Several of you asked for a little rundown of what we bought for our kids this Christmas, so, this post is for you!
What I’m listing here is just what we bought for our kids…they also give presents to each other, and receive gifts from grandparents, but if I listed all of that, this post would get super long.
How about we start with the youngest kid?
Zoe has been DYING to get the Calico Critter rabbit grandparents, and she was super excited to find them under the tree Christmas morning.
I love the grandpa’s mustache.
Also, she’d lost her favorite fish earrings from Novica, so the last time they sent me a coupon code, I bought her a new pair.
And we got her a big pack of Sculpey clay, which I bought using a 40% off coupon at Michael’s.
All three of the girls had fallen in love with a certain umbrella from Target, so we bought one for each of them.
I feel like I’m forgetting something else we got for Zoe.
Hmm…oh, I remember! Her Calico critter musical instrument set is backordered, and we are anxiously awaiting its arrival.
Sonia’s one wish for Christmas was the Calico Critter supermarket, which is kind of ridiculously expensive.
But she really, really wanted it, and she really, really loves it, so I feel like it was worth spending almost our whole Christmas budget for her on this one item.
If you have small children at your house, this would probably be a dreadful purchase, because there are so many teeny tiny food items.
But since the youngest person at our house is almost 10, this is working out fine.
We also got Sonia the washing machine set. The washing machine has a manual spinner on top and it goes at quite a clip!
And we got her turtle earrings to match a necklace she got for Christmas a few years back.
Lisey had put a pair of American Giant sweatpants on her list, and since those are pretty pricey, that was her largest gift.
And in addition to that, we bought her a Studio Ghibili movie, some crafting items, and of course, the umbrella.
(Which, hilariously enough, is one of her favorite presents.)
Joshua wanted an American Giant item too…a hoodie (Lisey already got an AG sweatshirt for Christmas last year, which is why she asked for pants this time.)
So, now Mr. FG, Joshua, Lisey and I all have American Giant hoodies. Mahhhhvelous.
We’re kind of like a walking fan club when we go out now. 😉
We also got Joshua a burr coffee grinder, some Copic markers, and a piece of headgear for airsoft playing.
And that wraps up our Christmas shopping for our kids, except for all the stocking stuffer items which were largely edibles (mostly from Aldi, of course.)
Our kids have all been using/playing with everything we bought for them and that makes me feel happy. I can’t really get into mindless gift buying or gifts that turn into useless clutter, but well-made gifts that my kids will really love are a whole ‘nother story.
More of that, I say!
Edit: I forgot to tell you yesterday that there are a limited number of Mrs. Meyer’s free cleaning sets, so if you are wanting one, it’s smart to get it now rather than later.
Molly H
Wednesday 6th of January 2016
In our house, we do lots of presents, but they are presents that get use often. My mom loves gifts (her "love tank" is filled by gift giving, as explained in 'The Five Love Languages'), so she can't stand to not get much for others. My dad's parents just give us money and a small gift which is perfect and my mom's dad and stepmother shower us with gifts because they weren't very present in her life when she was young. Even with all of these gifts, it's stuff that we really wanted and love, such as special athletic wear, art supplies for me, dance gear for my sister, Vera Bradley umbrellas and toiletry bags, and just cute, useful stuff (we are teenagers currently). The twinkle lights and candle I got is used almost every day, and my stump teapot is used at least 3 times per week. My crime brûlée set, that is a little less used, but will last a lifetime. I like that you also do meaningless gifts, just as we do. I suppose that the amount is often varied because of income and where money is chosen to be spent. We get pajamas every year from "the pajama fairy" and my sister and I also spend a good amount of our babysitting money on gifts for family and friends.
Elise
Tuesday 5th of January 2016
I, too, love thoughtful gifts that don't create clutter. My girls only got 2 presents this year (next year we are going to attempt no presents and rather go skiing and to a water park). They don't know any different (that other kids may receive massive amounts of gifts) and they were both thrilled with each item. They also make each other a gift every year. This year my 4 year old (with help from me) sewed a teddy bear. It was quite possibly the cutest thing ever.
Amanda
Tuesday 5th of January 2016
I wish we could see a picture of the bear. That sounds so sweet!
Carole
Tuesday 5th of January 2016
I'm now a great grandmother, but your list of gifts reminds me of the way we gave Christmas gifts to our kids. They still have fond memories of Christmas mornings long ago.
Vicki
Tuesday 5th of January 2016
I have a 19 year old son, who is mildly autistic and loves basketball, and a 16 year old daughter who is a competitive dancer and budding actress. My son doesn't ask for things, but he loves our favorite college team, Oklahoma State Cowboys and OKC Thunder pro basketball. We replaced his old OSU zip up sweatshirt and OSU flag for our outdoor flagpole and got him a new Thunder shirt. We planned to splurge on tickets for him and his dad to attend a Thunder game, but before we bought them, his uncle won a pair of tickets at work (great seats!) and gave them to us!!! They had fun and it was a great game! My daughters theatre group friend's mom wanted to surprise her daughter with a ticket to "Beauty and the Beast" musical and take some of her friends, so we got our daughter her ticket and she got to spend a fun evening downtown OKC with friends at the theatre. She also got new house shoes, hair scrunchies, and got to pick out new sneakers and ankle boots, both on sale at outlet mall. They both enjoyed their gifts and ther fun experiences!
KT
Tuesday 5th of January 2016
When I was a child, Santa always brought me a craft kit of some kind, along with other things. Truthfully I don't remember the other "things", but I have clear memories of the items I made from the kits. Because of this, I followed the same tradition with my son. We now enjoy using those skills to craft our gifts throughout the year. It is quite enjoyable for me to spend the time between Christmas and New Year's looking at the year ahead and making a list of the items I want to make for special events. The second enjoyable thing I get to do during that time is to start making the first gift on my list!