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D.C. Area Babies
is there a nice way to say no toys/clothes for Christmas?
DS has some very wonderful and generous family members. We've been getting lots of questions about what he wants for Christmas, questions re: what size clothes he's wearing, what toys he likes, etc. But he doesn't need any of these things- he is already one spoiled little boy.
Is there a way to nicely ask that they help us out with a college fund instead? But I can't help thinking that I'm sure it's bad manners to tell them to send cash instead and Lord knows I don't want to seem ungrateful for any gift they may give him. Any suggestions?
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Re: is there a nice way to say no toys/clothes for Christmas?
I don't think so...but I feel your pain. DH's parents and mine are both planning to give Warner monstrous, space-taking-up toys that he'll only be mildly interested in.
I told my mom that his favorite things to play with right now are a cardboard box and an old wooden spoon. She wasn't too enthusiastic about my suggestion to just buy him a new wooden spoon of his own ;-)
I totally feel your pain. MIL even said - every toy I look at, I see your DD has one similar to it. I told her straight out - she does not need toys, she has too many and she does not even like to play with them,not as much as with bottles, hairbrushes,etc. But MIL says "But it's xmas, I must put a few toys under the tree" - sigh! I really appreciate the families' generosity but I'd wish they would listen.
Are there non-toy/clothes items you need? Things he'll need in the coming year? Clothes to grow into? A car seat that faces forwards? Utensils for when he's starting to eat solids more? Think ahead to 9-12 mo old.
And no, I don't think it's rude to ask for college donations.
For some reason, family loves to do this to us in a medium sized townhouse with 3 adults and 2 children. I ditto the suggestions of feeding stuff like spoons, bowls, bibs. Do you need a carry along highchair that straps to chairs? That is always useful for traveling. And thinking ahead on clothing - will you need a size up for the transition months - like just a few winter outfits in a certain size.
They will eventually play with a lot of the toys. Maggie is just now playing with a lot of the stuff she got for her 1st birthday, but it takes up a lot of room and sometimes you have to just put it in the closet for when they get older.
Another suggestion that even though he doesn't use crayons or coloring books yet, that is definitely something for future use that doesn't take up too much storage space. Bath toys tend to get thrown out every so often here too, so more bath toys are usually welcome.
To answer the original question, even if you say they have enough and that you don't want anymore, I can;t think of a nice way to ask for money for the college fund instead unless they offer .
No, DS has plenty of clothes and utensils. Thankfully, my MIL knows my pain and has said she would buy kid gates for us and help install them while they're in town. Although, I admit I had not thought of the car seat. Will keep that in the back of my mind. Thank you!
Oh, another good idea. This is great. Thank you!
After numerous attempts DHs family has stopped with the stuffed animals, I hate them and they take up too much space. With 3 girls now we've also got them to realize they have everything they need, so the grandparents buy them just a few token gifts and then the rest is in a check we send to their 529, or savings bonds. We've said it every year, dropped hints and everything and it just started taking effect like 2yrs ago.
You could tell everything that you just opened a savings account for DS or something along those lines