126 Days until Christmas!
Yes, I said it! It's August, and I'm counting down to Christmas.
WHY? Am I just insane?
No--well, probably--I just spent an hour today cleaning out my children's toys for a garage sale. This is after the 5 or so hours spent a couple months ago doing the same. I'm fed up. Four children under 7 = a big toy mess.
So here I am, contemplating Christmas. I don't want to be a big grinch and take away the magic of Christmas (no, that doesn't read the MOUNTAIN of Christmas [gifts]). I want to figure out how to balance Christmas so that there are presents, but not a year full of broken toys, toys my kids care nothing about, and a headache of a mess trailing behind. I want to find a way to make Christmas meaningful.
It never ceases to amaze me how little my kids really care about their toys. They would much rather build a tent out of a blanket, pretend to have a broken arm (and, no, they don't play doctor with the doctor's kit I bought them, they always find some other household item to use such as a baby bib for a cast), ride bikes, swing on the swingset, color, cut, and paste. The really cool dollhouse with real curtains and stairs? Fun for a few days, then a big piece of dusty furniture for two years.
My learning curve has been rather high. There are a few toys that all of the kids have loved (Little People toy sets) and others that are just plain duds (my kids couldn't care less about Webkinz). I have had a harder time selling off the kids unwanted toys than they have. I'm the one seeing the wasted money that could have been spent on something more meaningful....like a massage (for me!).
A new year, a new attitude. I'm in search of the "perfect" gifts. Perhaps I won't accomplish my goal, but I will NOT buy the popular toys. I can hardly remember what we bought them last year; the only gifts I know they've loved are the "life-sized" princess dolls my mom bought them.
The gifts they've loved all year from mom and dad? The "car blankets" I made them. Flannel on one side, fleece on the other, they love having them to snuggle under during the cold winter months.
This year, I'm in search of fun, long-lasting and thoughtful gifts. Will I be buying toys? Not likely!
What are your most memorable gifts? Is there a particular gift you made/gave your child that you felt was long-lasting and memorable? Please post in the comments and I will post it on this list along with a link to your blog or website.
Birth to 1 year
1. Blankie. They are so easy to make: cut two pieces of fabric the same size and sew together. I always make the blankies with the "tags" on the side (pieces of ribbon folded and sewn on). There is such a selection of amazingly soft material and JoAnn always has great coupons and sales.
2. Rattle. Not a traditional rattle! Empty a bottle (like the new plastic FUZE bottles with wider mouth openings) and put a few household items in it (metal screw, rubber ball, other small items) and then hot glue the lid shut. This isn't a good one to to continually put in the mouth, of course. It's a good noise maker with supervision.
3. Sophie le Giraffe. Pricey, but well worth the money. I feel comfortable letting my little one chew on her and it's very easy for the little ones to hold. Sophie is well worth the money!
1-6 Years
1. Car Blanket. I made these last year for my girls and they are precious for them, a year later. They are fleece on one side, flannel on the other, great for the chilly car rides.
2. Instant tent/playhouse. I saw this in a magazine as an ad and realized it could easily be made. Find some material on clearance and cut and sew several yards to make a large square piece of material with a slit on one side (for the tent opening). Currently, my girls use a large blanket for their tent-making needs but it's made of heavy fleece and tends to pull down. This year, I'm making one for them and including some large clips so their imagination can soar.
3. Home Made Mittens. I found this on Family Fun and I now regret getting rid of a couple wool sweaters that were accidentally thrown in the washer. VERY easy to make, just a few washes and dries, cut out a shape, sew with yarn. A good one to give to the younger ones a great one for the older crowd to make for the younger crowd. directions
4. Duplos/Legos. Karen writes: LEGOS!! My son played with them until he was about 15! Seriously!Started with DUPLOS. I think it trained him to have the engineering type mind he has now.
5. Scarves and Dressup Clothing. This is another one from Karen and I agree! They don't have to be brand new, the more vintage they are, the bigger the imagination!
Ages 7-10
1. Instant Tent/Playhouse (see above)
2. Home Made Mittens. (see above) This is also a great one for this age group to MAKE for siblings. Look for the wool sweaters at thrift shops.
3. REAL Tea Set. Karen writes: REAL tea sets for my daughter. She had "tea" from about age 5-11 with the best tea party in an antique clothing store where they got to wear the clothes for the party. This was her 11th party.
4. Legos. (see above)
Ages 11-15
1. Home Made Mittens. (see above) A great one to either give this age group or for children of this age to make for friends/siblings.
3 comments:
It was definitely blankets for both my younger boys. These are special to all of us as my mother-in-law taught me how to make these when the boys were 5 & 6. These are beautiful blankets in their size. They dragged them everywhere and slept with them all the time. I have them folded and put on the closet shelf to take down and look at every time they catch my eye. I now have to make one for my grandchild who is due next month.
I loved your blog on this.
I love that you are rethinking the commercialization of Christmas and the huge amounts of money wasted on toys.
My kids favorite but most used cheap gifts:
1.Boxes-big huge ones from the appliance store. We cut holes and made them into houses or spaceships.
2. scarves and other fabric pieces for making costumes or tents.
3. I collected funny clothes for them to play dress-up usually from garage sales or thrift. My son loved camo anything! and hats!
oops I just re-read your post. you wanted long-lasting meaningful things.
LEGOS!! My son played with them until he was about 15! Seriously!
Started with DUPLOS. I think it trained him to have the engineering type mind he has now.
REAL tea sets for my daughter. She had "tea" from about age 5-11 with the best tea party in an antique clothing store where they got to wear the clothes for the party. This was her 11th party.
During her "Tea-time" age she was really into porcelain dolls. We didn't buy the really expensive ones but she loved them the same. Her grandmother made clothes for them. A much more wholesome alternative to "Barbie".
Hope this helps!
I'm so honored for you to re-post within your article the comments I made here.
I love this blog! My daughter who plans to home school could benefit from these articles. We'll have to wait a while as my granddaughter is only a month old! :D
Just one quick question (and you can delete this whole comment if you like) I love the background you have chosen for LOAB. But the articles and comments in the middle blend in with the background. It makes it a little hard to read. Is it supposed to look this way....or maybe my 'puter didn't fully load the page? Thought you might like to know because the information you have is so good I wouldn't want anyone to leave because they couldn't read it easily.
thanks for stopping by my blog :)
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