Okay, I’ll admit, I’m here with yet another untested Christmas Works for Me Wednesday tip. (The first of those was the tip about a great way to help siblings shop for each other. But, darn it, I just wanted others to be able to test it out this year as well.)
So, here’s my partially untested theory. I am placing all bets on this equation for our Christmas this year:
Fewer Gifts + More Thought = Nicer Christmas
I have always been one to just shop like mad up until Christmas for my kids. I have picked them up dancing robots, toy chocolate fountains, not so wonderful dollhouses, and a bevy of other toys and items along these lines. Of course, there have been toys we have bought for them that they have loved over the long term, but it seems so many gifts are played with for a few days or maybe even until the kids go back to school. And, then the toys find themselves in the closet, never to see the light of day again.
After a homily by one of our priests this year (that included a brief discussion on number of Christmas gifts), it would seem that I am running into several people from church that are going the three gifts per child route this year (and to continue to do in the future).
We actually opted to tell the kids that we would be getting them just three gifts this year, and that Santa would continue to get them one gift each. So, we set our number at four gifts total (plus some goodies in a stocking).
I came to notice something very interesting as I got ready to do my shopping for the kids this year — I didn’t go out and just buy every new item or a bunch of sale items. I sat down and planned out their gifts. I poured over reviews online. I causally asked the kids about their thoughts about various items. I thought about their gifts some more. I looked through our budget and figured out generally what to spend. I thought deeply about their gifts yet agin. I finally bought bigger things that I turned my nose up at in previous years because I had been too busy buying lots of small things. (Mind you, that, for instance, with Molly who will be getting the American Girls Bitty Baby Twins, this extra big gift is being broken up, and each Twin counts as a gift, not as one gift total.)
When I finally figured out what to buy my kids, I was proud. I looked at my list, and I finally felt that this year, I was really thinking of each child and evaluating what was best for them.
And, so I realized — perhaps buying fewer gifts is not just a blessing because it helps with less clutter and gives my kids appreciative hearts, perhaps it is also a blessing because it forces a person to really think about their child before shopping. I have to admit — I don’t know if I ever would have gone with a gift that I think will be a HUGE hit with Noah, if I hadn’t had to really sit down and plan my shopping so thoroughly.
And, really, I do think this will make for our best Christmas ever (I hope!).
No related posts.
