Ho ho ho and a bottle of….rum? Maybe wine?
I don’t drink alcohol, but it sounds funny when you sing it.
Any-who..
Every year for Christmas, the first day of our advent we write letters to Santa. I like to do this early on because then I will know what the kids are thinking. I use to give them free range on their wish list, but this year I had them go with the “something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read” method.
I like doing this because kids always tend to want everything they see. They see a commercial and think, “I want it!” They see the Target toy catalogue and want everything on every page. It is overwhelming and doesn’t really give us a clear indication of what it is they are wanting. So, having the 4 categories helps to narrow it down and make sure they aren’t getting a ton of unnecessary toys. It also, I think, helps kids focus more on the item that they really want instead of the 57 things they think they want.
Here is what my kiddos wrote this year.
Pickle wrote that he has been naughty and nice. The 3 nice things he did this year are: help set up the tree, help clean room and basement, and help with Bug. What he wants is a headset with a mic, what he needs is a new phone case, what to wear is sonic pajamas, and to read is Dog Man.
Monkey wrote that she has been VERY nice, naughty, naughty and nice. The 3 nice things she did are: decorating the tree, ‘sometimes’ being nice to her brothers, and that she cleaned her room last night. She wants a big doll, she needs a doll bathtub, to wear she wants spiderman pajamas, and to read she wants an animal book.
This little Goober here, Mr. Bug, has been naughty and nice (the terrible two’s came early). The 3 nice things he has done are: listening sometimes, smile, and help get stuff to the trash can. He wants The Grinch, he needs diapers (always), to wear he wants vehicle pajamas, and to read he wants board books.
Luckily for me the only things that we didn’t already get (or knew a family member got them) were the specific pajamas they asked for. Of course, I wound up finding those today 😉.
I really liked this method of making their wish lists. I feel like it is more attainable than a list with 10+ toys.
I know my kids are spoiled, but Christmas is really the only time of the year that we buy them anything new so it doesn’t really seem outrageous to me. Throughout the year we no longer buy them toys and they get clothes from the resale store 98% of the time. I actually got some of their gifts from resale and Facebook market. They don’t know the difference, it saves money, and it is better for the Earth.
🎄jenn
By the way, have I mentioned I dyed my hair so it is festive for the holidays?🤪
Reclaiming My Sanity 