Thompson's First Birthday Experience

When we lived in California, I knew a family who had an interesting birthday tradition for their children: one set of grandparents would give each grandchild an "experience" for his/her birthday in lieu of gifts. The experience was their gift. Since then, I've recalled this tradition often and shared it with others. To our pleasant surprise, Ma-mere and Pa-pere (Avery's parents) started this family tradition with Thompson, their first grandchild.

Thompson's first birthday "experience" came a few weeks early when he spent the first weekend in December in Greensboro with Ma-mere and Pa-pere. The festivities included attending the Grand Opening of Greensboro's Center City Park, enjoying the Festival of Lights and watching the Christmas Parade.