate's birthday party the next day.]
As I suspected, once at the toy store, my daughter picked out a cheap pair of dress-up shoes and costume jewelry. I told her that the next event on her Day of Luxury would be to pick the restaurant for lunch. Also as I suspected, she happily chose the pizza joint across the street and we shared a medium pie. We enjoyed a fun conversation about the intricate differences between the TV shows High Five (cool) and The Wiggles (uncool). Also covered was the topic of Why Thunder Isn't as Scary as It Used to Be, and Why Toothpaste Tastes Better Now.
On the way out of the restaurant, she found a nickel -- serving to improve her day by 5%. She decided to spend this new-found wealth at Lush, a hand-made bath and body products shop. She purchased a Think Pink Bath Bomb. I watched as she proudly handing that nickel to a bemused salesclerk, who then waited as I gave the the other 4 bucks and ninety cents. Maybe my kid will learn more about money in kindergarden.
And thus ends the Graduation Day of Luxury. Let's see... 7 bucks for the shoes and plastic necklace, 10 for the pizza, and 4.95 (minus the nickel contribution) for the Think Pink Bath Bomb. All in all, approximately 22 dollars for a full day of luxury treatment, 4-year old style. Not bad! Of course, next time she might want her pizza with toppings on it.
And the moral here: you don't have to book your kid a trip to Disney, or to a resort spa, to have a lovely pampering day that feels like exotic world travel. Be creative!
Related, on Suite 101:
Copyright Jennifer Miner and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use will constitute an infringement of copyright.
