Is it tacky to buy a museum pass for only one member of a family?

[limabean]

In another thread, someone said she doesn't want to buy a museum pass for a kid's birthday present because she'd feel obligated to get one for the whole family and it'd be too expensive to do that. Do you think it'd be tacky to buy a pass for only one family member? I mean, if it's a place that the family frequents anyway, they'd be saving money on that child's ticket, but I guess if it's a place they don't go to, it'd end up costing them money because of the other tickets they'd need to purchase for the visits. Hmm...

So, if someone wants to get a museum pass for one family member, are they obligated to get one for the whole family?

[KristyDi]

I'd say it'd be nice to get one for the kid and one for one adult. That way a parent and the kid can go and it dosen't have to cost the family anything. But frequently places like that will have a family pass for some kind of discount. If you can afford that then it's even nicer.

[Starflower]

I don't know. We have some great museums and things here but it is expensive to buy admissions. If our DD had a free ticket, it would help, but I would still have to pay for myself plus parking, possibly also DH, so an outing would get a bit pricey if it wasn't something I'd planned to do anyway.

Would it be possible to go in with another family and split the cost of a family membership?

Also, I would want to make sure the family didn't already belong to a certain museum before purchasing any gifts like this. We usually end up just joining places we already frequent because if we pay to go twice in a year, it costs the same as a membership anyway.

And, memberships to museums are often tax deductible, at least in part (often the whole thing) because many of them are non-profits.

[earthmama369]

If it's a place they visit frequently and for some reason they don't have a family pass, then I would feel ok with getting just one family member a pass, thus saving them some money. (Though if I could afford a family pass, I would definitely prefer that option.)

If it's somewhere they don't go very often or at all, I would definitely buy a family pass, otherwise your gift could actually cost them a significant amount of money -- or just be wasted so that they don't spend so much money.

[mommy2maya]

As a parent of four kids, yes, it would be tacky. If *anything*, after checking with the family, give a gift certificate or check for the child's portion of the membership.

[hillymum]

Rather than pay for a one person pass I would see if I could put that money towards the family pass (which is not too much more if you're luck). just buying one child a pass puts the rest of the family in a bind. Either they buy a family pass anyway or single passes which ends up more $$$.

[AllisonR]

I voted tacky. The only way I could not see it being tacky is if XYZ said you you "I have a ticket for DH, and DS, and myself, but I never got one for DD for 2010" and then you bought one for the DD, knowing they had the others and were specifically missing only DDs and would incur no other expenses. Otherwise, I think it is really tacky and you'd be better off buying a completely different gift.

[riverscout]

I voted "other" because I don't like the word tacky, at least not in this case.

Basically, I think a pass for just one family member would seem incomplete at best and could potentially put the parents in a tough spot at worst. Not a great gift IMO.

[pianojazzgirl]

I wouldn't say "tacky", just maybe not the best gift if it would put a financial burden on them to bring the rest of the family. I love the idea of going in with another family member or friend to spring for a family pass. I think it would be worth calling the mom of the child to see what she thought. Maybe a nice compromise (if the mom thought this was a good idea) would be to buy just two tickets - one adult and one child - so the birthday girl could have a special outing just for her, iykwim. But, like I said, I think that should be cleared by a parent first.

Or, (if this family celebrates Christmas), that gift idea could be saved until then and given as the entire family's Christmas gift. We did this for friends of ours a couple of years ago and it was well-received. They have a tiny place which is overrun with stuff, and their ds is an only child with lots of generous toy-giving relatives, so we wanted to give them something that wouldn't take up any more space in their house.

[Cascadian]

I agree with pianojazzgirl - it would be an undue financial burden on the adults (whose museum passes/tickets are more expensive than kids'), as well as siblings. It's the present that would keep on digging the family into debt :P

[limabean]

Yeah, I think you guys are right. We got 2 free passes to a local amusement park, but once we noticed that they said, "Free with the purchase of an adult admission," we trashed them because it wouldn't be worth it for us to go if we had to buy 2 adult tickets for the 4 of us to get in.

But then I've also gotten a few free one-day passes to a local children's museum, and since we like the museum but don't have annual passes, I was happy to take DS and just have to pay for myself. I guess it just depends.

[MusicianDad]

I voted other. If it's a young child who can't visit the place on their own or with friends, then I wouldn't do it. I would try to get a family pass or a gift certificate or just go for another gift all together. If the child is older and it's a place they can and would like to be able to visit frequently without having to have the family there (like go with friends or on their own) then I wouldn't feel it was inappropriate.

[plunky]

I am alone in voting not tacky. Oh well. It's a thoughtful gift, and it's what you can afford. Go for it, IMO.

[shaykismama]

Originally Posted by riverscout

I voted "other" because I don't like the word tacky, at least not in this case.

Basically, I think a pass for just one family member would seem incomplete at best and could potentially put the parents in a tough spot at worst. Not a great gift IMO.

I agree. It's not "tacky" because it really is a thoughtful gift. However many people wouldn't be able to use it. I know we couldn't afford to go out and pay for the rest of the family to go if one child received this, which would leave everyone disappointed.

[JL83]

I think it would be a waste of money. Most of the time family passes are cheaper than individual passes. And you generally can't trade up.

I think it would be better to either buy a day pass for the family or tell the family you'd like to put $X towards memberships and then give them cash.

[GoestoShow]

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Edited by GoestoShow - 1/3/11 at 12:14pm

[Drummer's Wife]

yeah, I wouldn't. I have four kids, and if DD got a museum pass it would mean paying for admission or buying passes for everyone to go frequently -- in that case, a family membership would be cheaper, so the individual pass would be a waste.

[goodygumdrops]

I think only tacky if the child is young. If your gifting them a pass then you should consider that the child can't go without the parent and thus the parent is forced to spend money they may not have. If they child is old enough to go on their own(like maybe teenagers) then I don't it's an issue

[snoopy5386]

I would rather buy one time tickets for everyone in the family vs a membership for one kid if money is a factor.

[One_Girl]

I think it is only something you should do if the family goes to that place anyways. It is not a thoughtful gift otherwise becuase it puts pressure on the family to go somewhere expensive.