With two little ones, Christmastime is both special and stressful. While blog-hopping the other day I stumbled upon a post at Dandee Designs about what to give kids for Christmas. The author suggested a somewhat catchy mantra to recite when gift shopping: Want. Need. Wear. Read. Kids get four gifts – something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read.
While I see nothing wrong with giving kids a day when their toy dreams come true, I also think the process of gift buying can be overwhelming. Where to start? And, perhaps more importantly, when to stop?? As a parent, I want to give my kids everything on their lists. But, as a fiscally responsible adult I simply cannot do that. Further, we are running out of room in our apartment for all the kid stuff, and the more stuff kids have the less special it all becomes. Following Want. Need. Wear. Read. as a guideline is helping me define what kind of Christmas to give my precious babes.
Of course I plan to sprinkle in some additional fun stocking-stuffers and special treats like little cloth diapers for Evelyn’s dolls. But, their main gifts will fall into these four categories.
Evelyn
Want: Ever since I brought up the subject of Santa shortly after Thanksgiving, Evelyn has been asking for a “baby bed” at least three times an hour. I found an adorable homemade one on Etsy.com. It will be perfect for her assortment of dolls, and because it lacks obnoxious colors and commercial flair I hope someday her babies will use it as a “baby bed” too.
Need: Evelyn and I spend lots of time every day coloring, and her crayons are worn down. Time for some new ones – and perhaps a few coloring books!
Wear: Evelyn seems to have a growth spurt every other week! She is in need of some new clothes in sizes 3T or 4T, so I’ll go find a few nice things for her.
Read: My sister’s boyfriend’s mother gave Evelyn the book “Pinkalicious” earlier this year, and it has become her absolute favorite. We both have it memorized, and whenever I read it to her she chants along with me. So, Santa will be bringing her the companion books “Puplicious” and “Goldilicious.”
Mack
Want: If I was a precocious 9 month old boy, I would absolutely want a tough recycling truck made from recycled plastic…so, that is what Santa is bringing Mack. He’s my little eco-warrior in-training.
Need: My friend Sarah sent me a link about a sippy cup sleeve designed to fit on most 8oz glass canning jars. Since I recently took up canning, I have plenty of glass jars…and since Mack is getting ready to drink out of a big-boy cup, this is the perfect gift for him!
Wear: Mack is about to grow out of his hand-me-down snowsuit. Time to get him one of his own!
Read: Both Evelyn and Mack really enjoy Richard Scarry’s book “Busy Busy Town” so this year Santa will be bringing Mack “Cars and Truck’s from A to Z.” I can’t wait to read though this little book with my little man.
© Copyright 2024 Homemade Mothering | A Back to Basics Approach to Mothering and Homekeeping
the old irish tradition is something to play with something to read something to wear and something to share!
I love the sound of that, too!! Maybe I'll try that next year 🙂
I love your blog! I just wanted to pass on a site you might like where you swap used kids clothes. It is http://www.thredup.com and is a great place to get clothes and get the old clothes used by someone else rather than into a landfill. Just wanted to pass it on.
I love that…want. need. wear. read. That works for everyone! Also…I'm assuming you are the one taking the photos you are posting on your blog…and I just wanted to say you are doing a fabulous job! You're definitely a natural!
Thanks, Lauren!!! That means a lot coming from you!
I think this idea works for little children, because half the time they get bored with their toys and things anyways, but this is not tht effective, you can’t make a kid read and kids should be able to appreciate the true meaning of Christmas without shortening the one time of year they are aloud to get what they ask for( in moderation) unlike some parents I don’t spoil my kids on a regular basis and this is why I get more than 4 presents for my kids. Think of it this way, as children did we appreciate Christmas any more or less by what we got, I’m sure if we were our children and we only got 4 presents we would throw a fit, think about that.
Thanks for your comment. For our family, the true meaning of Christmas is about much more than “stuff” so this strategy works well for us. We’ve found that toys just don’t keep our kids very busy, especially considering how much $$ and space they occupy in our home.
Also, we often give more than four gifts, but some are tied together. For example, one year my son got a train table, and we also gave him all the tracks and trains to go along with it. All of it combined to count as his “want.” https://homemademothering.com/2012/03/more-really.html
Last year, the kids needed new crafting supplies, so we gave them an entire tower stocked full of stuff to keep them busy for hours. https://homemademothering.com/2012/12/tower-crafts.html