I also really like the idea of only one of those gifts coming from Santa plus stocking-stuffers. Christmas stockings for me have basically always consisted of one apple; one orange; some seasonal candy like a box of thin mints, chocolate orange, or cordial cherries; a toothbrush; and some small trinket or toy like a yo-yo or mad libs. Might as well keep it simple.
My vision of the perfect family gift scene also has a few exclusions. In an ideal world toys would be made of wood instead of plastic and none of them would require batteries. I am sure Tim and I will try very hard to avoid plastic toys or noise makers that require batteries but I just thought I would confess now before anyone calls me out as a hypocrite. Tim and I enjoy walking through the toy aisles at Target and pushing the buttons on various toys where appropriate. I do own a small collection of Mr. Potato Heads that currently reside in the attic. Hopefully they will soon find a more permanent home somewhere in the main part of the house. What can I say, I have a Mr. Potato Head obsession. Tim is very excited about the prospect of buying Lego sets in a few years. I would guess he will be playing with them as much as any future child recipient. We are also seriously considering purchasing a set of cheap slot cars for raising underneath the Christmas tree this year instead of a more seasonally appropriate train. I also freely admit to looking through all of the toy sale ads that come in the newspaper this time of year and imaging buying myself a toy or two. I can only say that it is a good thing that Tim and I have a couple of years to work out this Christmas gift/ toy model before it really counts.
3 comments:
my favorite gift tradition growing up was pajamas for Christmas Eve. That's the one present we always opened.
You are right about having a couple years--we didn't even get anything for Guy his 1st year (but extended family did so we felt like it was fine). Good luck with wooden toys--most from family come needing batteries, it seems. On our list this year is no battery operated toys.
Well, I just wrote a novel-length reply about all of our Christmas traditions but lost the whole thing!
So the basics of what I told you was that I established a tradition with my kids several years ago and my kids get 5 gifts under the tree each. 3 from Santa and 2 from Mom & Dad. The 3 from Santa are things from their wishlist & 1 of the gifts from mom & dad I make, the other is something they need.
They get PJ's and a book on Christmas Eve and when I tuck them into bed that night I read their books to them aloud. They get a few traditional items in their stockings that are specific to them and I shop for the rest of the stocking stuffers at a party supply store. It's inexpensive and I can be super creative and silly. Last year they LOVED the pirate eye patches & earrings. Fake mustaches were a big hit also!
I decided 5 gifts was plenty because they get gifts from 3 different sets of grandparents and some exchanges as well. We also give a few family gifts like videos or games. It's good to establish these traditions early, you're so good to think about it now! Merry Christmas!
Good Grief, I'm way late to the game, but didn't notice this update until today.
So here's what we do, after experiencing a couple of years of "holy cow, our kids are getting too much!". We have one gift from Santa, plus the stocking (which consists almost exactly of what yours did) plus an article of clothing left by the stocking, and two gifts from us.
Actually after this year we talked of cutting it down to one gift from us. That may seem extreme but right now they get one gift from my parents, one from Matt's parents, one from Matt's grandma, one from a cousin on Matt's side who has drawn their name, and one (usually a family gift, but sometimes individual) from my side of the family (we draw family names). So all in all they get 7-8 gifts, which really exceeds their needs.
Matt's grandma's gift will soon be gone because she's got too many grand and great grandkids to buy for, but still - all those toys can really add up.
We usually do a small purge before Christmas and look at toys that can be donated to Goodwill.
The problem I have is there are so many cool toys and good deals out there that I find it hard not to break the rules. But then in January when we're cleaning things up 14 million times a day, I'm reminded of the logic in it, plus helping kids really appreciate what they have/get.
K. Benshoff in the ward (your ward) does the same concept you blogged about, need/read/want/etc. it sounds like a great idea. Can you imagine it with 6 kids though! WhoooEEEE!
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