PrezentBox is a national digital gifting platform that lets family and friends contribute to children’s activities and experiences, instead of buying more material goods (and stuff). The platform is devoted to growing experiences that are memorable and eventful. The platform can be used by parents for children’s birthdays, Christmas gifting or simply gifting something more meaningful. Offerings include sport, creative and educational extracurricular activities. PrezentBox is free for parents to use.
Talk to me about the PrezentBox story and how you came up with activity based gift giving. And how does this benefit kids’ health and wellbeing?
The idea for PrezentBox came about from a personal frustration many parents face. We often found ourselves overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” we received from well-intentioned family and friends for our kids’ birthdays and Christmas year after year – an abundance of unwanted items that clutters the home, gets thrown out into landfill or regifted to another family.
We also noticed how successful State Government Vouchers programs like NSW Active Kids were and it verified for us that there are a lot of families looking for financial support for their kids’ activities.
We blended these two components together with the intention to make gift giving for kids more meaningful by allowing family & friends to contribute to kids’ activities instead of buying more stuff for their next occasion – that’s how ‘Activity-based gifting for kids’ was born.
Kids health & well-being has deteriorated over the past 2 decades, primarily driven by increases in screen time – where Aussie kids are spending approx. 2.5 hours per day on screen-based activities, and 75% of kids are not meeting the daily recommended level of physical activity which is 60 minutes per day. Whilst we generally view kids’ health and wellbeing from a physical standpoint, the increase in sedentary behaviour and screen time has had a detrimental impact on their mental health with surges in anxiety, depression, social challenges and behavioural disorders.
With soaring inflation and economic uncertainty, 2 in 5 parents have already made the difficult decision to pull their kids out of their activities which will only worsen the negative health & wellbeing trends if kids stop participating.
It’s our mission to get more kids, more active, more often.
Please provide your top tips on how to afford your kid’s activities.
Take advantage of state Government voucher programs. In NSW, eligible families have access to Active Kids, Creative Kids and First Lap Vouchers.
Grandparents love spoiling their grandkids so why not ask them to contribute to their grandkids extracurricular activities.
Create a budget that includes your kids extracurricular activities as a line item. Prioritise these activities based on their importance to your kids’ development and interests.
Ask your Activity Provider if they have a pay-on-time or early payment discount
Research different extracurricular activities in your area and compare costs. Look for affordable options that still provide value and align with your kids interests.
How can you best use your NSW Active Kids Program Vouchers?
Make sure you actually use them – there are so many eligible families who don’t take advantage of these voucher programs.
Check if your Activity Provider accepts these vouchers, if they don’t, ask them to register to become an approved provider so you can.
Why are we seeing an increase in parents prioritising the health and wellbeing of kids?
With the continual advances in technology, parents are having to learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable with technology – it’s all about finding a happy medium. Parents are recognising that fostering healthy habits early in their kids lives can lead to long-term benefits. This shift by parents has come about from a combination of greater awareness, rising concern about health issues, and evolving parenting styles.
Anything else you would like to add?
Our kids these days are simply inundated with an abundance of stuff (toys, video games, clothes, gift cards etc.) that aren’t necessarily having a meaningful impact on their growth. Each year billions of dollars are spent on gifts for kids – our intention with PrezentBox is to redirect a portion of this and channel these funds into kids activities like swimming, dance, gymnastics, martial arts etc and support the small businesses that provide the services that grow & develop our kids.
Dan Frkic an experienced business manager with more than fifteen years experience. Dan is the Founder and CEO of PrezentBox, a company he launched after spending a decade working in sales for a range of global brands including Interpro, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox and Spin Master. Prior to launching PrezentBox, Dan worked for a global toy company in a senior sales role. In his spare time, Dan is an avid rugby league fan who is interested in biohacking and health. He is also very passionate about spending time with his family and his children, which also led to his foundation of PrezentBox.
ConApostolopoulos has over twenty years of experience working in sales as a Commercial Manager. He has worked in global companies including Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Hasbro. Con’s last role was working for a global Toy Company, before partnering with Dan to start PrezentBox. Con has focused on strategic account management, customer solution partnerships, analytics and negotiations. In his past industry work, Con is known for strong leadership, innovation and being outcome and metrics driven. Con applies his professional knowledge to PrezentBox.