Adventure in a Bag

Dori Lee Hall, Utah

Give a gift bag. No, not the paper kind you put gifts in, but an actual bag. For starters, you could use backpacks, fanny packs, canvas bags, or a leather pouch. Then fill it with gifts for some fun exploring. That’s what my parents did for us children, and now they do it for their grandchildren too.

For our most adventurous activities, we might receive bags filled with a pocket knife for whittling (a gift for older children, of course), a flashlight, work gloves, a first-aid kit, bandanas, note pads for recording finds or experiences, food, and love notes from Grandma and Grandpa. The list could go on and on. We have sailing bags, hiking fanny packs, gardening bags, spur-of-the-moment sports bags. And we can’t forget bags for walks, bike rides, and long car trips.

If assembling these bags seems expensive, just give the bag as a present and let the recipient decide what goes in, or fill it later during an outing. Our children love to fill their bags with treasures of shells, pine cones, rocks, flowers, and so on. These gift bags have been a fun tradition for our family, and they’ve helped us to create many lasting memories.