Today is the blog hop sponsored by Hearts at Home. The topic is what Christmas traditions we do, and how to get your kids to think about giving vs. just getting.
It was five years ago that we began giving just three presents at Christmas...one toy, one practical gift (like clothes or books), and one activity for the family. We had gotten tired of watching our house fill up with toys to the point that there was clutter everywhere. The girl seemed to be overwhelmed by all of the toys too. It didn't feel like they even had enough time to enjoy all of it. We had to regularly donate toys just to make room for the next crop of toys around the corner. It also was stressful for me as a mom to go out and purchase the perfect gifts and try to spend evenly on everyone.
We talked about it as a family, and the first year we hid all the presents except for one which had a short poem with a clue for the next present. Just having three Christmas presents around the tree seemed a little strange, but the girls enjoyed hunting for presents so much that the tradition stuck...with one exception. There is just one present under the tree with a clue for the next child's gift. Everyone has their turn, and moment of glory...which makes it easier to see their faces and savor the moment as a parent. It also stretches out the gift-giving fun for a good hour. Doing it on a budget makes it all the more interesting because of the creativity required. When they asked for a more expensive toy, they received a puzzle to do as a family activity or we went through a local Christmas light display that costs $5 on the weekdays, but everyone loves. One year they received $3 placemats for their practical present.
Each child is in charge of filling a shoe box for a child their age through the "Operation Christmas Child" project which is both fun, and "our present to Jesus". We ask them to get things they would like as an effort to get them to be generous and not just self-centered. They also give away part of their allowance to wherever they choose, and they sometimes use it for the shoe boxes or the bell ringers.
Last year while anticipating a move, we asked our families to do activities with us instead of exchanging gifts. We went bowling with my hubby's family and it was lots of fun. The year before we watched a new movie, played a new game (Twister) and splurged on special snacks that we wouldn't have otherwise purchased to eat during our movie.
What are you favorite family traditions? Please feel free to share in the comments below.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Day 25: Reducing the Christmas Madness
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I love your idea of doing activities together rather than exchanging gifts. We, too, have tried to focus on shared moments over shared stuff in the past few years- saves the financial stress and just makes great memories. We use the "wise men" gift strategy, too. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have a ton of great traditions~ I love that! We have simplified our giving a lot in the last few years... I was so tired of them getting all that stuff they would play with for a day and then toss aside. So we try to only purchase meaningful or necessary gifts, and far less of them! We also love sending an extr gift to our Compassion child.
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm stopping by from the No More Perfect Moms group. :^) Looking forward to getting to know you as we help Jill promote her book.
ReplyDeleteTina
I've been keeping this post on my email. After viewing the literal gobs of presents that little 1 year old EG got for Christmas, I think putting a limit on ourselves is a great idea. She just got so overwhelmed opening the gifts. One or two gifts and then she just wanted to sit and play with whatever she had. It was really sweet and something I would like to foster--that sense of being happy with what you have rather than constantly looking to get more.
ReplyDeleteThank you for telling me your story. It gives me a framework for developing our own.