Holiday Gift Giving
Can you believe it is the first week of December? Where does the time go? Obviously, with the start of December we will all be thinking about what gifts to buy for family, friends, and the little love bugs in our lives. Sometimes the gift giving and especially gift receiving can feel overwhelming. I hate the feeling of busting at the seams between toys and everything else taking up space in our home. I would love to be an absolute minimalist, but I’m too sentimental and there are things I just can’t seem to let go of. Anyways, with this exciting, but also stressful time of year, I thought I would share with you all what we plan on doing for the holidays.
Our kids aren’t very old, so we haven’t been in the parenting game that long. This is what we started last year. Our first Christmas with two kids instead of one. I will say our first year being parents, we got a little excited that we had a little one to buy for…but we didn’t realize everyone else felt the same way. We ended up with more things than we could possibly want, need, or play with. So, we made a change. Keep in mind this shift in perspective and what we buy and how many gifts we give is only in our household because we can’t control what or how much is given by any other family members. However, I do have a hack that a friend shared with me for all those extra gifts your kids get from other people that you aren’t sure what to do with. After all, kids can only play with so much at one time before it becomes overstimulating.
Here are the 4 types of gifts we have decided to gift our kids each Christmas. They each get something they want. Something they need. Something to wear and something to read. They also get one gift from Santa. That’s it. I will do little craft supplies or bath bombs or something like that for stockings and they get to open new holiday pj’s on Christmas Eve with a new Christmas book, but that really is it. And, because I can’t help myself, I will let you in on another secret. I got the pj’s on sale at the end of last year and just bought the next size up. Is it hard to not get more? Yes! I see all the cute toys and outfits, but they don’t need them. I also know they won’t play with most of them after the newness wears off. This helps us stick to the plan.
So, how are we changing it up even more this year? Well, we decided to find like new items on Facebook Marketplace and get each of the kids a large gift from there. Some of the big toys in my opinion are just too pricey for how often they might get played with. And with everyone feeling like they need to clean out playrooms to make room for the new stuff, there are people getting rid of things on there that are in pristine condition! We got Tucker a 3ft tall Paw Patrol Tower with all the figures and a car for half the price of buying it new (and we don’t have to be the ones to put it together) and we got Ella a whole Minnie Mouse kitchen with all the accessories for less than half the retail price. They even threw in the cash register and remote-control car that were also like new. I know buying used isn’t up everyone’s alley, but I love a good deal and I love a good thrift store shopping day. I can’t help but share (even when not prompted) when I got something on sale if, for example, my dress gets a compliment…it’s a problem and I’m working on it--ha!! Seriously though, my kids are young enough that they have no idea where we got the stuff—it’s new to them! Maybe after Christmas I will report back on whether thrift gifting was a success or not.
Lastly, that hack I mentioned earlier that a friend taught me to do when your kids get too much for Christmas or a birthday. Save some of it for later. What? They don’t have to open and play with everything right when they get it? Nope. In fact, have you ever noticed when there are too many gifts to open, they find one they really want to play with and lose interest in the other gifts? There will come a day when your kids just don’t have anything to do, and you need to add something new to the toy game. Pull out of the new toys and it’s like getting a random gift on a random day. How exciting! Basically, not every toy has to be out at the same time. Rotate through the toys every week or two. It will bring excitement and a refresh to the daily toy playing routine. I hope you can get through the holiday shopping and holidays in general as stress free as possible. Remember it is the gift of kindness that is the most rewarding. Share a helping hand. Donate toys you are getting rid of. Adopt a family if you can afford to do so. Simply share a smile with a stranger, you never know what kind of day someone else is having. Let’s enjoy this season of giving, no matter how you decide to do so.
If you are needing ideas for great toys in general, these are some of the toys we have received in the past that have a very long shelf life. As in, we got them years ago and still play with them at least twice a week.
-Magnet Blocks (Magna tiles) We have the off brand from Amazon and as the kids have gotten older, we have even purchased extension packs to make taller towers.
-Wooden train track set.
-Kinetic sand. I will say we have the off brand and brand name, and you can tell a difference. Both are fun, but I personally like the brand name because of the consistency and how is stays together better.
-Duplo legos
-Playdough
-Doctor kit
-Play kitchen with food/drink accessories…we love a good pretend tea party over here.
-ALL. THE. BOOKS. …seriously, we love any and all books!
What is your holiday gift giving strategy? Do you think you’ll implement any of the ideas suggested or do you think it’s crazy? Let me know in the comments below.
