Gift Buying Limits For Children

It's that time of the year where we spend precious moments at the mall and toys stores to buy our children everything that I could’ve imagined and more!

Last year, I went crazy on Christmas gifts for the children, my motto was the more the merrier. What did half of those toys do? Sit in the back room and collect dust. The only two items that were a big hit were the drum set and the karaoke machine.

This year will not be the same. Every other day I get asked, "Did you finish your Christmas shopping"? And when I reply my children aren't getting a lot this year, I can feel the disbelief from my reply. But I'm fine with that!

I saw this post on Metro Parent and I simply fell in love with it. There were a couple mottos that I found to be perfect when it comes to setting limits on Christmas gifts.

        1. The "Three Kings” Christmas. The Three Kings presented Mary with three gifts when Jesus was born. So families Use the same model and present each child just three gifts.

I personally love this. Telling your children you can choose three things and allowing them to limit their selves I think is a good idea. Children will most likely chose three big gifts, which is ok, given your budget. But it sets boundaries and incorporates bible teaching as well.

    2.There’s also a four-gift idea from Victorian tradition. It comes with an easy-to-remember poem: “Something you want, something you need; something to wear and something to read.”

Now this is my favorite! This is the one I will be using this year! Especially since I have toddlers and they're not expecting much yet. I think this is awesome. It covers all ground and allows children and adults to differentiate wants from needs. This is also a good model to follow when it comes to buying yourself gifts for birthdays and etc.

3.       3. Setting a budget. My one friend told her nine year old son his budget for gifts and it was his responsibility to write down his wants and calculate the cost to stay within the budget! Awesome way to incorporate budgeting tools and introducing our children to money.

Whatever your Christmas tradition is, I challenge parents to truly teach our children the meaning of the holiday. Have talks about the limits around Christmas gifts, set a tradition to give to others, or volunteer at events that may need your help around the holidays.

Incorporate your own holiday tradition and values. Like I mentioned before, some people find it obscure that I don't tell my children about Santa Clause. My children knows that God supplies mommy and daddy with all their need to purchase gifts for Christmas. For me, the holiday is about the true reason for the season. But that's my personal family values, each family is different! Whatever it is, own your values, despite what the world tells us we should be doing around this holiday season.

Remember, Christmas is a time of giving and sharing precious moments together, more than anything it's a holiday about love.

Source: Metro Parent

Jessica M. Byrd is the parent of a two and one year old. 

She is the founder of CHICMoms (formerly Detroit Moms Rock) and believes 

every mother should live a life on purpose!