Yes, it is the season of gift giving. Yes, I know Christmas is much more than what's under the tree. Yes, it is a time of sharing and giving (and yes, that giving does include gifts). Yes, it is also a time for family and charity and just lots of merriment. But I do love me some gifts... not just for me but mostly for my kids. Oh what fun it is to shop for the "wee lil ones".
As usual, my kids made their Christmas wish list and handed it over to me and their dad. As the years pass by, it becomes that much easier to buy for them as they can tell you exactly what they want. However, that might mean more 'moolah', as most of what kids want they see on TV and those toys and games can be pricey. Plus the older they get, the more electronically savvy they get. That's why we have the 3 gift rule: each kid gets 3 gifts each from mom and dad plus a few little stocking stuffers (we get to choose which 3 gifts they get from their list, which thankfully, is never enormous). This little rule helps us stay in a reasonable budget and allows us to enjoy an affordable and fun holiday season.
Whatever they don't get from their list at Christmas, we try and get it for them for their birthdays. This way, we don't go into gift overload: win win!
So what, you may ask, made it on their list this year. My 13 year old asked for the PSP Vita (that tops his list this year) and a smart phone. Just two gifts...wow!!! Not bad; my kid ain't greedy. BUT, those 2 gifts alone would run us well over $300 and trying to stay on a budget of $600 or less for EVERYONE we had to shop for would have proven almost impossible with his gifts taking half the budget. So at my urging, he added a few other things to give us some options just in case he couldn't get either of his top 2 gift wishes. He then added a laptop (umph), and a foosball table (oi). Nothing on his list is cheap. Well, that's what you get when you have a teenager... their gifts tend to be on the more expensive side, so I had a lot of thinking and budgeting to do. Remember, I now have FOUR kids to shop for and even though the baby doesn't really count (as babies don't need, well, any Christmas gifts) I still wanted to get the little guy something. So my money had to s t r e t c h.
My little princess asked for the sweetest things and as it turns out, the things she wants aren't that costly at all. I feel almost bad that her gifts cost so little. Her wish list includes a bicycle (she recently learned how to ride a bike without training wheels and asked for a new big girl bike for X-mas). She also wants a Ken doll, a Guess Who game, a Princess bouncy ball, a play tablet, a Tinkerbell movie and the moxie girl styling doll head she saw at the toy store. Now, as you probably guessed it, she is not to expect all these gifts; just 3 will be under the tree for her to unwrap come Christmas morn, so I made sure to ask her constantly what toys she really liked to get a grasp on what 3 things to get her.
My 5 year old son is even easier than my little girl and asks for pretty much the same things over and over again. He knew what he wanted and made sure we knew it too and poor thing has no patience, so almost everyday he asks if it's Christmas yet. I think the anticipation to see if he got what he asked for is just too much to bear. He wants Woody from Toy Story (and has been asking for this toy since forever... ever since my mother in law got him Buzz Lightyear, which is what he asked for last year). He also asks for a few Hero action figures, namely Captain America, Hulk, Superman and Wolverine. Then, when we went to the toy store a few weeks ago, he fell in love with the red Hulk (which is red, not green like the normal Hulk) and the Captain America toy shield. I knew exactly what he wanted.
As for the baby, well, what does an almost 4 month baby need for Christmas? Good question. I figured a few rattles and infant toys that can grow with him would suffice. After all, I can't ask him what he wants now can I? With list in hand, I got pretty much everything I think my kids will love.
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