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Our eldest son turned 18 this year and as someone who loves giving and receiving great gifts, I thought a lot about what I wanted to give him, but more specifically how I wanted to mark his coming of age and becoming an adult man.
He is our eldest of four sons and mindful of the expectations I would naturally be creating in the others, this decision carried extra gravitas ;)
We decided to make part of the gift an experience. It needed to take him out of his comfort zone, away from video games and phones, test his character and grow his resilience... I had already completed 2 Extreme Character Challenges (XCC) myself so my wife and I decided to plan a father-son version of the adventure with a few of his best mates also turning 18 this year and their dads.
XCC plan a few multi-day hikes over the calendar year (Scotland April and May and then Wales October 2024) and trying to find available dates for all the boys was challenging - we settled on the March adventure in Northumberland. My previous XCC adventures were in Wales and
I think I preferred Wales for the October time of year, the weather not being too cold and windy and the more varied terrain. Northumberland was flat but far!
The 4 day adventure in the wild is a "significant physical challenge that tests and builds skills for life". Carrying your tent, sleeping bag, clothes and food for the entire journey, the days are long and exhausting. However, the real challenge is emotional, mental and even spiritual as the team use stories and tasks to get you to face your shadow and make some big decisions.
At the time of writing this blogpost an XCC wilderness adventure costs £260 plus you need to buy kit (for my video on the 4 key essentials items to pack and what brands I chose, click here). I can highly recommend this experience as a great gift for guys of all ages as long as they have the baseline fitness to endure the 4 day adventure. We had guys leave the hike for health reasons - it is no "walk in the park" but what a sense of achievement once completed and the memories will last a lifetime.
ps. In case you are wondering, son #2 is planning something similar for his 18th in 2025...
ABOUT JP
I'm a maximiser - especially when it comes to gifts. I love getting great gifts but I think I might just love giving great gifts even more. This space is where I tell people about the great gifts I've received or found or given - subscribe to the blog or my YT channel or socials for more ideas!
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