Skip to main content

Christmas Planning Part II: Our Christmas Gift Philosophy

It is very easy around the Holidays to get caught up in the "magic" of Christmas. And what could be more magical than a giant pile of presents under the tree, right? While this may paint a lovely picture, it can't always be the reality financially. And even if you can swing it for one year, it might set up an expectation or precedent for years to come. Years that might not be as abundant. In our family, we have decided to shift the focus as much as we can from getting and gifts, to giving, making memories, and traditions (more on that to come).  We still give gifts, but we have pared it down quite a bit to make it more manageable.

We have settled on giving our kids 4 presents each year, based around the following rhyme shared with me by a friend: "Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read." I can already hear your brains ticking, "Do you seriously only give your kids ONE TOY at Christmas?" Well, no. These are the four gifts from Mom and Dad. "Santa" brings each kid one toy and a game or activity (such as art/craft supplies, model building sets, puzzles, etc.) on top of the Mom and Dad gift. The larger or most wished for toy always comes from Mom and Dad because I want my kids to know that they came from me. I'm selfish that way. 

As an example, last Christmas my eldest received a B.B. gun (want), Nerf darts (we deemed this a need because his cousins shot all of our old ones over fences and lost the rest), new jeans (wear) and a book (read). From Santa he recieved a small remote control helicopter he has been asking for for 3 Christmases, and the game Battleship. If you feel the 6 presents is too many, you can always pare it down to fewer, we have just found that this is what works for us.

Why do we do it this way? Well, for one thing, Santa never has to miss our house. Our boys know that Santa brings one toy and something else special. On a lean year he might bring a moderate toy (like a something that might be found at the store in the $10-20 range) and a nice, new coloring book (maybe one they recently admired at the dollar store). And then Mom and Dad can make gifts from scratch using materials we have on hand (upcycled pajama pants, anyone? Or how about these "action figures" or "princess dolls"), or refurbish items from thrift stores. 

As parents, we also follow the same rhyme, only Santa usually brings us something to wear and something we need, while the something we want and something to read come from each other. Hubster doesn't enjoy reading as much as I do, so sometimes the something to read gets exchanged for a something to listen to or something to watch ;). 

If you have family members who send gifts for your family, put them under the tree as well. If you have relatives who send cash or gift cards, very young children will be more impressed by a package under the tree, so unless you are saving it for college, go ahead and use that cash or card to get them something, wrap it, and put it under the tree from whoever sent it. Teens and tweens might be more excited about gift cards and cash, but tape them to the bottom of a small box and wrap them up for under the tree as well.

We also encourage our children to make or buy gifts for eachother using their own money. The dollar store, yard sales (start early) and thrift stores are great places for kids to find something they can afford to give to their siblings. They can help to clean, fix up and wrap anything they buy.

Our stockings consist of an orange, maybe some in-shell peanuts, a couple candy canes, a large candy and a few small chocolates. Nothing major, and not too over the top because I don't like dealing with the sugar hang overs ;) . 

We like to try to keep things simple, and often make homemade gifts. We find that with fewer presents, we all seem to appreciate the gifts we do get more, and it also forces us as parents to be more thoughtful in our gift giving.

Up Next: Part III: Traditions and Making Memories

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Best Homemade Pizza I've Ever Had!

A few months ago I took a small class about sourdough and sourdough starters.  It was all very, very intimidating to me, but I thought I would give it a try.  Turns out, once you have a starter, it isn't so difficult after all, just a lot of planning ahead and waiting between steps. So far, I have made artisan sourdough bread, whole wheat sourdough crackers, and this AMAZINGLY delicious pizza crust.  Hubster and I both enjoyed the artisan bread, but the kids didn't care much for it the first time around.  The second time around they were a little more favorable because it was still warm, but they didn't care for it again once it cooled.  I really enjoyed the crackers, but no one else seemed to enjoy them all that much. Then I made the pizza dough from the King Arthur Flour website. OH. MY. GOODNESS.  Not only was it good, but it was the best homemade pizza dough I have EVER had.  This recipe alone was worth the upkeep of a sourdough starter. ...

Christmas Planning Part IV: Paying for Christmas

While scaling back can take a big chunk out of the burden of paying for Christmas, the burden won't be completely gone. We still have to buy gifts or materials to make them, and we want to do fun things around Christmas that sometimes cost money. Since I don't advocate going into credit card debt for anything short of the most dire emergencies, here are a couple suggestions on  how to pay for Christmas.  One way we have done it in the past is to set up an extra savings account at our credit union and transfer $10-$20 a paycheck into it depending on what we can afford. If things are really tight, we sometimes only move over $5. If we have a windfall (such as a bonus or tax return) we will take a portion of that money and add it to the Christmas account as well. This Christmas account pays for both gifts AND activities thorough the Christmas season. I know someone that insists that they are too poor to save even a few dollars a pay check, so they put everything they buy for ...

Dilly Beans

My very first post on home canning!! This is something I am pretty passionate about, so I'm a little sad that I decided to start this blog at the end of the canning season, because that means that I missed out blogging about peaches, pears, apricots, and applesauce.  As it is, I am going to be posting the end of our harvest canning. First up.....Dilly Beans! (aka pickled green beans). This recipe makes 4 pints of pickled green beans. What you'll need: 2(ish) lbs green beans 1/4 c. canning salt 2 1/2 c. vinegar 2 1/2 c. water 4 cloves peeled garlic 2 tbs dill seed 4 pint jars 4 new canning lids 4 canning rings Water bath canner Snap or trim the ends off of green beans and pack them vertically into clean pint jars (I like to lay my jar on its side while I do most of the packing, and then tip it upright and see if there is any more room). Put 1/2 tbs dill seed and 1 clove garlic in each jar.  Put the water, vinegar and salt in a sauce pan and he...