You must have landed here because you are looking for a different idea than the Tooth Fairy to celebrate your kiddo losing teeth. I’ve got a great idea to share with you today…Tooth Tickets! Kids love them, and they eliminate late-night scrambling for parents. Sound good? Let me tell you more…
So, let me let the cat out of the bag…our family celebrates Christmas, but we don’t include Santa Claus in our traditions. Same for the Easter Bunny at Easter. Why? It’s more than I can explain here, but I’ll simply say that they felt like a distraction from the Christ-honoring traditions we wanted to emphasize with our kids. So, with those magical characters out of the equation, it didn’t make sense for us to start a Tooth Fairy tradition.
But a lost tooth, is a BIG deal in a child’s life. It’s a special occasion and a magical milestone, and it simply must be celebrated! Enter Tooth Tickets.
How Tooth Tickets Work
When one of our kids loses a baby tooth, we slip in the child’s bedroom at night and slip the ticket book under the child’s pillow. They are always excited the next morning to flip through their options and debate on which special activity they’ll choose. Sometimes it’s a grueling decision! After they’ve made their decision, they give the Tooth Ticket book back to me to keep for the next tooth.
Now, I’ll be honest…sometimes moms and dads forget! And here’s the beauty of this system. Because we aren’t trying to convince them that the idea of the tooth fairy is real, we can all just laugh when we forget! They’ll usually say, “Mama, did you forget something last night??” I’ll have them get back in bed, pretend to sleep, and I’ll slip the ticket book under their pillow amidst a few giggles!
While I really DO try to remember, I love knowing that we can still celebrate our fun family tradition, and I haven’t spoiled all of the magic if I forget.
Tooth Ticket Options
Click here to download Tooth Tickets from the Printables Store
Tooth Tickets are a simple idea, really. And kids love them because they get to choose their privilege/ prize! Of course, you could customize your family’s Tooth Tickets to your own ideas. But here is a list of our Tooth Ticket options.
1. Get Ice Cream– We have the cutest ice cream parlor in our town, but we only go maybe once a year. So, using a Tooth Ticket to take the family for ice cream gets everyone excited!
2. Late Bedtime– The special child can choose to stay up 30 minutes past bedtime and enjoy some quality time with Mom and Dad.
3. Playdate with a Friend– Life gets busy, and sometime playdates fall of my radar. But this Tooth Ticket option lets them request special time with a friend.
4. Trip to the Park for a Bike Ride– It’s really fun to get to load your bike up and head to the park for a bike ride! It’s a great way to make a fun family memory while still celebrating the lost tooth.
5. Choose Dinner– My kiddos absolutely LOVE getting to select out menu for dinner. While I usually can’t fulfill same-day requests, they are happy just getting their dinner night on the calendar. Then I have plenty of time for a grocery run to get whatever I need.
6. Pizza Night– Pizza night is always hit! You could make your own (side note: Have you tried sourdough skillet pizzas?!), or pick up a pizza from your local pizza place.
7. Extra Screen Time– At our house, we have screen time limits. It’s very exciting to get to have extra screen time to watch a show of your choice!
8. $3 for the Dollar Store– My kids LOVE the dollar store. And walking in with money-in-hand to buy your own little gift.. that’s so exciting!
9. Spend Night at Grandparents– This option might not work if your grandparents live out of town, but maybe you could tweak it? Maybe a special lunch date with the grandparent when they come visit? Incorporating grandparents into the celebration is super fun!
10. No Chores Day– This ticket is definitely the most popular option! My kids are responsible for completing all of the chores on their Chore Charts every morning. But when they choose this Tooth Ticket, we all pitch in to give them the day off! It’s a special gift to the special kiddo, and it really helps them feel the love!
Other Ideas to Customize Your Tooth Tickets
1. Plant a Tree/ Packet of Flower Seeds– It can be fun for a kid to wait to see what they planted on their special day grow!
2. Pick New Oral Care Products– You could let the child pick out a new toothbrush and some flavorful toothpaste to encourage the to continue to take care of their dental health.
3. Cinema Tickets– If your budget allows (because movie tickets are SO expensive these days!), you could have a family night at the movie cinema to celebrate.
4. Bowling Fun– Take the while family bowling to celebrate!
5. Museum/ Zoo Visit– Got season passes to your favourite museum or zoo? Take a trip to celebrate
Final Thoughts on Tooth Tickets
So, Mama…don’t overthink it! No need to search frantically for a dollar in the morning just to fulfill the tooth fairy visit. No need to drop a sprinkle of glitter that you’ll have to clean up later anyway. And you can avoid trying to think up magical gifts when you find our there’s another loose tooth in your house.
Instead, print this little booklet of Tooth Tickets ONCE! Laminate it, stick a ring or yarn through the holes, and DONE. For good. You can re-use it year after year, tooth after tooth, kid after kid, and it never gets old! Your family will have a great time celebrating lost teeth together. And it’s a special way to keep those preteens involved in the traditions, even after they’d be too old to believe in magic anyway.
Easy, practical, fun, special…I’m a happy mama when I find clever ideas that make it do-able for the long haul!
Bonus Idea for the First Tooth
There is the cutest book called Throw Your Tooth on the Roof that introduces kids to the lost tooth traditions in various countries. It helps them see that while tooth fairies might be popular in the United States, thee are MANY different ways to celebrate a lost tooth!
Click here to download Tooth Tickets from the Printables Store!
