Andrew has a birthday coming up (5!?!?). And then exactly 4 weeks after that is Christmas. Which is a whole lot of presents in a short period of time. And he wants nothing. With a capital N.
We have scoured catalogs. We have wandered through toy stores. All I can get from him is a disinterested shrug or a unenthusiastic point at a random toy when pressured. We saw Santa at the mall yesterday (already?), and Andrew eagerly ran up to him to say hello. But he just wanted to chat and ask Santa how he was and introduce him to Lily and Michael. When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, Andrew just shrugged and smiled nervously. So this wise Santa asked Andrew what he was going to get me for Christmas. And my sweet little boy instantly got talkative, telling Santa what he got me last year and what he thought Michael and Lily would like. I don't think Andrew could remember one thing HE himself received, but he can recount almost every gift he gave last year.
So how hard do I press him? How far down his throat do I really shove the greedy spirit of modern Christmas? It is so fun to go shopping for kids, but I'm spending a lot of money on children who don't even really want a lot of gifts. How dumb is that? I think this year I will try and play into his enjoyment of Christmas, and spend time with him choosing gifts for others rather than pouring over catalogs trying to pick things for him. I still have to talk to Jeff about it, but I think we will limit gifts to 5 for each kid this year...1)big gift from Santa 2) something small from Santa or what they ask Santa for 3)toy from us 4) book(s) from us 5) something small from us, like pjs or a movie or coupon book (see below).
So now some ideas from you. Do you limit your Christmas spending? How do you make it "fair" for your children (comparing gifts to each other)
One thing I've decided to make for him is a little coupon book...I think he'd get real kick out of it. I've already thought of "date with Dad" and "date with Mom" and "ice cream for dinner" and "PJ day" and "good for one gift shop item" (since we never get anything from museum, etc. gift shops). Any other ideas?
6 comments:
I haven't got any ideas of my own yet, but I think yours are great, Giselle! Reina's birthday is even closer to Christmas than Andrew's and I've been despairing it ever since I found out my due date for her. Last year we didn't get her much at all, grandparents took care of it...I'll be keeping your ideas in mind.
We decided to have a smaller Christmas this year. The kids have SO many toys already and aren't even that interested in new things. They're each getting new clothes, a couple books, a wooden toy from us and a toy and stockings from Santa.
I hear your pain. Colin doesn't like toys-- and then there is the challenge of trying to find enough "stuff" that won't just clutter our house that family can get him for Christmas and Birthday. I think stuff from the dollar store is going to be the best received. I LOVE your coupon idea. Love it, love it! Think I'm gonna steal it.
What Colin really wants is a membership to COSI, to make a gingerbread house, to build a snowman in the yard, to take pictures with our digital camera, and watch fractals on You Tube.
This year a smaller Christmas is in order-- if for no other reason than I'm tired of clening out crap from his toybox. He's not gonna play with it, so why try?
I think the coupon idea is especially great for children with birthdays close to the holidays, because it could possibly extend the gift until later in the year! (Of course, what little kid can really wait...)
We sort of have the opposite problem here, Harper has been going crazy over all the toy inserts and says she wants pretty much everything. I hope she isn't disappointed with her birthday or Christmas.
I was thinking of something like the coupon book you mentioned, even before I got to the end of your post - I think that's a great idea.
I also thought of you because of a game my mom bought for Harper. At one point I thought you'd mentioned Andrew enjoying Guess Who. . . there is an electronic version of that game that Harper has been playing. It is the same concept, but there are some variations you can play if you wish. There are also six different sets to guess from, including the original group of people. If you don't have it already, Andrew might like that!
I think it's so sweet that he is thinking of gifts for you and his siblings - what a wonderful boy you have there!
Maybe Andrew wound be interested in getting toys for charity or doing something to give to kids in need like Toys for Tots? I say if he isn't into getting anything for himself, i wouldn't force it, but make sure you do something meaningful for the holiday.
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