One of the best things about being a kid was that you always seemed to get a free surprise-especially when it came to food. Fast food restaurants would often, if not always provide a free toy with the kids’ meal. Over the years I collected a lot of toys from McDonald’s. Too bad I didn’t keep any of them. They’re probably collectibles now and worth a lot on eBay.
I enjoyed going to the seafood restaurants Red Lobster as a kid (and still do!) because after you finished your meal, the waiter/waitress brought out a treasure chest filled with toys for you to pick out one.
Cracker Jack and kids’ cereals have toys buried in the bottom of the box. I’m pretty sure I must have dug into the box at one point, trying to get that toy. Don’t forget the chocolate egg with the toy inside, known as the Kinder Surprise. The extra surprise is that you have to put the toy together, which is a good way for kids to use their fine motor skills. I personally was never really into building stuff, but for some reason, it was fun to put a Kinder Surprise toy together.
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I even had a book called, “Free Stuff for Kids” where you could write to organizations and have free stuff mailed to you from them such as stickers, pencils and bookmarks. I would eagerly check the mailbox every day to see if my package of free stuff had arrived.
It’s quite obvious that being a kid is fun. Being an adult? It’s still fun, but unfortunately not as much. You have more stress, responsibilities, less sleep and bills to pay. As the saying goes, “Oh, to be young again.”
This may not amount to much, but I feel adults deserve some fun free surprises too. While we do have some free samples, such as the food ones from Costco, I feel we deserve a little more.
Whatever happened to random free samples in the mail? It could only just me, but I feel now they’re non-existent and I would have to take the time to sign up for one. When snail mail was more popular, I remember finding free samples of cereal or little packets of shampoo and conditioner in my mailbox and getting super psyched about it! I thought to myself, Wow! Free stuff that’s actually useful!
While the free snail mail stuff seems to have died down a bit, the beer companies still remember that adults like free stuff. You’ll often find a free t-shirt, hat or beer opener in the box. The coolest free thing I’ve seen in a beer case was a small portable USB charger. Considering how much our society is obsessed/dependent on technology, it’s definitely a handy thing to have.
Even though I don’t eat the same kinds of cereals that kids do, I still eat cereal. I eat it almost every day. I haven’t really received any free stuff lately. Some cereals will ask you to mail in a couple of UPC codes in order to get something, but why can’t I relive my childhood days and get excited about finding a small surprise in the cereal box? Something light like a pack of gum? What about a pocket flashlight? Or a USB stick? You really can never have too many of those lying around.
Those items may seem pretty random, but isn’t that the whole point of the surprise? It’s unexpected and it’s random.
If it seemed to costly or too much of a hassle to include a free item in a cereal box, at least have a coupon in there to get 50 cents off the next time I purchase the cereal. Aside from kids with newspaper routes and teenagers with part-time jobs, adults are the ones with the money. Just because we make more money, doesn’t necessarily mean we want to spend more money.
Just give me something! Ideally, for free. 😛
What the coolest free thing you received? Should there be more free stuff found in products for adults?
I am a big fan of finding free things–like by the side of the road. But I think the best free samples I’ve received lately revolve around food–you mentioned the Costco samples, yum! And Whole Foods samples are even better!
I agree. You can’t beat food samples. Even when I’m not hungry, I’ll want to try a food sample. 🙂
I love make-ups…a lot! They are quite expensive though but I just can’t help myself. Last week, I bought a foundation from Smashbox and I was so happy to see a free Kabuki brush (orig. price is $15) inside it..
Good quality makeup IS expensive. I like the fact that Sephora has a lot of free samples of makeup. That’s awesome that a good quality brush came with your foundation!
One of my friends and her Dad used to go to Costco when they were at hockey tournaments, for snacks in between games. They usually had a bit more than an hour to kill, so it was a win-win.
That’s a great idea to kill time and save money! However, when I’m at Costco, I always end up picking more than I had planned to. Bringing a list doesn’t help me very much at Costco.
I would have to agree that a free USB stick was a cool gift. The best gift I ever got was a razor from Gillette when I turned 18. In fact, it is still the one I use to this day. I still remember getting a box in the mail and wondering what the heck it was.
Most of time though, the gifts are things that are worthless to me.
The best free thing I’ve gotten recently was a hotel room for my wedding night. The hotel apparently works with the venue we used and gave me a call. They were hoping we’d book a block with them, but we had no out of town guests and still got the room free. Not like anything out of a cereal box, but still awesome!
There used to be a bar in San Francisco that gave out free bacon. It was basically the best thing ever. It was in a part of town I didn’t really live by so I didn’t go there very often, but that gave me reason to get over there. Come on, free bacon!!! At a bar none the less!
They closed down though, perhaps they should have done free bacon more than one night a week.
That’s amazing! We have one around here that has a free wings night, but bacon is so much better.
Best thing I ever received for free? Won this shirt online and got it in the mail 2 weeks later. Reads “God Bless America – But Fuck the People Who Run It”. I wear that every 4th of July.