What Are Your Tips for Keeping Christmas Small for Your Kids?
No matter what winter holiday your family celebrates, many of us share the problem of sticking to a budget, particularly among parents. Choosing gifts for our kids suddenly becomes showering our children with more toys, books, clothes, and doo-dads than can possibly fit in their bins, rooms, and the out-of-control storage space in the basement.
I am definitely one of those mothers who goes weak when I'm standing in the Lego aisle or reading through my boy's list while filling my shopping cart online. Any "rules" I may have about the number of gifts I'll be buying that year or how much money I'm willing to invest in piles of presents for the little one get bent, twisted, and then thrown out completely. I want to be stronger, I really do. I don't want to buy! buy! buy! just for the thrill of my son's squeals on Christmas Day.
This is the year to buck up on my budget, for many reasons. We took a big trip this summer, traveling on the agreement to count that holiday in with the upcoming holiday. I'm also intent on stashing more cash into savings in the year ahead. Finally, it's just a really ridiculous thing (and bad lesson) to give so many gifts to a kid who is already pretty privileged (and will probably forget about a good number of them a few days -- or minutes -- later anyway).
So there it is, the new rule: This holiday will be smaller, simpler, sweeter.
Can you help me get past those jitters when I make up a much-shortened holiday shopping list?
Share your tips! What are your best good-parent tips for keeping the holiday giving to a minimum for your kids?
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