Cinema trip - a wonderful gift

We got a wonderful Xmas gift this year from Thomas's parents: a family visit to the cinema. As I have moaned before, when there are seven of you in a family a trip to the cinema is beyond your budget. Of course we can nip out to the odd Saturday morning budget rerun of an old film to get the cinema experience if we need to, but seeing something that is current, and that all the kids' classmates are still talking about, at the same time as everyone else has long been beyond our reach. And of course, when something finally does come out on DVD and our kids finally start talking about it, their friends can barely remember the film ours are enthralled by. It happened with Monsters Uni and with Despicable Me 2 this year, and countless others before them.

So this Xmas, we got tickets to see Frozen in the the cinema! All seven of us went, though I am sure Marcel isn't owning up to it too loudly! It was lovely to see Amaia's face. She'd never been in a cinema before and Anna, who had been once before had no recollection either. The four younger ones have been dancing about singing the soundtrack ever since and because it is something they rarely get to do, it will be remembered fondly, long after all the toys have been lost or broken. It was definitely a hit way to make a memorable impression.

To a family who spend a lot of time on a shoestring making their own entertainment, maybe gifting them an outing or an experience is a positive way forward. Maybe I should start asking for such gifts for Thomas and I too on birthdays as we never get out!