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BUSKING FOR DENMARK
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by ANN-MARIE CAHILL
What happens when you let your child choose the vacation?
We have a travel tradition in our family. When our kids finish elementary school, they get to travel anywhere in the world with one parent. This does come with a stipulation: they must fund their share of the travel.
Now, I’ll be honest. There is no way to predict where the kids will choose to go; it can be a bit wild and random. But no matter what they come up with, we know it is going to be filled with adventure, and buoyed by their exuberance and youth. For our son, Noah, the decision was easy. He wanted to play in Denmark, the home of LEGO® .
How It Started
Noah has a passion for both artistry and engineering. He started playing the clarinet at seven years old, but LEGO was his first love. To this day, he is always learning new ways to use the ingenious bricks: to tell stories, play games, build robots, or show scientific concepts, especially in mechanical engineering. So, when we brought up our ‘travel tradition’ to him, we weren’t surprised that he chose Denmark. It’s a big trip with a big budget, yet somehow we knew he could do it.
For Noah, earning money for the trip was an opportunity for his two great loves to come together. At the age of nine, he took his clarinet and book of Christmas carols down to the local train station. He set up a LEGO bucket to collect money, homemade signs sharing his story, and started to play.
Of course, people would stop and chat. Most were curious as to why he wanted to go to Denmark. A few even shared their own Denmark travel tips. While the goal was always to visit the LEGO House, the list soon grew to include Tivoli Gardens, the Okolariet Science Centre, and the Jelling Mounds with ancient Viking history. The more people he met, the more he learned about Denmark—he always came home with a smile and a story to share. Within three years, Noah had saved $6,500. When the day for departure finally arrived, he turned to me with the biggest smile and said simply, “Mum, let’s play in Denmark.”
Let’s Go to LEGO House
Noah’s planning ensured our plane flew almost directly to Billund, and our LEGO House tickets were for the very next day! From the minute we walked in, his eyes were bright and wide open. Inside, there are displays, activities, and inspiration points to encourage fans to try new and different things.
From one room to the next, Noah built and learned from everything that was on offer. In one section, we made a ridiculous and hilarious “stop-motion” movie with Santa losing his hat. In another, we battled with LEGO robots around a flower garden, laughing at each other’s awful driving skills. We
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“Thanks to Noah, we explored sites I would likely have missed if I’d done the planning.”
"If there is one thing I have learned from this experience, it is that kids really do bring more fun to travel.”
Photos: Courtesy of Ann-Marie Cahill both got so caught up in the fun, we completely forgot to stop for lunch! When we fi nally paused, I asked him about his favorite part.
“The whole journey.” His smile was even bigger than his LEGO store wish list. “We made it, Mum. Everyone helped and we made it here. This is my holiday and it is everything I wanted.”
Playtime in Denmark
For the record, Denmark is more than LEGO. It is an amazing place to explore and play. Giving Noah the freedom to plan his holiday opened up a whole diff erent experience. Thanks to Noah, we explored sites I would likely have missed if I’d done the planning. His desire for tangible entertainment took us to Viking museums, where he could carry a sword, and science museums, where he could touch the experiments. Noah was less interested in restaurants and more interested in street food and corner bakeries (LOTS of bakeries).
If there is one thing I have learned from this experience, it is that kids really do bring more fun to travel. The best family vacations are fi lled with play and laughter. And the best way to guarantee that is to give the kids freedom to plan … at least some of the trip.
Thanks to Noah, Denmark will always be my favorite playground. We did everything the 12-year-old wanted to do and we haven’t stopped smiling since.
We saw some huge windmills today. I was a big fan.
Noah’s travel adventures can be found on Instagram and Facebook at
@DestinationDenmark2020.
LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies.
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