Happy November! Or should we say Happy Holidays?! The holiday chatter has o-fish-ally started and we’re feeling fashionably late to the party! Luckily, we know exactly what’s on our holiday shopping list for the kiddos in our lives, and we are so excited to share it with you! The best part? It doesn’t require waking up extra early on Black Friday or standing in long lines outside of busy shopping centers!

For the 2022 holiday season, we teamed up with Goldfish Ambassador and Olympic Swimmer Cullen Jones and Ryan Murphy, as well as our good friend Dr. Molly O’Shea, to put together the Ultimate Goldfish Gift Guide! This year’s guide dives into ideas that give kids something to unwrap, while also being something that lasts well beyond the holiday season! This might not come as a surprise, but guess what? Swim lessons at Goldfish Swim School fit into each and every one of these categories, making them a fintastic gift for the little one in your life! Read on to discover our whole list of gift ideas that the little ones in your life will be thrilled to receive, and you’ll be just as happy to give!

Gift Idea #1 – An Experience

Say goodbye to overflowing (not to mention, overwhelming) toy chests and cluttered play rooms. Say hello to golden experiences! Toys are out and memorable experiences are in! The idea of gifting an experience isn’t brand new, but one that is more popular than ever as families look for ways to spend time together outside of their home. While the pandemic left many families cooped up inside and turning to new toys for entertainment, this year it’s time to skip the toy aisle and grab something that allows kiddos to experience something new!

“The amount of toys that my son, Avyn, has been gifted -all of which we are very grateful for! – but that he plays with for a few weeks and then falls to the back of the pile – it’s unbelievable! I’m definitely a parent that values an experience for my child over a toy – and an experience that teaches him lessons he’ll use his entire life? That’s even better!” says Cullen.

Swim lessons at Goldfish are also an experience that the whole family can be a part of! Whether it’s hopping into the pool together during mini lessons, spending a Friday night at family swim, or the weekly tradition of grabbing a sweet treat after lessons, it’s an experience that your kiddos are sure to look forward to each and every week!

We know that part of that experience is seeing your kiddo’s big, bright smile as they unwrap their gift with their friends and family. Goldfish has you covered there, too! With our Holiday Packages,* your little fish will not only unwrap a Golden Experience, but they’ll have something to enjoy right there, that day! Contents vary by location, but typically include a little fun – an activity book, plush, or shoe charms, for example, and something to get them ready for swim school – like a limited edition Goldfish towel, goggles and swim tote!

Gift Idea #2 – Something Kids Can Learn From…While Having Fun!

Educational toys have been around for as long as we can remember! As time goes on, new ones are created, and now we even have educational YouTube videos. Parents and grandparents want to gift something that will be fun for the kiddo in their life, but that will also teach them something as they play.

Dr. Molly totally backs that idea – noting that swim lessons are the perfect outlet for kiddos to burn off energy and get some movement in, in a fun and productive way! She even says getting in some exercise and learning can help kiddos sleep better and perform better in their classrooms!

At Goldfish, our swim lessons revolve around the idea that children learn best when they’re having fun. It’s what we call The Science of SwimPlay®! Swimmers learn to be safer in and around the water, while using pool props and toys, in a warm, bright and tropical environment, that make it FUN!

Gift Idea #3 – Something That Lasts

We can all think of a time when we had a brilliant gift idea for our kiddo, that they played with for what seemed like a whole five minutes! They had been begging for it all year long, opened it excitedly during the holidays and then our fear that Cullen mentioned earlier came true… they were bored with it after playing for a week or two. We’re shifting our mindset and challenging ourselves to gift things that bring lasting joy and will be used by littles for longer!

Luckily, swim lessons at Goldfish are a true gift for life! It’s not only something your kiddo can look forward to every single week, but something that will stay with them forever. Our perpetual lessons model means swimmers can grab their spot in lessons at any time and keep swimming until they graduate the program, or are old enough to move to a swim program catered to older children. Father to a toddler, Cullen recognizes that one of the greatest parts of gifting swim lessons is the ability for a child to carry the skills with them for their entire lives – “When you learn how to swim…you learn for life!”.

Gift Idea #4 – Something That Creates Memories

We all have memories of at least one really awesome gift we’ve received in our life – something that was exciting as we unwrapped it later led to memories we now cherish. After having those experiences, we want to gift them to our kiddos, too!

When it comes to making memories, it just comes easy with swim lessons. Kiddos make friends, bond with their swim instructors, and develop core memories that will stick with them for a lifetime! They also learn a life skill that will help them keep making memories – our Golden Pal, Ryan Murphy always says that some of his best memories as a kiddo were spending time near the water with his family – which is why his mom insisted he get swim lessons. Those golden memories of family time rank up there with winning medals, helping be a part of a life-saving mission, and meeting Bubbles!

This holiday season, skip the ordinary, the usual, and the expected. Gift something that your kiddo (and your whole family!) will enjoy this year, next year, and the rest of the years to come with the skills they’ve learned to be safer in and around the water.

Give the gift of swim lessons! Learn more about this year’s Holiday Packages* by swimming over to a Goldfish Swim School school near you.

*Participating Locations Only