My daughter’s eyes brightened, and when the spot finished she announced, “Mommy, I want a kindermoon!”
I had no idea what a kindermoon was.
For those as puzzled as I was, a kindermoon is akin to a honeymoon for newlyweds who want to commemorate the start of their married life. It’s like a babymoon, which is a trip couples take to enjoy some memorable alone time together before their little one arrives.
A kindermoon is a special getaway in that same vein, but its aim is to celebrate a child’s upcoming start in kindergarten.
And Disney discovered an ideal way to monetize a kid’s move to elementary school — by marketing a pricey vacation to one of the nation’s most expensive theme parks.
A Disney blog post from 2016 promoted a two-day, three-night kindermoon package for a family of three priced at $987. A similarcurrent offer (though it isn’t labeled a kindermoon) begins at $1,009. Wonderful, right?
Don’t get me wrong — I’m all for honoring your children’s milestones. Your preschooler starting kindergarten is a significant moment. And I’m not anti-Disney. I took my daughter to the Magic Kingdom near Orlando the week before she turned three. Savinly tip: The park doesn’t charge admission for kids under 3. We had a fantastic time.
What I’m saying is you don’t need an elaborate theme-park vacation (or to blow through your savings) to mark your little one officially becoming a big kid.
You could arrange a special parent-child outing. Take your child to an inexpensive movie and then grab lunch together. Or go out to dinner. Many chain restaurants run nights where kids eat free, or almost free. Some deals cover the whole day, not only the evening hours.
Host an end-of-summer cookout with family and friends to celebrate. Invite relatives who already have children in elementary school and have the kids recount their first-day-of-school memories to your child. Ask grown-ups to bring outgrown clothing or supplies to help cut down on what you’ll need to purchase for the new school year.
Or since you’ll be doing school shopping anyway, shop without your little one and wrap the finds as surprises. You could even set up a scavenger hunt: tuck the clothes in the closet, place the backpack by the bookshelf and hide the lunchbox in the kitchen.
It doesn’t require a lavish trip to thrill a 5-year-old. If your kid resembles mine, all they really crave to feel special is undivided attention and plenty of love.
Unless kindermoons truly catch on — let’s hope they don’t — your children won’t be deprived if you skip planning one. But if you still want to take the Disney route, here are pointers from a Disneyland employee and tips from an experienced Disney guest on how to save money while you’re there — plus details on freebies you might snag.
Nicole Dow is a senior writer at Savinly.
