Top Family Holiday Gifts in Massachusetts

Top family holiday gifts in Massachusetts can really make the holiday season a breeze with just a little planning. If you are someone who likes to please everyone in the family of a friend or relative, but hates shopping, wrapping and lugging around piles of gifts to meet everyone's wishes, then consider buying a single gift that is likely to bring smiles to the faces of every family member. And when you add up the price of what you might be spending if you were purchasing individual gifts and the wrapping to go with them, and compare that to the price you will pay for these top family holiday gifts in Massachusetts you can be very happy to see the holiday cash that you have saved.

Of course making your holiday season convenient and affordable isn't really worth your while if the gifts that you come up with don't really seem to make the hoped for impression on the gift recipients on your list. None of these top family holiday gifts are likely to disappoint any givers or receivers this holiday season.

I personally witnessed the exchange of a wonderful family holiday gift last year and tucked it away in my own memory bank for my own use at some future holiday gift giving occasion. In fact it was hard to guess who was more pleased with the gift the husband, wife or child of the receiving family or my daughter who was the donor. She had observed the tastes and interests of her brother's young family and came up with what again this year is likely to be one of the top family holiday gifts in Massachusetts: a family pass to the New England Aquarium, in Boston.

Year round the New England Aquarium is one of the top tourist attractions in Massachusetts. In addition to being very popular it is also a place where children can learn a great deal about marine life, up close and personal . The gigantic central tank and the many lesser displays are attention grabbers that keep kids asking to go back again for another visit. Kids quickly learn that every trip to the New England Aquarium is just a little bit different. One time they will be astounded by a shark and the next time it may be a harbor seal that elicits their enthusiasm. The scene is always shifting but always exciting for kids and parents alike.

What my son and his wife discovered is that their holiday gift really was a gift that kept on giving. The New England Aquarium family membership meant that they could go as a family to the aquarium as many times as they wanted in the next 365 days. They didn't have to work at seeing everything every time they came because they knew that a repeat visit would not be a financial drain. The pass not only got you in, it got you in quickly. Membership at the New England Aquarium really does have its privileges, one of which was being able to walk right by all those poor regular admission customers waiting in line to purchase a ticket. Pass holders are moved right along with no wait. According to my son, a nice extra, especially in Boston, where parking can be an adventure all its own, was the discovery that the New England Aquarium pass included heavily discounted parking with validation at the Harbor Garage, adjacent to the Aquarium http://www.neaq.org . For the driver in the family this is almost too good to be true. During the year my son and his family also found that thanks to their pass they were included in some very nice members only events which gave them aquarium access as part of a small and select group. Even my grand daughter at five years old saw the benefits of that concept. For this year's family membership pass price contact the museum on line.

A second Boston area membership which makes a top family holiday gift in Massachusetts is a family membership at the Boston Children's Museum located at Children's Wharf, 300 Congress St., Boston, MA . With 90 years of experience, the Boston Children's Museum knows how to educate and entertain kids at the same time. According to http://www.bostonchildrensmuseum.org this institution has a national reputation and is considered a pacesetter for children's exhibits and education programs. A family membership here is like giving a window of learning to every member of the family, including the adults.
A little research will convince you that buying a family membership to the Boston Children's Museum is a mini investment that you will never regret. For the same price you could buy the family in question more toys, more clothes, more video games. But when you give a Boston Children's Museum membership you give a pass that entitles a family of up to six people to visit the Boston Children's Museum for an unlimited amount of times during a the full ca lender year. Members can visit the museum during special members only hours throughout the year.

What seems really incredible is that your pass is good beyond the confines of the Boston Children's Museum. It will get you in free at over 200 other science related museums across the country. Going to Florida and would love to go to the Orlando Science Center while you are there? Go right ahead and go free with a Boston Children's Museum membership. The Same is true of places like the Chicago Children's Museum, the California Science Center in L. A. and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. You'll enjoy just checking out the possibilities.

And while your checking here's another list to consider. With a Boston Children's Museum membership, holders are allowed free admission to 100 children's museums that participate in the Association of Children's Museums reciprocal admission programs. This means the family who receives a Boston Children's Museum membership for Christmas can go to other children's museums in New England like the Children's Museum in Easton and the Rhode Island Children's Museum in Providence as well as scores of other museums for children outside of New England.

For $125 you will be truly hard pressed to find a better gift than this top family holiday gift in Massachusetts.

My particular favorite among the top family holiday gifts in Massachusetts is a family membership from the Massachusetts Audubon Society. If your kids like the outdoors or you like to make sure they get lots of outdoor fun into their schedule, the value offered by a Massachusetts Audubon Society family pass is really incredible. In fact I like this gift so much that the last two years I purchased one for my husband and I. Your pass means that you and your children under the age of 18 or grandchildren can visit any of the 43 Massachusetts Audubon Society sanctuaries that are spread all across the state. You can visit just your neighboring favorites or make it a goal to visit as many of the 43 as possible. Either way pass holders will really have the key to touring some of the most unspoiled and wild life rich lands n Massachusetts.

For the family membership holder, the idea of taking the family on an outing to Stony Brook in Norfolk, MA, Broadmoor in South Natick, Drumlin Farms in Lincoln or Pleasant Valley in Lenox now involves no expense except the gas to get you there. In the meantime you can enjoy the great feeling of knowing that the cost of the gift you gave is money that will be used by Massachusetts Audubon Society to continue to maintain and protect places of natural beauty and wildlife habitats across the state. This is a real win/win gift. For more information about purchasing a family membership as a holiday gift contact www.massaudubon.org.

There's no reason to make a seemingly endless list of gifts or to turn over hours of time to seek them out and wrap them. The holidays should be a time to relax and enjoy being with loved ones. Shop early and think about purchasing some of these top family holiday gifts in MA


By Lima