Avoiding Too Many Gifts at Christmas
There are numerous reasons why parents - especially those of small children - should exercise restraint when it comes to holiday gift purchases for their children. If you have children, then you understand being drawn into the consumer frenzy of the holiday season in the U.S. As soon as your kids are old enough to "want" the things that they see in catalogs, on television and on the Internet, then you're going to be tempted to want to provide them with those things. If you have young children who are running you ragged, it's easy to be duped into the idea that buying this toy or that toy will provide you with hours of playtime peace in your home. The reality is that few, if any, toy or game will deliver on that promise. So, choose wisely this holiday season and remember a few things as you complete your shopping list:
Toys are Not a Good Long-term Investment
This is obvious, for the most part. But what I'm referring to here is more about re-sale value, based on the upfront cost of chasing this year's "hot items". Every year, there will be numerous gift items that fly to the top of the must-have lists and eager parents will find themselves investing time and money to acquire them. Fortunately for 2010, there doesn't appear to be a glaring demand onslaught as we've seen in other years. But regardless, it's going to be easy to drop $50 or $100 on a fairly large-ticket item that would probably be ignored outside the holiday season or a birthday.
Even well-made toys have a relatively short life expectancy in the homes of small children. Given the endless options at their disposal, like playing outside without toys, riding a bike or simply fixating on an empty box for long periods of time, there's just no telling what's going to capture the imagination of a child. In the end, we'll typically find ourselves sitting on hundreds of dollars worth of toy inventory at the end of a buying season, most of which will find its way to a worthy charity or other young children among our families and friends. If money is an issue, then be smart and limit your children's gift purchases during the holiday season. It's highly unlikely that they'll be disappointed anyway.
Too Many Gifts Mean None are Enjoyed
One interesting aspect of buying numerous gifts for children during the holidays is that they can easily be overwhelmed by "too many" gifts. I've seen this already in my 3-year-old and this is despite my constant pleas to pull back on the gift volume. Because he's often hit with two or more presents at a single sitting, his focus becomes on opening more presents - not on the presents he's received. At his age, this is perfectly normal and understandable. But it's also easy to avoid and manage.
Rather than dropping loads of gifts on a small child at once, it's probably best to give them just a single gift at a sitting, allowing them to enjoy and appreciate gifts one at a time.
A Dangerous Precedent
If you find yourself in a financial position to shower your children with gifts, that's super and there's probably no reason to limit yourself. However, if you're already going to be stretching things to get "everything" on the list, then it's probably best not to go down that road. Part of the reason to avoid that temptation is that, once you've done it once, the expectation will be that it's always going to be that way.
Even though we've been conditioned to believe that "more is better" when it comes to holiday gifts, that's rarely the case. Instead, purchase what makes sense for you and enjoy the gift and the experience of giving with your children. Ultimately, this is the part of the season they'll remember, much more so than specific gifts. Don't paint yourself into a corner of unrealistic expectations and likely resentment when expensive gifts go under-appreciated. Instead, look for quality over quantity - fewer gifts that mean more.
Have a safe and happy holiday season with your children!
