How To Avoid Christmas Gift Overload This Year
Alright guys. I can be honest. My kids are spoiled. [NOT spoiled brats mind you, but a bit spoiled, sure.] Truly, I think a lot of kids these days grow up with MORE than enough. Working in social media, companies often send us toys to check out or books to read… That all adds up as the year goes on. Throw in generous aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc, and it can be tough to avoid Christmas gift overload. I’ve written before about our family decision to stick with just 4 gifts per boy each Christmas. Two years later, it’s still the way we shop. Read on to check out what our boys will unwrap this Christmas morning.
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored in any way.
4 GIFTS EACH TO AVOID CHRISTMAS OVERLOAD
Four Gifts: The General Idea
If you’re new to the whole ‘4 gifts for Christmas’ movement, be sure to check out my earlier post about it. It talks about how we changed it up a bit to really work for our family. My original ‘4 gifts’ printable present tags are also available there, so you’ll want to check them out. Before I dive into our ‘4 gifts’ choices for Christmas 2018, here’s a quick review of the gift buying guidelines we use to avoid Christmas gift overload each year!
Each of my kiddos receives 4 gifts from my husband and I. We certainly take the boys’ holiday wish lists into account when shopping, but rarely buy directly from it. (That honor tends to be reserved for Nana + Grandpa, etc.) Each boy receives one gift from each of the following categories:
- A gift you need.
- Clothing to wear.
- Something to play with.
- A book to read.
#theLittleOne’s 4 Gifts 2018
A gift you need: In the next few weeks, the boys will start sharing a room in anticipation of baby brother’s arrival in March! #thelittleone will move up to a twin bed, so new bedding is definitely a necessity. We put a cute comforter on the boys’ lists to Nana + Grandpa, so we picked up some simple sheets that will get used a lot!
Clothing to wear: My hubs is the KING of dad jokes – a skill I’m pretty sure he inherited from my father in law. When I saw this adorable tee on clearance at Carter’s recently, I knew it was the perfect choice. I paired it with some simple sweat pants.
Something to play with: #thelittleone has been very adamant recently that he is now big enough to play with real LEGOS, just like his big brother’s. I chose a fun LEGO Juniors set featuring The Incredibles 2 for some building fun for him this Christmas.
A book to read: I was excited to come across Baby Loves Structural Engineering at the store. Ruth Spiro wrote the book, and Irene Chan illustrated it. It’s a perfect read for a young LEGO and building enthusiast. I can’t wait to read it with #thelittleone after he opens it!
#TheBigOne’s 4 Gifts 2018
A gift you need: Just like #thelittleone, #thebigone will open some super practical sheets this year, perfect for when his new bunk bed arrives! Christmas doesn’t have to be ALL toys and sweets. Something useful is a great way to avoid Christmas gift overload!
Clothing to wear: My oldest is starting to become a bit more opinionated about his personal style as he grows up. He’s a fan of pretty simple, comfortable clothes, and prefers to avoid a lot of characters. While I was at Carter’s, I grabbed him a basic pair of jeans, because we’re always finding grass stains or ripped knees after play time. The jeans pair perfectly with a camoflauge button down hoodie, which he’ll love because it’s simple but not too boring.
Something to play with: I think I mentioned somewhere before that Beyblades are a sudden new obsession for both of my boys. #thebigone is more into them, since he loves to tuck them into his backpack to play with with friends at recess. I found a Beyblades arena for a fairly reasonable price at TJ Maxx this year- definitely less than I had seen them listed most other places. Hopefully he’s psyched when he opens this one up!
A book to read: Full disclosure, #thebigone already knows about this gift, mainly because I had to pre-order it and can’t pick it up until Christmas Eve. My biggest bookworm is seriously psyched to go grab his new copy of Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man Brawl Of The Wild on December 24th. He’ll head to his dad’s house with it that afternoon, and I predict that he’ll finish reading it by Christmas morning!
WAIT! What About Santa?!
Ok, yes, technically, my kids get 5 gifts. Right now, the boys are 8 and 3, so they still believe in the big guy. I do make sure to choose one gift for each that Santa delivers. (Or sometimes, like this year, a joint gift to use together). I am always careful to make sure Santa brings something on the smaller side, for 2 reasons.
- Some parents can’t afford video games or smart phones for Santa to drop off. Keeping Santa’s choices modest makes sure that classmates aren’t left questioning why Santa didn’t reward their nice list status the same way he did for others.
- My parents were careful when I was young to be sure Santa didn’t bring THE biggest, most desired gift. They wanted to be sure that we never felt disappointed or nervous about growing out of believing in Santa Claus. If he brings something small, you don’t feel as deceived or let down when you ultimately realize it was really mom and dad stuffing the stockings each year.
I always make sure to wrap our Santa gifts in special Santa paper that I don’t use for the other gifts. It’s just a little simple touch to add a little extra holiday magic to the day when your kids are young.
Do you have a certain method you use when you’re shopping for your kids at Christmas? Maybe it’s more of a budget? Let me know what you’ve found that works for your family in the comments below.
