Anonymous wrote:Not sure how big the family treating is, but is there a way to arrange to pay for a casual dinner out or an evening of takeout? I’m thinking pizza and salads, not crab legs.

Op here. I thought about sending DS with our credit card but I can’t see how this would play out if they went out for dinner. The family is very wealthy. We are also wealthy. We earn seven figures. They are equal or probably more wealthy than we are. If their kid came with us anywhere, it would be silly for the kid to try to pay for our family.

I will send my kid with spending money and snacks/dessert.

OP, we have a beach house and are happy to host our kids' friends. I don't expect them to show up with anything beyond some money to buy souvenirs if they'd like, but families often send them with snacks or buy us a restaurant gift certificate, which is lovely.

And we do have a cabinet of games and puzzles for rainy days, so that's great, too. if it's something we already have, certainly not hard to regift.

I like the gift card to a restaurant idea. I don't think it needs to be fancy but I would appreciate a night off from cooking and/or having to think about where to go. Either that or paying for an outing for all of the kids (waterpark, mini golf, etc).

And definitely spending money for your son.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I just spoke to Dh and he thinks it will just be a burden for the family to take if we pack something. He said we will just bring their kid with us somewhere next.

How much space does a gift card take?

Not sure how big the family treating is, but is there a way to arrange to pay for a casual dinner out or an evening of takeout? I’m thinking pizza and salads, not crab legs.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I just spoke to Dh and he thinks it will just be a burden for the family to take if we pack something. He said we will just bring their kid with us somewhere next.

I don’t agree with this. I do think a thank you gift is appropriate, as is spending money. If he is worried something like a board game for the beach house, or edible gift (and yes, I do like wine!) would be an issue, then give a gift card to either a restaurant in your hometown or in the beach town.

Yes to spending money. Another idea is to provide some nice snacks for the whole family to enjoy at the beach. Like really good caramel popcorn or bagels with lox and spreads if you know they would enjoy it.

I took a girl on a trip and expected absolutely nothing- her company is and was a delight and I knew it would make the trip more fun. When we returned home and dropped her off, her parents gave me a bottle of wine and a very kind note, and inside was a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure around the corner from our neighborhood. It made me really happy and I’m barely a mani-pedi kind of person. Just the note acknowledging that I gave them some free time and they wanted to give me a little “me” time back was really thoughtful. I liked not having to accept or manage a gift during the trip, too. My mom is a different generation and would probably die if she hosted someone who didn’t show up with something- I’m not hung up on that anymore.

We just took a guest of my 13 year olds to the beach for the week. It was our invitation so I did not expect parents to feel the need to send money to compensate for food, dinners out etc. I just told the fam to have their DD have spending money if she wanted to buy souvenirs.

Giftcard to a restaurant at the beach

Maybe a small edible gift. Like a small package of cookies that wont melt. He can give them to them at the house and they can eat them that week so nothing to carry back home. Then he should handwrite and mail a thank you note upon return.

If they're very wealthy they may not want a gift certificate because they may not like the restaurant.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I take kids to the beach with us almost every weekend. Yes to spending money. Gift is a nice touch but not necessary. Things that are appreciated are certificates to restaurants, a family game, a bottle of wine. Things for the house like decorations, serving dishes etc are less appreciated.

You want a little kid to bring you wine

I'm not OP or PP but ***k yes I want a little kid to bring me wine.

Anonymous wrote:A hand written thank you note and a gift card to a favorite restaurant so they can go out to dinner while at the beach.

This. We have a house and don’t expect any gifts but if you feel you have to get a gift, the gift card can be used while your child is there so and everyone can enjoy a meal out. It doesn’t have to be fancy, favorite pizza place, etc…

Kid could make some cookies or brownies and bring those.

Hard no to an underage kid bringing wine.

A hand written thank you note and a gift card to a favorite restaurant so they can go out to dinner while at the beach.