Comments on: My Gift Giving Philosophy https://reztt.com/my-gift-giving-philosophy/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=my-gift-giving-philosophy A Lifestyle Blog from Eva Amurri Wed, 28 Dec 2022 03:04:35 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.5 By: Jordan https://reztt.com/my-gift-giving-philosophy/#comment-227459 Wed, 28 Dec 2022 03:04:35 +0000 https://happilyevaafte.wpenginepowered.com/?p=19339#comment-227459 We don’t have kids but have 6 nieces and nephews – from toddler to high school. Each year we give them all the same or coordinated ornaments. Affordable for us (usually in the $10 range each, a lot of times I buy them during end-of-season sales immediately after Christmas for the following year). I like that it lets the kids build their own ornament collection, then their parents can pack it away with the other decorations and it’s not a giant toy taking up space in their house year round. Since they’re all different ages, too, it’s a gift we can keep consistent for all ages.

]]> By: Samantha S https://reztt.com/my-gift-giving-philosophy/#comment-222167 Thu, 03 Nov 2022 19:56:24 +0000 https://happilyevaafte.wpenginepowered.com/?p=19339#comment-222167 My family has always gone all-out with Christmas gifts, and it gives me SO much anxiety every year!! Now that I’m having littles of my own, this is exactly what I want to do! I’m not sure how to manage my own family, or set expectations that our babies will not be buying them gifts, but I think limiting to one gift from each of them to each kid, and then doing a secret Santa among the adults might work. At least I can try!

]]> By: Hilary https://reztt.com/my-gift-giving-philosophy/#comment-151499 Wed, 01 Jan 2020 01:33:12 +0000 https://happilyevaafte.wpenginepowered.com/?p=19339#comment-151499 Kristin. Hi fellow mama! Our little one is a similar age and we are really trying to focus on minimalism and simplicity when it comes to toys and stuff. A few things we've tried with the grandparents that have been surprisingly successful: 1. Requesting experience gifts for our little one, such as a zoo/aquarium membership, music classes, etc. The grandparents can do that activity with your child or not. 2. Requesting that the grandparents keep the toys at their own houses, so when LO visits she can play with them there. This forces them to consider if it's really worth buying, after all, they'll be living with it! It also allows them to buy whatever they want, and I don't have to see it all the time. 3. Requesting financial contributions. Whether it's for a college fund, travel fund, camp fund, whatever, we've been surprised that some relatives have just given us a small check that we save for her. All of these involve some kind of communication about our desires, but the grandparents usually ask what LO wants for Christmas anyway!]]> In reply to Kristin.

Hi fellow mama! Our little one is a similar age and we are really trying to focus on minimalism and simplicity when it comes to toys and stuff. A few things we’ve tried with the grandparents that have been surprisingly successful:

1. Requesting experience gifts for our little one, such as a zoo/aquarium membership, music classes, etc. The grandparents can do that activity with your child or not.
2. Requesting that the grandparents keep the toys at their own houses, so when LO visits she can play with them there. This forces them to consider if it’s really worth buying, after all, they’ll be living with it! It also allows them to buy whatever they want, and I don’t have to see it all the time.
3. Requesting financial contributions. Whether it’s for a college fund, travel fund, camp fund, whatever, we’ve been surprised that some relatives have just given us a small check that we save for her.

All of these involve some kind of communication about our desires, but the grandparents usually ask what LO wants for Christmas anyway!

]]> By: Cate https://reztt.com/my-gift-giving-philosophy/#comment-150091 Fri, 20 Dec 2019 18:58:17 +0000 https://happilyevaafte.wpenginepowered.com/?p=19339#comment-150091 Ashley. Sell the unneeded toys on Craigslist or the like & add the proceeds to their college funds :-) As a mom of kiddos who will soon head off to college, I am thankful we added as much to their accounts as we could.]]> In reply to Ashley.

Sell the unneeded toys on Craigslist or the like & add the proceeds to their college funds 🙂 As a mom of kiddos who will soon head off to college, I am thankful we added as much to their accounts as we could.

]]> By: Glenda https://reztt.com/my-gift-giving-philosophy/#comment-149981 Fri, 20 Dec 2019 05:26:05 +0000 https://happilyevaafte.wpenginepowered.com/?p=19339#comment-149981 Lee E. I do the same for my niece / nephews. A toy. An outfit. A book.]]> In reply to Lee E.

I do the same for my niece / nephews. A toy. An outfit. A book.

]]> By: Andrea https://reztt.com/my-gift-giving-philosophy/#comment-149953 Thu, 19 Dec 2019 23:05:55 +0000 https://happilyevaafte.wpenginepowered.com/?p=19339#comment-149953 3 gifts sound amazing! Our son is an only child and while I try to keep presents under control my husband always goes overboard and buys things without discussing it with me. And guess what happens. The kid doesn’t play with 90% of the stuff he gets.
This year we did better. We tried really hard to get him gifts that were related to his interests, not just stuff.
When he was a baby/toddler I wrapped up toys he already had that I had put away months earlier.

]]> By: Ashley https://reztt.com/my-gift-giving-philosophy/#comment-149890 Thu, 19 Dec 2019 14:19:06 +0000 https://happilyevaafte.wpenginepowered.com/?p=19339#comment-149890 How do you tackle the grandparents giving way too much?
I always suggest experience gifts or money in the college fund accounts but they always end up giving tons of toys and little trinkets that break/poor quality.

My love language is not gifts (giving or receiving) and I’m so practical I hate this time of year, when it comes to gifts! 😉

]]> By: Jen https://reztt.com/my-gift-giving-philosophy/#comment-149835 Thu, 19 Dec 2019 05:29:39 +0000 https://happilyevaafte.wpenginepowered.com/?p=19339#comment-149835 We tend to be a little extra when it comes to Christmas morning. We don’t really buy them stuff throughout the year, so I save all my ideas for Christmas. We have the “bigger” or more special items from us, and the smaller things from Santa. We have two boys, 2 years apart so Santa brings a lot of things that are meant to share… games, puzzles etc. Easter baskets are full of summer fun activities. And birthdays are usually an experience. That’s sort of our gift philosophy for the year.

]]> By: Brittany https://reztt.com/my-gift-giving-philosophy/#comment-149831 Thu, 19 Dec 2019 03:49:47 +0000 https://happilyevaafte.wpenginepowered.com/?p=19339#comment-149831 Teacher.) Their grandparents spoil them rotten, but I generally dole the gifts out over the months after Christmas or a birthday. Too many toys at once it overwhelming for young kids and the best play comes from less toys and deeper play with those toys. So we basically take a few out and let them play and get bored of them and then dip into the stash. My son is only 1, and my daughter is 3; but we had them give each other something this year, too. It’s also important to me that they don’t just rip open gifts with abandon. We take the time to go around the circle one at a time to appreciate someone else receiving a gift. It bothers me when people open and don’t even know who it is from. It’s special to give and to receive and it should be savored on both sides!]]> I super appreciate your stance! We are kind of the opposite in some respects. We rarely buy our kids new toys throughout the year so birthdays and Christmas are their time to reload. Santa usually leaves them the biggest gift, and we give them each a big gift and a few smaller ones and ALWAYS a book or two (??‍♀️ Teacher.) Their grandparents spoil them rotten, but I generally dole the gifts out over the months after Christmas or a birthday. Too many toys at once it overwhelming for young kids and the best play comes from less toys and deeper play with those toys. So we basically take a few out and let them play and get bored of them and then dip into the stash. My son is only 1, and my daughter is 3; but we had them give each other something this year, too.

It’s also important to me that they don’t just rip open gifts with abandon. We take the time to go around the circle one at a time to appreciate someone else receiving a gift. It bothers me when people open and don’t even know who it is from. It’s special to give and to receive and it should be savored on both sides!

]]> By: Stephanie Allen https://reztt.com/my-gift-giving-philosophy/#comment-149820 Thu, 19 Dec 2019 00:27:00 +0000 https://happilyevaafte.wpenginepowered.com/?p=19339#comment-149820 When I saw the title for this blog post, I couldn’t click it fast enough…..even though you grew up in a really amazing upbringing, you always cease to amaze me with how down to earth you really are. I think this gift rule is spectacular and SO smart….this year it’s really gone around about how kids don’t remember the gifts but they remember the little things….I truly think Marlowe & Major will remember the whole shebang!

You’re kicking butt at this whole mama thing and can’t wait to see little bro join the party!!!!

Ps. I hope you turn these blog posts into a book one day, even if it’s just for your kids to show just how special their childhood was and your perspective of this magical time with them!

]]>