Ideas for Entertaining the Nieces
Entertaining guests can be a lot of fun, but what if you're guests are used to the good life? One of our readers would like some advice on entertaining her nieces. She writes:
My brother and his family live in the midwest. My two nieces are seven and nine and to be honest, I've never established much of a relationship with them. Of course a big reason for this is distance but it's also due to the nature of my sister-in-laws parenting style. Both she and my brother are extremely overprotective (read neurotic) and when the girls were little, their parents would never really allow us do things with them alone or get to know them in a meaningful way. As long as the parents were around...well, you get the idea.
So my brother's family will be here for a two week vacation this summer. I really want to make the effort to get to know the girls and establish my own relationship with them. I want to plan a day to take them out just the three of us. Here's my question: these are girls who live very very privileged lives in terms of the kinds of toys/gifts they get and the places they go.
I'd like to come up with a fun idea of what to do without spending a lot of money. They love, love love animals and arts/crafts.
BTW, I'm not the most "creative" when it comes to kids activities (including activities with my own child).
Letterboxing?
http://www.letterboxing.org/
Posted by: philomom | July 10, 2009 at 08:23 AM
Maybe expose the girls to things that are not available in the midwest. Show them that "less" is sometimes "more". Hike through Tyron Creek, swimming at a Portland Parks and Rec pool, Saturday market, Oaks park (although that can get a bit pricey).....
Posted by: Collor | July 10, 2009 at 08:46 AM
A lot of privileged kids are starving for the simple things. Parks, swimming, hikes... I'm sure anything you plan they will have a blast with. Don't stress it, kids will feel the tension and your bond may be compromised.
Posted by: erin | July 10, 2009 at 09:14 AM
100th Monkey Studio is an awesome place if you haven't been. For Christmas this year, I signed up my 10 year old niece and 17 year old cousin for an encaustic painting class as their gift. They both have everything they could possibly want in terms of material things, so I figured an experience was the only meaningful gift I could give. We had a wonderful 2 1/2 hours to create art that none of us had tried before, chat, and catch up. They both seemed to be very engaged and have a good time.
Since your nieces like animals, another idea would be the Behind the Scenes tours at the zoo. Pretty expensive, but probably an experience they haven't had.
Or if you want to have a good road trip with lots of time to talk, there's always Wildlife Safari near Roseburg.
It's so important to keep making an effort to connect. Even if you are not close, they will log your interest somewhere in their brain and might reach out when they are older and away from the control of their parents.
Good luck!
Posted by: cc | July 10, 2009 at 09:47 AM
Though it's a bit of a drive, the Tillamook Forest Center is amazing and if you have the time and energy hit the Tillamook Cheese factory and the beach, might need an overnighter at the coast for all of this, though.
http://www.tillamookforestcenter.org/index.html
//maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
It's great that you have this opportunity. My family is on the East Coast, quite the plane trip.
Posted by: Leigh | July 10, 2009 at 11:40 AM
how about berry picking and then making jam out of what you gather? if you go to sauvies island you can see the animals, cut some flowers, check out the beach. if you haven't made jam before, it really is easy. canning freaks me out, but i dove into the jam making and it was easy peasy. all that can get spendy, maybe. start gathering jars from friends or garage sales now, then you just have to buy the fruit and pectin. they would have a souvenier, too.
Posted by: shannon | July 10, 2009 at 01:33 PM
my comment disappeared? sorry if it shows up again....
how about berry picking and then making jam? you could start collecting jars from friends and garage sales now to save money, then just buy the fruit, sugar and pectin. they would then have a souvenier to take home, also. if you go to sauvies island you could see the animals, cut flowers and check out the beach. canning freaks me out, but i dove into jam making and it was easy peasy!
Posted by: shannon | July 10, 2009 at 01:41 PM
Farmers Markets are always fun and you don't have to buy anything.
I've always thought that getting ice cream with my nieces or younger cousins has given us time alone to chit chat.
Since they are from the midwest they would probably love the ocean. I am sure they have tons of classmates that have never even seen an ocean. You could visit the seaside or cannon beaches city websites to see if you can plan to do it during a fun event.
Posted by: Native_Momma | July 10, 2009 at 07:15 PM
Berry picking is an excellent idea! Perhaps Multnomah Falls and even a hike to the top. The Rose Garden to smell the flowers, a picnic at Pittock Mansion overlooking the city. And the beach is always a winner if you're willing to make the drive. Even a ride on the old streetcar on Sunday would be fun.
Posted by: Stephanie T. | July 10, 2009 at 08:06 PM
All such good suggestions! Thank you all for taking the time to post.
Posted by: The Auntie | July 10, 2009 at 08:36 PM
timberline!!
Posted by: misty | July 10, 2009 at 09:22 PM
When my nieces came last summer I took them to "My Master Piece Art Studio". (URL below, I hope it links up). This studio, by Washington Square, is absolutely fabulous! It's designed solely for kids and they have different stations from: painting, drawing, tracing, pastels, & clay. Plus the gals that run it have real fine art degrees, so there is lots of art inspiration about art including books of paintings and design techniques.
The best part is you can get a 'sampler pacakge' for about $15/kid which will give them a big canvas to paint, several different kinds of papers, and a hunk of clay. We spent hours there. A super value in my opinion. It was well worth the money spent.
Then we went to Noah's bagels for lunch.
Just last week my sister called (we are planning a visit to them in a few weeks) to tell me that the girls said: "When they come to visit, can we plan a craft day with Aunt Kristi?". That just made my day!
Enjoy!
Kristi
http://mymasterpieceartstudio.com/
Posted by: Kristi | July 11, 2009 at 08:04 AM
Hello Mama
I am a Parent Coach, but I worked as a Nanny for many years. I loved being a Nanny, but the children often expected toys where we went, which goes against what I believe.
One full day activity I like is taking the kids on the Old Highway starting in Corbet then visiting Crown Point, the waterfalls and ending at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery.
It's a fun inexpensive trip that is out side and way from gift shops. You can get an ice cream cone at Multnomah Falls and have a picnic at Bonneville.
I’ve taken my charges on this trip many times, and they love it, even the older ones. It’s a great way to reconnect with the kids, because you’re in the care or walking around so much. You can even give them some facts, like how the river use to stretch to the top of Crown Point or a huge landslide from Montana helped carve the Gorge. My charges always found it neat they could see Washington State from the highway.
Don’t forget to take quarters to feed the sturgeon and a camera.
I hope you have a great time what ever you choose.
Rebecca
Rebecca Magby
Parent Coach
Everything Baby, LLC
www.everythingbabyllc.com
Posted by: Rebecca Magby | July 14, 2009 at 08:20 PM
For a fabulous unforgettable day with children.....
1) try to see if they can spend the night, have a girls' party and paint your toes and tell stories about their dad/mom when little and play games and make cookies
2) rise early and make muffins or pancakes
3) go down and park near convention center and visit the inside cool swinging ball then hike down the hill and walk the esplanade on the east side of the river.
4) Rent 3 kayaks from Alder Creek Kayaks for $10 per hour and scoot around in the water with life jackets of course for an hour.
5) Return kayaks and hike over Morrison Bridge and catch Max up to Pioneer Square. See all the fun square things and try out the echo chamber. Grab a hot cocoa or drink at Starbucks and relax for a while.
6) Catch Max back down towards Old Town and get off on the last stop before the Steel bridge and go visit the Chinese Garden and China Town and have a nice Chinese Dim Sum Lunch. Hike back across the Steel Bridge for a great view of the city and find your car.
7) go home and take a nap
Posted by: Marsha | July 20, 2009 at 12:24 AM