{Christmas} Gifts for The Kiddos

This is not my own idea but and idea that I read about from Andrea on her blog last year. It's a simple idea/ method of gift giving for your children. I just loved the idea so much that we started doing it last year for Ava's first Christmas. You can read more in her post here.



The idea is that each of your children get 4 gifts at Christmas time. Something........

they want

they need

to wear

to read

Ava is still too young to tell us really what she "wants" but I still really love the simplicity of this. Last year we got her a new book for us to read to her. She got clothing as part the "wear" gift. She got two toys for the other two gifts since she couldn't yet tell us what she wanted.

Source: francineclouden.typepad.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Here's a couple reasons why I really love the idea of this;

- It helps keep everything even between children. No having to worry how many gifts each child got, or if 1 child got more gifts than another. Less fighting over this too.

- It helps with your Christmas budget. If you already know each year that you're only buying 4 gifts per child you can budget an amount for each thing.

- I think it also provides an opportunity for parents to teach their children that Christmas isn't about gift getting or how many gifts you get.

- I think it allows children to really value their gifts, knowing that they get to voice their desire for 1 gift they really want and make it something they really enjoy and would love to have.

So what is Ava getting this year? Something......

to wear: a new outfit.
to read: a new Christmas book.
she wants: a toy.
she needs: a winter coat; since we're leaving AZ this Christmas and heading to chilly IA she'll need this.

Do you love this idea? Hate it?

What about your family? How do you approach gift giving to your children at Christmas time?

Source: thecraftingchicks.com via Andrea on Pinterest