How to make childhood magical?

[Shopperami]

What type of things do you do with the kids to make their childhood magical?

Is there places you take them which are magical?

Or little things at a home?

Anything else?

I don’t. Maybe I should try harder. We have days out, family traditions that they love around special occasions, holidays... I think the bits they enjoy most are silly, spontaneous nothing-things (running to school in the rain jumping over puddles, pretending the satsuma that escaped the fruit bowl is alive and making it “jump” in my hands when I try to “recapture” it, drawing pumpkin faces on lunch box oranges at Halloween, snuggles on the sofa) or how-the-world-works things (they’re fascinated by potatoes in the back of the cupboard sprouting, blown light bulbs, hibernating ladybirds etc and like to ask question after question about everyday stuff as we go, love to help with diy and have it explained). I’m not sure I’m any good at magical, but they’re good at enjoying the mundane!

Give them your time. Laugh with them.

@ChodeofChodeHall you are 😂 that really made me laugh.

I’m in that camp that thinks a quality childhood is about Fun and laughter day to day, along with support and time to listen in the more difficult moments.

Definitely not trying to make it magical or trying to make memories.

And as a 70’s child some of my best memories are of the freedom I had to go out on my bike with my friends - and no adults. It maybe different times, but I believe children still need opportunities to make their own fun instead of expecting adults to do it for them.

I’m working on not shouting or losing my temper at the moment.

My childhood wasn’t magical at all, it was very like griff Rhys Jones describes in “semi detached” - supermarket shop on a Friday, watching allo allo in pjs on a Sunday evening. A lot of the time I was bored and have few magical memories. Even trips out are mainly memorable for the trudging about castles in the rain, or being bored on the beach.
Holidays abroad are mainly memories of travel sickness

I think this is hugely about attitude and your children’s personality- I wasn’t a child who was going to find collecting leaves magical. I wish I wasn’t like that but what can you do? I liked “glamorous” things like say, looking around Harrods or having afternoon tea. Going to the theatre or for a posh meal out. And obviously most families don’t do much of that

I once put a note in my daughter's lunch box which simply said, 'I love you.' She was furious with me! Embarrassing apparently. She's 8. I do loads with my kids, not sure what they remember/appreciate. Sometimes it's quite unexpected what they enjoy the most!

All the stories of “outdoorsy” things in the UK make me laugh. I grew up in a beautiful part of the UK that people go to on holiday, bloody hated being dragged out on hill walks and to castles and nature trails by my poor Granny who was an avid fan of the countryside. I do actually like the outdoors a bit more now but as a kid, it was rubbish.

What I did like:
Watching Saturday Superstore in my pyjamas
When my Mum made us amazing fancy dress costumes at Halloween
Holidays to hot places when my Dad would play with us in the pool.

Visiting French and Spanish food markets on those holidays.
Going to the Library every Friday and reading my books all week.
Getting a record player for my 10th birthday and going with my Mum to buy records in Woolies.
My Mum’s cooking.
Family jokes.
Coming home for lunch from school every day.

I forgot to tell you that our son loves our poverty/childhood stories. He finds them very amusing. We make them much worse than they were and he laughs a lot. I'm sure he'll remember those stories when he is older.
My dh told our son that he bought me my first pair of shoes... I was 21 when I meet him

One Christmas Eve, while my daughter slept I completely filled her room with white paper snowflakes and paper chains (I got the idea from Elf). It took me hours of hard work. I thought it would be magical for her to wake up to on Christmas morning and find the Christmas elves had been.

However, Christmas morning she freaked out and decided not to sleep in her room again for a while in case they came back. I gave up trying to be magical after that.