One of my favorite things to do during my quiet down time is to watch Christmas videos on YouTube. I like watching the wrap with me videos and the “what I got my kids” videos. I actually had plans to film a wrap with me video this year, but it didn’t happen. We were not planning to wrap things until Thanksgiving week. Our kids were going to be staying with their grandparents and we were going to use that as our opportunity. However, they wound up spontaneously staying the night before that week, so we just knocked out the wrapping in one night.Since I didn’t get to record, I figured I would just go ahead and share what my kids are getting this year.
My kids are 7 years old, 3 years old, and 19 months old. The last couple of years I have really been trying to be more mindful of what they get. I really hate spending money on something that breaks easily or they lose interest in really quick. I won’t lie, it is hard NOT going all out to make Christmas morning seem that much more exciting for them. However, when I have to spend even more time managing all the things they get; I get a bit stressed out.
This year, we started planning literally all year long. Every time the kids would say, “I want that!” We would make a note on our list and keep it all in mind for when it came time to put the list into fruition. Kids being kids, they think they want and need everything they see. There were a lot of toys that they would see and want, but if I didn’t think it would last past the newness phase of about a week, I took it off my list.
I really had to make mental notes of what my kids do all day long. That way I can rationalize why each item would be worth the money.
My oldest is heavily into gaming and music. He has a playstation and a Nintendo switch. He enjoys being outdoors as well, but usually he just wants to lounge around watching videos or playing games. Even though he had many toys he thought he wanted in mind, I just knew it would be a waste of money. I decided to stick with what we know for him; gaming and music related things. I also took notice of how often I was having to give up my paint and canvases so that he could make his own. So here is his list this year.
Rebel red [twenty one pilots red beanie]
Nickelodeon cart racers game
Injustice 2 game
Crash bandicoot 4 game
Cell Phone case (he has a wifi only phone)
Paper airplane kit (he is always making them and having chris make them)
Pokemon Bath bombs (my kids are obsessed with bath bombs and baths/showers in general)
Monopoly junior (he likes board games, but some are outside of his attention span so I thought we would give this a try)
Fortnite money card
Dog man book (he is collecting the series, it is the only book he reads for his own pleasure)
Marshmello shirt
Marshmello hoodie
Hoverboard gokart attachment
Superhero wrist sweat bands (he has had a green lantern one for like a year now and wears it almost every day even though it is falling apart)
An artist painting set
My 3 year old daughter, almost 4 years old next month, is a fun mix of girly girl and tom boy. In a day she goes from playing dolls and barbies to building forts and wrestling her big bro. She LOVES doing crafts and playing outside. Here is her list this year.
Headphones (she is always asking for them for her tablet)
Barbie furniture – 3 sets (the furniture we made last year definitely was not made to last. She is constantly playing barbies and I got a really good deal on the 3 sets I found)
Wooden Doll cradle and high chair (Her grandma has a wooden high chair at her house for dolls and she just loves it! She is always playing dolls so I know these will get plenty of use.)
Doll (The target Our Generation doll, I figure this will be one that she will use for a long time and we can buy accessories for, for her birthday.)
Doll accessory (a Pajama set and a mommy and me sunglasses)
Craft desk (so she can stop making messes all over the dining table and have her own space for her master pieces [thanks to creative galaxy])
Style hair doll (she loves makeup and hair related things. She was very upset one day when we were at my brother’s house and was told she couldn’t play with the really expensive mannequin head. So, she now gets her own.)
Bath bombs (again, bath obsessed)
Peppa game (like Chutes and Ladders)
Art set
Drawing paper
Craft kit
Piggy Bank (We got her one last year, but it is so small and it tends to rip any bills that you put in it, so we got her a different one this year, it is like an ATM)
A nightlight (hers recently broke)
Last, but not least, is our youngest. He has plenty of hand me downs that he doesn’t really need anything. He also doesn’t quite get the jist of it all yet, so I didn’t feel the need to go bananas. He also enjoys watching videos, cars, and coloring. He is obsessed with things like vacuums, mowers, and weed eaters. So here is his list.
Vacuum (it is like a mini shop-vac and actually works!)
Tablet (We got a really good deal on it and he is always trying to take everyone else’s devices, so we figured it was time.)
Retro toy phone
Mallet toy (he likes to hammer and I would rather he hammer safely with a toy haha)
Wooden toy car set
Star projector dino pillow (the previous owners left a glow in the dark star on the ceiling in his room and he has to see it every night before bed. I thought he would enjoy seeing more than one star light up his ceiling.)
No spill cups
2 Mess free colorbooks
Grinch and Max stuffed animals (he is utterly obsessed with the Grinch)
Chair (it is a super cute food themed print lounge chair that is just his size)
An outfit
Normally we do a Christmas eve box with pajamas, but I realized they are missing out on wearing the pajamas all month long. So this year, we ALL got Grinch pajamas! Because of Covid, most of our shopping was done online. We used Amazon, Target, Walmart, Kohls, and Five Below. The only thing left is a few things for their stockings, yes like some, SOME, candy.
I think it is important to be intentional in gift buying. Especially if you are the one that has to manage it all after it is all said and done. I use to think being intentional meant buy the things they will be excited to open. Which yes, you still want that to be a part of it, but you have to be more specific. If you aren’t more specific to why you are buying something, then you will wind up with too many toys and nowhere to put them. You will wind up with things that they play with Christmas day and couldn’t care less about by the new year. Nothing frustrates me more than wasted money and a filthy unmanageable mess.
So, I did myself a solid this year and had a more well thought out method. I am excited to see their reactions Christmas morning.
Are you done shopping? Do you have a method on how you shop? Do you shop all year or just during the month of December? Let me know all about it!
🎄jenn
Me, monkey, and Bug (and Syny). 🙃
Reclaiming My Sanity 