Interview with Liz Gumbinner: The Importance of Family Surprises

Surprise! Who doesn't love surprises? Parenting expert Liz Gumbinner from Cool Mom Picks and Mom-101 recently sat down with EmpowHER to spread the word that all families need some surprises in their lives.

In partnership with the Cracker Jack brand, Liz conducted a survey to uncover the role that surprises play in bringing fun to families across America. She found that three out of four families say their best memories involve some kind of surprise.

But these surprises don't have to be extravagant gestures like trips to a Disney World. The affordable, little surprises and out-of-the-ordinary experiences provide just as much impact as the big ticket items.

Liz and Cracker Jack, the King of little surprises, compiled a list of 12 fun and surprising experiences for families to do together which cost $20 or less. The ideas sound almost too simple but they will most likely turn into memory-making experiences the whole family will cherish years from now. Check out the interview with Liz Gumbinner below.

Have a picnic dinner on the living room floor, camp out in the backyard, or maybe plan an impromptu after-school activity, even if it means taking off work early. The key is to do something unusual and fun, letting down one’s parenting guard, even if just for the night.

Cracker Jack wants all families to be able to experience these little magical moments so they created their first ad campaign in years called The Surprise Inside Project. Instead of using a traditional advertising approach, they are focusing on social media for promotion.

The Surprise Inside Project is a contest being run by Cracker Jack which lets users request a small surprise for their family and friends. The contest can be entered on the Cracker Jack Facebook page or at CrackerJack.com.

The surprise must cost less than $20 and be able to fit in a 6 x 13 inch box. Representatives from Cracker Jack will evaluate all the contest entries and will choose 200 winners based on the entry’s creativity, originality, affordability and fun factor.

Winners will receive their items in an over-sized Cracker Jack box. The contest runs from now through July 31, 2014. Winners will be selected on or around August 15, 2014.

Parents can rest easy now knowing that over-the-top gifts are not necessities for creating a lasting family memory. Kids will remember an unexpected trip out for ice cream or the impromptu water balloon fight, perhaps after a fun trip to the Dollar Store.

Parents just need to do something, anything, that surprises the kids and that will usually be good enough.

Watch the interview with Liz Gumbinner here!

Sources:

Coolmompicks.com. Web. 26 June 2014. “12 little surprises under $20 that can made big memories.” http://coolmompicks.com/blog/2014/06/26/12-little-surprises-under-20-that-can-make-big-memories-for-families

NYtimes.com. Web. 25 June 2014. “Cracker Jack wants to break out of the ballpark.” http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/25/business/media/cracker-jack-wants-to-break-out-of-the-ballpark.html?_r=0

Reviewed July 1, 2014
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith

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• Parenting