This year on the last day of school for my kids, I surprised them with bags filled to the brim with summer fun. Each kid got a bag with color coordinated goodies inside. Green for Charming, Pink {& Yellow} for Precocious. I filled the bags with all the fun things I never buy them at the store: bubblegum, Cheetos, gummy worms, pool noodles, pool toys, sand toys, glitter, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, beach balls.
I surprised them both when they came home from school, ready to play for the summer. And they almost died. I haven’t done something this spontaneous and *fun* in awhile it seems. I was the cool mom in town for about 45 minutes, until they started stealing stuff from each others bags and hitting each other with the pool noodles.
This is one of the better parenting ideas I’ve had. They’re going to use some of the goodies all summer, and it was such a fun treat for finishing off a great school year.
What would you put in a bag for your kids?
Allison
Hello there! I'm Allison Czarnecki, founder + editor of Petit Elefant, a blog all about style on a budget for every part of your life: style / home / travel / family. I do a lot of how-to beauty + style tutorials, travel posts, easy recipes, home remodel projects, and cool DIY crafts you totally want to try. I'm super happily married (to a hot Polish immigrant) and am the mother of two kids, a daughter and son, all of whom are featured here on the regular. We live in the country but we're a little bit rock + roll. Welcome!
That’s such a great idea. I like the “forbidden” items like Cheetos in it, especially when kids don’t get much junk food (like my son).
When my son gets of school age, I’ll probably do a lot of art supplies, since I’m an art teacher. And maybe some model cars for him to put together. And books. And maybe a chepo camera so he can record his summer.
Great post Allison!
They totally dug the forbidden stuff. Gummy worms? Never buy those. Bubblegum too.
A camera is a GREAT idea! Same with the art supplies, I love that.