I love Thanksgiving. I think Thanksgiving is great, but I REALLY love Christmas. This is my platform to speak, so I’m going to casually blow past Thanksgiving and get right to Christmas.
Here’s the deal. I’ve got three kids. By the time everyone who feels obliged to give them gifts is done giving, we are up to our ears in cardboard and batteries. Toy overload is immediately followed by toy hangover.
I can confirm anecdotally that my kids will latch on to 20% of their new things and the rest is damned to an eternal life on the shelf. Yes, even the carefully procured gifts from good ole Mother Knows Best completely miss the mark sometimes. (And then the rarely-used perfect gift becomes a fixture because I paid too much for it and I can’t bear to part with it, am I right?)
This article has been written many times over by probably every writer/mom on the planet, so what makes mine different? Mine is different because people are going to heed my call and actually listen for once!
Here’s the kind of stuff us overwhelmed parents would love to see wrapped up under the tree this Christmas:
1. Gift cards, zoo memberships, museum memberships, cash for classes and lessons, tickets to cultural and sporting events, and did I mention gift cards? Essentially, any activity that can be done outside the home that comes on a piece of paper or a plastic card. Unless you lack creativity and decide to give Target gift cards all around, it is not impersonal. I promise.
2. Appropriate add-on items for things the kids already own. The sky is the limit here. Perhaps you know that Grandchild A is getting a certain big ticket item from their parents; this would be the perfect time to accessorize that gift.
3. Outdoor items. I know outdoor items do not provide immediate gratification in the dead of winter, but bear with me on this one. I also understand that outdoor storage can be as big a problem as indoor storage, but if it gets my kids out of the house in the spring, I’m a happy mama. I have no problem stuffing everything into the shed and shutting the door quickly before anything falls out.
4. Group gifts. I know Auntie Dearest loves to watch each kid open an individual gift purchased on her meager retirement wages, but it’s all useless junk, vacuum fodder. Sorry Auntie Dearest, but it’s true. That $15 or $20 would be better spent on one item they can all enjoy for more than two days than something I will step on
again
and this time throw it out.
I’m feeling a bit Scrooge-ish. Let’s turn this back around.
5. I’ve already gone on longer than intended, but I wanted to add one more item to the list: Give Back. I googled and it was almost too easy to find volunteer opportunities around town. The choices are endless. Find an activity that suits your family’s interests and strengths and put your heart into it. I assure you that the gifts received from a volunteer experience will be greater than any toy or trinket from Santa Claus.
So go get a piece of paper and pen and let’s flesh out the clutter-free Christmas gift list.
What are some other gift ideas for the family that already has too much?
