Now that the Christmas shopping season is in full swing, I’m starting to stress about how to fit a sleighful of new toys into our already cramped apartment. The kids’ room is already a disaster because they have too much stuff for one tiny room. Now add all the presents from grandparents, aunts, us, and Santa, and they seriously won’t even have room to play.
We’ve already adopted the 4 gift rule a few years ago for presents from us – Something you Want, Something you Need, Something to Wear, Something to Read…But now I need to get Santa in check.
My kids want every toy they see in every commercial (in their defense, they hadn’t seen a toy commercial for 2 years so the whole idea was novel to them), but I already know they aren’t going to play with the majority of the toys I see advertised. At 4 and 5 years old, Christmas really is all about Santa and the presents, despite how hard we’ve tried to get them to focus on the true meaning of the season. So how do I get on the bandwagon of giving “experiences” when I know they won’t be as excited about them as they will be about toys? Well, here’s how we’re going to attempt it this year…
- First, for their “big” present, they both want really big things – Barbie Dream House and Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage. Both are almost $200 and over 3 feet tall. We certainly don’t have the space for those! Instead, they’ll be getting the much smaller (and cheaper) Barbie Dream Camper and Hot Wheels Track Builder stunt box, tracks, and loop.
- Since we saved money on the big gifts, we put that toward something more functional than toys that will be forgotten by February. They’ll each be getting a new laptop/tablet combo with a 1-year subscription to ABC Mouse. They both love playing on their tablets, but they’ve gotten a bit outdated. These new ones, that I got a great deal on for Black Friday, will allow them to practice typing on a keyboard, they can add all of their favorite apps and games, and I think ABC Mouse will be a big hit with both of them.
- Another thing that I’m really excited to give them are gift cards to Fun City (waterpark, playground, arcade). We are surprising them by extending our trip back home to see family by one day and got gift cards for them, and for their cousins, to all go to Fun City together. This will make them happier than any toy! We’ve also asked family to give gift cards to Chuck E. Cheese (their favorite place on Earth), Amazon, or Target, or to buy just a single present instead of multiple smaller items to cut down on clutter.
- Both kids like doing art/craft projects, so they’ll be getting kits like gemstone mining and sticker making, along with painting supplies, markers, and fun scissors. It gives them something tangible to open and something hands-on to keep them entertained. Art supplies are always my favorite gifts to receive because they can be used up and disposed of when they’re finished.
- Let’s face it, they’re never excited to open books. But they’re getting them anyway! They may not be exciting, but it’s something that we’ll use over and over again for a long time. Our kindergartner is just beginning to read on his own, so I’m excited to get more beginning readers for him (and for my sanity as well – I don’t think I can listen to Green Eggs and Ham many more times). He really loves non-fiction books, so he’s going to love this series that I got him from Usborne Books and More.
- They’ll also be getting a couple of board games. I don’t consider board games “toys” because they’re something the whole family can do together, and most of them have some sort of educational value, whether it be counting spaces, reading, or just learning to take turns and have patience. I’m not sure the games they want this year will prove to have much educational significance, Chow Crown and Flushin’ Frenzy, but I guess you win some and you lose some.
We’ve really tried to focus more this year on the experiences and functional gifts instead of adding more clutter to our home. I think being with family around Christmas (we’ve missed the last two) is going to be magical enough to make this a memorable Christmas.