Happy Friday: Creative Zoo Gift in a Box

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Sent from reader, Tera:

When I asked my sister in law for gift suggestions for my nephew’s upcoming birthday, she suggested a visit to the zoo. I love giving experiences as gifts to my children and nephews, but let’s face it: when you’re 7, unwrapping a check with a promise for a visit to the zoo is no fun. So I decided to put together a zoo kit for him to open. It’s inexpensive, but I think he’ll have a lot of fun with it.

Included in the box:
–a brochure and map of the zoo he’ll be visiting (I emailed the zoo asking them to send me the map)
–“Zoo Cash” to buy a treat or souvenir
–a Zoo Passport with pictures of animals he’ll see, a spot to stamp that he saw it and room for any notes or observations about the animal, plus blank pages to draw pictures of other animals. I made my own based on the animals that I know are at this zoo, but you can download and print a generic zoo passport from https://www.education.com/worksheet/article/zoo-passport/
–a leopard-print pencil–for writing down those observations!
–zoo animal stickers
–animal crackers
–a pop-tab can with small plastic zoo animals, jungle fruit snacks, a pencil-top stamper (to stamp the passport), and a couple of zoo-themed trinkets I found at the party store. (go to https://happyhooligans.ca/cool-gift-wrapping-idea/ for how to make the pop-tab can)

HAPPY FRIDAY! 😀


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Join The Discussion

Comments 33

  1. SF

    What a cute idea!

  2. J

    Fun and educational at the same time. What a great idea!

  3. jacki

    A great idea!

  4. Alison

    Love this idea and that’s our local zoo! We love binder park!

  5. JS

    Love this we have a local zoo totally doing this for my daughter and son.

  6. Diana

    So adorable! Im old and i love it😀😀👍😜

  7. Amber

    I feel the same way about “experience” gifts. They are better than a cheap toy, but no fun to open. What a great idea.

  8. Susan

    When we decided to get kittens for my daughter for her birthday we wrapped up all the cat accessories: bowls, bag of kitten food, cat toys, litter box, etc. At first she was confused but then got real excited when she figured it out. We went a few days later to adoption place so she could pick them out and make sure the kittens had good temperaments with her.

  9. Jill

    What a lucky young man…very creative gift. Thank you for sharing!

  10. Tiffany

    We take my 3 yo to the zoo every year around her birthday. I never though about gift wrapping the experience .

  11. Tiffany

    We take my three-year-old to the zoo every year around her birthday. I never thought about gift wrapping the experience. I will definitely do the passport ideal. Thanks.

  12. Kayla

    That’s awesome! I’ve asked our family to give our son experience gifts for his birthday (since he has way too much stuff!). Even though he’s too young for some of this stuff, it’s a great way to give an experience in a fun way!

  13. Colleen

    Cute!

  14. rebecca

    I’m curious, are you a teacher/homeschooler? This is such a great approach to making learning fun! 🙂

  15. April

    Awesome idea!!

  16. Michelle

    I love this! It’s such a fun and creative gift which will really excite kids.

  17. Annette wyatt

    Thx

  18. Jodi D

    My kids said, “This is going to be zoo’ey, I like to see cheetahs”. What an awesome gift!

  19. sne3103

    You’re such a sweet aunt! Loved the idea 🙂

  20. Katie

    Super cute!

  21. creatingsacredspaces

    Thanks for sharing such a creative and education gift. Love it. You could also add a little photo book and gift card to get some pictures printed.

  22. Beth

    Super cool idea!!!

  23. Nina

    You MADE the passport? I LOVE it and am so impressed, I can not even imagine how you did it. What an awesome gift idea! I’m sure he’ll love it and you’ll get to fill a photo album with pictures of your adventure! Maybe you’ll even be able to score passes from the library to get into the zoo for a discounted price 😉

  24. Kathleen

    Love this idea!!! How creative!

  25. Jackie

    So cute! I love the can idea. Will be using that idea for sure.

  26. Tobey

    Love it

  27. Darcie

    Great idea! 👏👏 I’m going to use this for my own littles when I give them an annual pass to the zoo

  28. Skye

    this is so cute and thoughtful, perfect for the little ones!

  29. Liz

    Great job!So creative……..he’s going to love it:)

  30. Jen

    Awesome!

  31. me

    some people are just so smart!!!!!!

  32. Tracy

    What a cute idea! Thanks for sharing.

  33. Lacy

    Love this! I have been trying to think of a creative way to give my 5 year old a season pass this year. I can’t just hand her the card that’s no fun! Thank you for the wonderful idea

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