Our trips to a museum inevitably involve a discussion about whether or not there will be a gift shop. While a default of, “we won’t go to the gift shop,” might work for some families, we find that we enjoy offering a small treat to the kids. An inexpensive item purchased at the gift shop usually makes a lasting impression. A gift helps to boost enthusiasm for the trip and it assists with building memories. Bluey and Plum both have toys or knick-knacks that trigger the happy recollection of our various experiences.
He was all Yellow…
Tip: Having something new to play with or look at also helps to speed along the journey home.
Since we are in favor of a museum shop stop, we have established a set of rules that helps keep the gifting under control:
> Limit of money: We typically offer $5 for gift shop purchasing per kid. The kiddoes can augment this stipend with their own cash, if they so choose.
> Limit of time: Our kids can get lost in the great variety of options available within the shop. So rather than wait until we TR parents are exasperated, we approach it knowing that everyone has an established ten minutes to make a purchase decision. Then we can focus on helping each child find something they like that fits their budget.
> Never go to the gift shop first: We always go through the entire museum prior to visiting a gift shop. This way we aren’t distracted by our purchases when we should be focusing on the exhibits.
These rules allow us to balance the desire to visit the gift shop with the experience of the museum. Do you have a system that works for you?