Buying Christmas gifts for your kids can be tricky. You want to give them a one-time, big-time gift, but finding that one special thing can be tough. Or you can give them lots of small gifts, but the question is, "How many?"
We all want our kids to have fun, but we also want to teach them important values and lessons. We can do this if we give them something meaningful that is also sensitive to their wants and needs. Teach them how to value things by going for quality over quantity.
Quality over quantity
For families that enjoy gifting more than one Christmas gift to each kid, continuing with this practice can negatively affect how your child develops.
Giving a lot of Christmas gifts lets them get used to quantity instead of quality, and this can make them forget what you gave them. In fact, having too many toys has been known to have a negative effect on kids. Eventually, a lot of these gifts will end up ignored, unused, or in the garbage.
How to select Christmas gifts?
Start with a budget
Save yourselves from the stress and extra expense of buying too many gifts for your young ones. After all, who has the time to go 12 Gifts of Christmas on their kids?
Set a Christmas budget, and once you do, make sure you stick to it. You teach your kids about spending wisely. What better way is there to teach them this than by practising it yourself?
If you have more than one child, make sure the combined monetary value for each of your child’s gifts is equal. You don’t want to hear your child griping about how his brother's gift is cooler than his. And it sends the wrong message.
Don't underestimate the kids. They have a good sense of the monetary value of gifts, especially as they grow older.
If you’re shopping for Christmas gifts for your kids, you can even ask your eldest child to help you shop for gifts for their younger siblings. They might have some useful advice for you, too! The same goes for the younger kids, and it's a good time to teach them about giving.
When you're done, pat yourself on the back for making smart decisions on buying Christmas gifts for your kids.
The Three Wise Men
A helpful guide exists to help yourself choose the right Christmas gifts for your kids. It will help you avoid wastage, and keep your child’s gift-opening spree in check. Do this by limiting your gifts to three per child. Be guided by these categories:
- Something they want
- A thing they need
- Something to read
This list is modelled after the gift of the Three Wise Men in the Bible story. The first one represents the “gold” present. It is something a child would treasure, like a toy. The “frankincense” present is something that will be used in one’s spiritual life. Since this refers to inner growth, it can be a book. The “myrrh” present is something for the body. It can clothes or shoes, but it can also be any necessity, really.
Buying gifts is less stressful this way, and it’s more meaningful. So next time you’re buying Christmas gifts for your kids, remember the three wise men to avoid spoiling your children too much!
Needs ideas for what to give to your kids? You can check out these gift giving ideas on Pinterest.