To ask for help designing a £5,000 prize?

[bewilderedwinner]

I am clearly BU by posting this here but I'm desperate for advice.

A couple of months ago I won one of the top prizes in a prize draw. The prize is for my child to win the "experience of their dreams", within the category of Transport and Technology (there were 4-5 other categories, which presumably other winners have been chosen for). The value of the prize is up to £5,000. So ostensibly, we could arrange for a trip to NASA, or a trip down Route 66, or, I don't know, a very expensive boat ride!

The thing is, my son is only just 4 years old. He doesn't really have a "dream" thing. He's OBSESSED with tools, building/fixing things, and he likes cars and other vehicles to an extent. Loves caravans and campervans. But how do we make that into a dream experience worth £5,000? Whenever I ask him what he'd like to do if he could do anything in the world, he just says, "play with my tools". Where would you go if you could go anywhere? "Gran's house". You get the picture. I suppose with covid his experience has been quite limited, and combined with being so young, he just doesn't know what's out there, and what fun we could have with 5k!

I'm a single mum earning less than £20k a year - this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to do something we'd otherwise never be able to afford. We both have valid passports in the same surname, but we have no contact with the other parent due to domestic abuse, so bonus points for ideas we can do within the UK, so I don't have to worry about the legalities of travelling, IYSWIM. For clarity, this is a bespoke experience we need to do, not a "thing", and there is no cash alternative.

Please help - what would you do?! All/any ideas would be gratefully received!

Not UK but Eurostar trip to Disneyland Paris? Stay in the Marvel Hotel?

How exciting for you and your son! Is the prize just for the two of you or can other family members join in?

I think we can bring others. On the entry form it asked who your child would like to accompany them, and I put myself, gran and grandad down. It is really, really exciting, but my little boy has no idea (I have told him - he just doesn't understand!) and I really don't want to waste it!

Eurostar is a nice idea. He does like trains!

I would do Disneyland Paris too

Also, are there any stipulations on when it could take place or how long it could last? Can it be a holiday or should it just be one activity?

What do you mean the legalities of travelling?
I would take him to Disneyland Paris preferably at Christmas time. It’s amazing

there are many train museums around the UK - York, London, Derby etc. you could put together a few visits to the museums (+ staying in v nice hotels and food). Also space museum in leicester

there is a very scenic train ride across scotland (as featured in Harry Potter).

I'd think of a nice place that you want to go in the UK and then find a train/transport museum nearby to link it to the prize.

It has to be the Legoland in Denmark!

The little boy loves building things, he enjoys practical hands on activities from the OP, so I don’t know why people are suggesting Disneyland…

Does it have to be something you can buy, or will they organise an experience for you? Would it be possible to visit one of the F1 team headquarters, see a car, change a wheel, get a ride in a car?!

@Hetty0

The little boy loves building things, he enjoys practical hands on activities from the OP, so I don’t know why people are suggesting Disneyland…

There is soooo much to see and do at Disneyland, not just Mickey and Princesses. They have old style cars, fire engines, trams riding up and down main street that you can ride on. There are lots of different transport style rides, Disney cars for example, tram tours. Shows to watch, the fire breathing dragon in the parade is an amazing creation. Getting there on an under water train is an experience in itself.

London trip to include places like legoland, kidzania, the zoo?

@Hetty0

The little boy loves building things, he enjoys practical hands on activities from the OP, so I don’t know why people are suggesting Disneyland…

Because what kids think they like, what they like in reality and what will actually make a memorable, lovely trip that she won’t be able to afford again in the near future are two different things. She can trek him around a transport museum some other time.

As far as I understand it, we just need to tell them what he wants to do, where, and when, and they will organise it for us. I love the F1 team idea - although I wonder if he will be a tad young... Definitely one for the list though! :-D

Some fabulous ideas so far, thanks everyone!!

There are Dig This parks in Vegas and in New Zealand that might appeal as part of an amazing holiday! Alternatively, why not see if you could hire out a Diggerland park in the UK for your son and friends to have the most extravagant birthday party? Or contact a Formula 1 car supplier and see if they'd put something together for your son? Transport for London have lots of forms of transport and lots of engineers so a trip to London and chance to travel on the DLR, tube, buses, river boat, sky rail etc might be something that could be organised.

Agreed @Notbornwithit, my DS loved trains and all things transport but was happy with a couple of hours at York railway museum. The novelty would have worn off been dragged up and down the country to see more of the same at 4/5.

Also, £5k sounds a lot on paper but when you actually start travelling, its not actually that much money (I'm talking flights to US / NZ etc)

@bewilderedwinner

Eurostar is a nice idea. He does like trains!

What about a Steam train trip? The Luxury Train Club might have a British Pullman trip that fits the bill.

You could ask for a “behind the scenes” experience- so eg National Railway Museum in York, or at the National Science Museum, but he gets some special secret access to the engineers etc.

A high end long weekend in York or London at a top hotel with all meals, transport and spending money etc thrown in for you, kid and 2x grandparents wouldn’t actually be far off 5k...

Wow that's a great prize. Can you not get clarity on the travel issue? I'm a single parent and have never flown so not sure if the other parents permission is ALWAYS needed. Obvs that would open up loads more options.

Otherwise Eurostar is a good shout, I'd love to take mine to disney paris and do it all with no thought for expense. Think a bit about your own wishes too cos you are right, he's 4 and would probably happy with a look round a train station.

A 3/4 night trip to Lapland to see Santa. It might be a bit too late notice to organise that though and if it's difficult to get out UK.

@LindaLooky

Wow that's a great prize. Can you not get clarity on the travel issue? I'm a single parent and have never flown so not sure if the other parents permission is ALWAYS needed. Obvs that would open up loads more options.

Otherwise Eurostar is a good shout, I'd love to take mine to disney paris and do it all with no thought for expense. Think a bit about your own wishes too cos you are right, he's 4 and would probably happy with a look round a train station.

From what I understand, we'd be extremely unlucky to be stopped and asked for proof that we've got permission. Especially since we have the same name.

But yes. If another person is named on the birth certificate, there needs to be evidence that they give their permission for the child to travel, otherwise it's technically child abduction.

Given that we have no contact with the other parent, the possibility that we will be stopped at the airport is something that we're just going to have to live with for the next 12 years or so.

If you have passports and both have the same name you shouldn't have any trouble travelling. At most you just need to take his birth certificate to prove your his mother and have parental responsibility.

Billund the home of Lego. It's building just not with tools.