As is evident by the topics I write about here on my site, I am committed to simplicity, making deliberate choices, etc. But there is one area in my life where I do not wish to practice simplifying and downsizing. It is Christmas.
I can tell you all the reasons why it is good to do a simple Christmas, why giving less gifts is good, why Christmas isn’t about the gifts, etc. But the fact of the matter is that I thoroughly enjoy a good blowout of gift giving at Christmas.
Now blowout is a relative term. I’m not talking thousands of dollars and I’m not talking about debt. I’m just talking about piles and piles of gifts under the tree that are carefully selected, gorgeously wrapped, under the tree for at least two or three weeks, and paid for in full.
Giving and Receiving Christmas Gifts
One of my primary love languages is gifts – both the giving and the receiving. And nothing disappoints me like not being able to give gifts when I want to either because I can’t afford it or the person has indicated they no longer desire to exchange gifts.
We’ve had a couple of much leaner Christmases the past two years and frankly it wasn’t a whole lot of fun. Call me shallow if you want, but I found it took a lot of joy out of the season to not be able to give freely as I have in the past.
How Many Christmas Presents Should I Give My Child?
Right now we are discussing how much to spend on Caroline and what kind of gifts to buy her. I’ve heard all sorts of theories about Christmas gifts. I remember someone writing that they never give their children “necessities” for Christmas like underwear, books, etc. because they should provide those things for their children anyway. They felt that Christmas gifts should be about special things that the children normally wouldn’t receive.
I remember someone else suggesting giving five gifts and they were something like A Gift of Faith, A Gift of Love, A Gift of Warmth, A Gift of Joy, etc. So the gift of joy was something the person really wanted, the gift of faith was something related to faith, etc. I thought that was a neat idea although I’m not sure I would want to be bound to the same five topics each year.
So how do you “do” Christmas gifts in your family?
(This was originally posted in November 2007. There is lots of good food for thought and ideas in the comments! If you are a long-time reader, you might find it interesting to see what you wrote all those years ago. Feel free to continue to add new comments that might encourage someone else. Enjoy!)
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My childhood Christmas was spectacular with gifts music and decorations. And yet even as a c hild I felt the greedy monster growing and even fatigue of opening too many gifts(poor me LOL)
I have shrunk my childrens Christmas gifts considerably as I do not want them to grow so greedy and grinchy ,but I feel every year that I want so badly to see my children run to the tree in joy and surprise. My children are much less greedy and grinchy (mission accomplished) And think of others receiving gifts , but I WANT more! Not gifts for me but I want my kids to just once experiance the blow out spectacular Christmas of my childhood ….without it tainting them.
It sounds to me like I am still the greedy kid I was 40 years ago.!!!! I also specifically remember gifts that brought such joy to me and even tears to my eyes, I want that for my girls.
I miss the beautifully wrapped gifts my mother wrapped so artistically for us. She must have spent a small fortune just on the wrapping!
Sallie, this was fun to reflect on what has changed since we last left comments!
I have increased the amount spent on each child, or really, on my oldest, as his interests have become more expensive. (Special Lego sets and tech products aren’t $20 anymore!)
Despite inflation, I am still able to purchase a wonderful variety of toys near $20 for my younger kids. For example, Elise is getting 3 fancy costume dresses, jewelry and accessories, a Waldorf style mermaid doll and a ribbon wand–for a total of $25, mostly from the Goodwill outlet where you pay by the pound. I ordered a castle tent for $29 for the little boys to share, but was able to supplement this with knight costumes on clearance after Halloween.
I have to rein myself in, though. Gift giving is my favorite way to show love, but our house can only hold so much. : )
Not much has changed for us either. Mr N has said he’ll leave the gift shopping to me since we are on a tighter budget than last year. But I’m sure he’ll find something in his travels that he’s sure they can’t live without. 😉
All the neices and nephews are getting hand knit slippers this year, and maybe their parents will too.
I’ll shop for books at my favorite local new and used book store and fill the stockings with camping doodads, teenage boys can be hard to buy for.
Mrs.Nehemiah
Meredith – I miss your blog so much! 🙂 It was nice to see an update here from you. Hope your family is well.
Lindsey (formerly ETJ)
Hey Meredith! I didn’t know you were still reading here. Glad to see your comment! 🙂
My views are pretty much the same. 🙂