Treat a family to a trip around the rink.

Tired of nagging my kids to pick up their shoes, stop fighting, talk nice, get ready for school, clear the dishes, flush the toilet, and so forth, I plunked a jelly jar on the counter one day and blurted out, “Fill this jar with beans before holiday break and I’ll take you ice skating.”

I laid out a fairly simple reward structure–do what I say without negotiating, earn a bean. Do me a favor (e.g. let your brother go first), earn a bonus bean. Tell me something nice a sibling did instead of a tattle-tale, earn five beans. Having never been ice skating, the kids snapped to attention and filled the jar before school got out and just before their interest in the whole gimmick ended. (Rumor has it Dad abused the system and awarded a fistful of beans in exchange for a Saturday afternoon nap at some point.) Nonetheless, the kids filled the jar so we took them ice skating this week for the very first time. 

Family Fun for Everyone!

We had so much fun, I couldn’t help but add ice skating to the list of family gift card ideas. To give the gift of ice skating, I would get a gift card to a nearby rink and download the public skating schedule. Then I’d get either an inexpensive set of gloves or a pair of warm, tall socks for everyone in the family. You could also add a travel bottle of hand sanitizer, hot chocolate mix, or matching beanies as well.  Love that.