Want a special way to end the school year and start summer vacation with a bang? Check out the “end of the school year/summer kick-off” gifts I put together for my kids!
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I’m doing something this year I’ve never done before – I’m giving my kids “end of the school year/summer kick-off” gifts!
It’s not something I plan to do every year (not on this scale, anyway), but I decided to do it this year for two reasons.
For one thing, it was Andrew’s first year of school, and I wanted to wrap it up in a special way. And he and Aidan both grew so much this year, I wanted to reward their hard work.
But also, I’ve been working on finding ways to delight my kids, while also making memories and nurturing their interests and passions. I realized a while back that I get so focused on getting stuff done and getting through our days, I don’t create enough space for fun. Since then, I’ve been intentionally looking for little things I can do to bring them joy.
Obviously, there are many ways to do that beyond buying them gifts, and I’m exploring as many as I can think of. But these summer kick-off gifts have been a blast to put together, and I can’t wait to give them to my kids this week!
What I’m Giving My Kids in Their “Summer Kick-Off” Gifts
Following are all the items I included in my kids’ “End of the School Year / Summer Kick-Off” gifts. I went kind of big this year, and like I said, I definitely won’t do it every year! But I think it’s worth the investment because they’re all things that will give them something to do, exercise their bodies and minds, and provide hours of fun this summer.
- Book for Aidan — Maker Lab: Outdoors: 25 Super Cool Projects
- Books for Andrew — Ultimate Reptile Rumble and Never Let a Dinosaur Scribble
- Book for Annabel — Never Let a Unicorn Scribble
- Frisbees for the boys (these are super inexpensive right now!)
- Water guns for the boys (their old ones were getting worn out and needed replaced soon, anyway) and this adorable (and cheap!) unicorn squirt gun for Annabel
- Pocket notebooks for Aidan (he uses them ALL THE TIME for jotting down all kinds of notes)
- Stickers for Andrew & Annabel (from Dollar Tree)
- Water bottle for Annabel
- Bubble wands (a six-pack for $5!)
Are end of the school year gifts for your kids a necessity? Of course, not! There are lots of ways to celebrate the end of the school year. And you definitely don’t need to make them as big as I did – I probably won’t even do this again for a while!
But this is a super fun way to reward their hard work, do something special, and set them up for a summer of enriching fun!
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- How to Make Your Own DIY Water Table
Share your thoughts!