Mark turns birthday promise to dad into perfect Christmas gift

PROMISES are usually not worth the paper they are written on but a 10-year-old schoolboy is hoping they will make the perfect Christmas present.

Unable to afford a good present for his father Neil’s 52nd birthday in November, Mark Bennett came up with a booklet of jobs he promised to do instead, including a pledge to cut the grass, make breakfast, walk the dog, and say nice things about dad when visitors called to their home at South Circular Road in Limerick.

The budding entrepreneur then decided to look at the Christmas gift market with his idea.

Within days he was talking with a design team for his product, Gift Promises. And the packs are selling like proverbial hot cakes at Limerick’s Milk Market.

Mark said: “Promises are the best form of investment. I certainly hold my mother accountable to all the promises she makes.

“I came up with the idea when I was trying to think of a birthday present for my dad. I had hardly any money so I made him a book of promises and he really liked it.”

The Christmas Promises notes come in three categories: Little promises, medium promises and, for those who have been really good, big promises.

Each category has 16 gift promise ideas including options for the giver to add their own promise.

They range from “pay you a compliment in front of friends” to “being designated driver for a night” or “a weekend babysitting”.

Mark said: “The giver simply nominates the chosen promise from one or more categories and signs it as a kind of contract to carry out the promise over the Christmas season.”

Mark’s mother, Roisín, said he got a Limerick company, Edgewater Graphics, to come up with an eye catching design.

“They look very attractive and it adds a new dimension to the fun of giving somebody a gift without having to embark on big expense.”

* The promise packs sell for €3.50 and €5.95.