Christmas Gift Guidelines

I love giving gifts at Christmas, and I would love to be able to buy my kids thousands of dollars worth of gifts at Christmas--but then again, when I really think about it, I wouldn't.  My kids have plenty of toys, and I have found that the more they get, the more they want.  And, I mean, come on, it's not even remotely in our budget to spend as much as many parents spend on their kids at Christmas.  We follow these guidelines to make sure we stay on budget and that our kids get similar gifts without being identical.

Each child gets:

• something they want.
• something they need.
• something to wear.
• something to read.
• something to do as a family.

Here is a picture of what their Christmas morning stashes looked like last year:

B's pile is on the left and has an Angry Birds Hot Wheels toy that he had been pining for, bedroom slippers, a book and a coloring book.  C's pile on the right contains a Minnie Mouse backpack (since all she said she wanted was Minnie Mouse), bedroom slippers, a book and a coloring book.  They each got a LeapPad as their "need" item which I realize might seem like a stretch, but we knew we had a long car ride to the beach coming up in the summer, and they would need a little something to do in the car.

While their piles might seem meager, please do not feel sorry for my poor, deprived children.  They get gifts from both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and honestly they don't need anything else from us!

The item not pictured is the "do as a family" gift which was tickets to the Imagine It! Children's Museum in Atlanta.  I know that when my kids are adults, they won't remember ever dolls, dinosaur, game or book that they received for Christmas.  They will, however, remember the times we spent together as a family, which is why the "do" gift is my fave!

I am already done with their shopping for this year and am looking forward to watching them enjoy their gifts this year.