For Christmas this year I have felt the conviction to pull away from the consumerist nature of our culture as much as possible. However, my favorite way to show love for others is by finding just the right gift for them that I know will speak to their heart. This can be for a birthday or holiday or just randomly when I’m at the grocery store and I see something that I know they will like. So as you might imagine, Christmas and birthdays are a bit hard for me not to get carried away and want to buy all the things for my favorite people. And while I don’t ever go into debt to do this sometimes I may just stretch the budget just a bit further than is necessary.
So this year I wanted to try something new to help me reign in those desires to bless my people with all of the things. Especially because my kids are very loved and will be getting many things from family members and don’t need much from us anyway.
This year I decided to try the “something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read” trend. It definitely made me more intentional about what I bought them and definitely helped me cut back on what I wanted to buy for them too. Here’s what I got my oldest, who is about to turn five in January.
Dino Smashers – He actually saw this on a Youtube commercial and has been asking for it ever since so I thought it would be the perfect “something he wants”. It’s actually still on sale for $14 and is a lot bigger than it looks so is an awesome but affordable gift for your 2-7 year old.
Animal Chair – I actually bought this for him for Christmas when he was almost two. Three years later and the first one has been used every day since and is falling apart so I thought it was time for a new one.
Rain Boots – Shane has been asking for rain boots for a while too so I bought these for both him and Riley so they can splash in puddles in the Spring. I was going to buy these ones but came across the short ones instead and thought it would be better for our two year old. I thought the taller ones looked like they would be hard for him to walk in. I love how they come in so many different colors too. I can’t wait to buy the pink ones for Melly. 😍
The Story of God Books – These are actually a joint gift for him and Riley and I’m so excited about them. They are five books explaining who God is in a very simple and easy to understand way. They also have really awesome pictures. I’m really hoping that they will open up a lot of conversations in the future about God and the Bible. They are actually on sale for only $60 now and I’m frustrated that I bought them too soon for $75. 🙄
We are also planning on buying one more “big gift” to share between Shane and Riley but I’m not sure what it’s going to be yet. It feels good to keep things simple this year. I’m going to be sharing what we are getting our two year old soon too.
Have you ever done categories for gifts like this before? How did you like it?
