A Variation on a Theme of Gift Giving

photo courtesy: http://www.freefoto.com

I know that Halloween has yet to come and go, but, unless you're living in a bubble (or stuck at home with your sick kidlets!), Christmas has arrived in full force. The retail world is already overloading us with reminders of the fact that we are behind when it comes to Christmas preparations.

Over the summer, I discovered a fantastic idea for Christmas gift giving on a blog I love--Dandee. She revamped her Christmas gifting to include four, and ONLY four, gifts for her kids. I realized that I needed to do the same thing. We have SOOO many toys around here, so many that they are often unappreciated, overlooked and mistreated! In fact, if the toys in this Nursery came alive (see this previous post for more on that!), they would certainly be working to form a union to protest unfair work conditions, gross abuse, and overall malcontent.

photo courtesy: andrea reubens

Check out Dandee's idea here, but it boils down to this. She and her hubby give their kids four gifts, one from each category:

• Want - duh. An item your child desires to receive, like a light saber or a babydoll.
  
• Need - Maybe this could be athletic equipment, like new soccer shoes or perhaps a new duvet cover for his or her bed
  
• Wear -  Captain Obvious again. We too have a tradition of giving pj's and shoes.
  
• Read - I think this calls for a search for a fantastic book, not just Star Wars or Scooby Doo.

What a fantastic idea, no? It's a great way to slimline the shopping process, make us appreciate what we receive and find time to discover the true meaning of Christmas, which involves the best gift of all.

I will be formulating my list of "want" and "need." I think it would be fun for my fave Irish hubby or darling kidlets to pick out the other things!

I hope you'll consider paring down the crazy of Christmas and getting back to what is most important. And think how much easier your shopping will be! I'm looking forward to it.