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rayskit10
member
A good holiday giving guideline
rayskit10
member
So, last year was Tru's 1st "real" Christmas where he truly understood Santa and the whole present thing. Mathis was only a few months old, so he didn't care. I decided to just go crazy and get him what-seemed-like a million gifts. By the time he got to the 5th or 6th present, he was over it. So, this year I wanted to do more streamlined gift giving. When I was reading the poll below, I was reminded of a guideline that a mom I know gave last year for how she buys for her kids.
Want, Need, Wear, Read.
For Tru, I am getting Want: Giant Buzz Lightyear Robot; Need: ?? probably an educational toy; Wear: terry bathrobe; Read: Tag books.
I will probably get him 1 other small gift- or a family gift like a board game- and sticking stuffers, but I love this guideline to help keep me focused and not over do it because, honestly, it wasn't worth it.
That still leaves me at a loss for Mathis's Want & Need, but I think I will also get him a bathrobe and a couple books...
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Re: A good holiday giving guideline
My stepmother follows the Gifts from the Magi rule. She advises three gifts, because that's what the Baby Jesus got. I think any child could have a great Christmas following this rule if you also include a Christmas stocking.
I could probably follow her rule if I hadn't waited so long to have children. Last year our attic looked like Toys R Us and I definitely needed an intervention! The girls have three sets of grandparents so when all those gifts arrived plus some from aunts, uncles and cousins, it was way over the top. We'll be scaling it back this year too.
A friend of mine from HS used the same thing. Although, I think she may have added a 5th one, but I can't remember.
I love the Want, Need, Wear, Read approach. That can really help us.
Since we've been spending the holidays here, and I'm away from my family, we decided to start celebrating Christmas in the house. But we're also still celebrating Hanukkah, where our tradition is to give a semi-big gift on the first night, small gifts for 6 nights, then a big major gift on the last night. By the time Christmas rolls around...sheesh! I am gifted OUT. I'm not sure what to do, to balance the two holidays, but to also not over-gift, you know? But that approach will help a lot.
yeah, I can see how that would be overwhelming. but i am glad you are getting your christmas
could you do books for Hanukkah? or what about pieces of things that end up being a big gift? like a cool lego or playmobile set given out in sections?
I like that idea! I'm not even shopping for Cooper until after his birthday. I have in my head a few things I want to get him, but if he gets them for his birthday then I will have to figure something else out.
At C's age it's easy to keep it small, since he will only care about eating wrapping paper, but it is a good habit to get into.
dup post!
Same issue for us too. Between Hanukkah and Christmas and Rena being the only grandchild, it really gets out of control. MIL usually gets her one big thing and several small gifts, so we save those and spread them out over Hanukkah. My family and close friends get her Christmas gifts and we'll add a few things. Last year was ridiculous so this year I'm also cutting back on what we get her.
Rayskit- I really like that gift guideline!
Rayskit: THANKS for this!
I am going to try it with our older kids this year. It is very hard to buy for them, because you get "I dont know" "Whatever" or "I dont really care" and that is hard to shop for. Maybe if I give them this list, then they can narrow it down better for us. I will let you all know how it goes.
I'm all over this guideline - love it!
I have 82 wishlist items on Maddie's Christmas/Birthday list. 62 are books. 5 are Fancy Nancy outfits for her doll. The other 15 are misc. movies, play dough toys, etc.
ETA - I just looked at my post on that last email and realized it looks excessive. She'll get ONE of the big gift ideas (either a tent OR a vanity OR a kitchen set - not all three). And then she'll get smaller things from family leaving books as the majority of gifts from us.
I have to check out the tag book. I get worn out doing all the reading, although it's fun watching her turn the pages re-telling the stories to herself.
- Paula Deen to 104.1 KRBE's Producer Eric 9/17/2011