I’m going to start this post by saying that my kids want for nothing. We do a lot of treats, especially while we’re out and about, throughout the week and indulge in new toys every once in a while. They’re also pretty spoiled by wonderful gifts from my job– so again… they want for nothing!
When it comes to Christmas gifts though, I actually try to take a very streamlined approach. It makes my life easier as mom and as “Santa” and it also keeps the actual day of Christmas more about spending time as a family than just tearing through gift after gift. I also would prefer to spend a little bit more on a great quality gift than to buy a few less-quality things just to have more to unwrap.
We traveled to a vacation rental for Jack’s first Christmas– he was four months old– and I didn’t get him anything…. It felt weird to give a four month old gifts and logistically, I would be wrapping a present to open myself in another state. But it didn’t feel good and I felt like I had failed as a mom, honestly. One benefit is that it made me start thinking about how I did want to do gift giving intentionally for my kids.
I’m sharing this just as my own personal approach in case you’re interested. This isn’t to pass judgement on someone else’s choices or what works for their family, of course!!
Basically, Santa brings items in the stocking and one “big” gift. For stockings, I keep it 95% practical. A snack or two, new socks, always a new toothbrush/toothpaste, and something small like a figurine for the Tonie Box. (Santa has already been working on this and got the Hot Wheels Tonie for Jack and the Elmo Tonie for Rory.) The boys love to play together, so for now, Santa is getting them one big toy to share.
Then each boy will get one big-ish gift from Mike and me… and one brother gift, that is, a gift that they “buy” for each other. Jack is old enough to pick something out for Rory, and it’s really fun to give him that autonomy. (We do a similar gift exchange with the cousins and last year, Jack took his job extremely seriously.) And until Rory is old enough, I’ll pick something out on his behalf.
…. and that’s kind of it from us.
After the first year where we were away, I realized just how much I wanted the boys to wake up in the own home for Christmas. So we do Christmas morning at our house. Let them unwrap everything, play a bit, and have a cup of coffee. Then we head over to my in-laws for Christmas day where there is undoubtedly more showering of gifts between grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles.
Sometimes I feel pressure from social media to have piles and piles of toys under the tree to unwrap, but this feels right for us. Maybe it’ll change as the boys get older and maybe we scale up or down. Who knows! Last year felt extremely magical and special and just “right” for us. Would love to know what your family traditions are when it comes to Santa gifts/Christmas morning.
