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This part of our
Holiday Tradition Smorgasbord: 50 Holiday Traditions to Start With Your Family list.
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Many of you know that this year is my little family’s first year NOT spent in California with my and my husband’s nuclear and extended families. Because of that, I’ve had to think of what traditions we want to share and introduce to our little family.
This is one I thought of and am REALLY excited about.
The idea is to help spread the excitement of Christmas Day through the entire month of December by giving our children small gifts leading up to Christmas Day, but to preserve the special feeling of Christmas by making it the climax of the season. This will also encourage each gift to have proper gratitude given to it, while when you have a pile of gifts under the tree, they often are tossed aside for the next in line.
This tradition is completely customizable, but we can start with the most concrete part: You will need to buy or make small gifts for each child.
Here are the rest of the details:
WHEN TO GIVE GIFTS:
The frequency of gift-giving can change each year, if you want. You can do a small gift every day until Christmas, every other day, every Monday and Friday, sporadically, etc. We plan on doing it sporadically, since that’s how I roll… spontaneously!
HOW TO GIVE GIFTS:
We bought the kids a small evergreen tree that they decorated themselves. We lost a few ornaments to our over-zealous 21-mo-old’s hands, so I think we’ll have a box of kid-only ornaments put aside for next year!
We put the gifts under their trees the night before the morning we wanted them to find them, just before nap is over, or randomly throughout the day when they aren’t paying attention.
They get to open it when they notice it’s there!
Other ideas are to put them at each child’s spot on the breakfast table, surprise them with it in the car, put it on their bed to open before sleeping each night, or you can even just give it to them at random —> this one is good for the non-planners!
WHAT KIND OF GIFTS TO GIVE:
This is totally up to you and your budget, but my husband and I purchased smaller items, such as slippers, bubble bath, small cars, Christmas pajamas, inexpensive musical instruments,
a small doll, underwear sporting their favorite characters, etc.
WHAT TO DO WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES:
We decided that our Christmas would be exciting, but that we would not go overboard. The plan is to fill stockings with similar items to the above or lesser – trinkets, their favorite snacks, stickers, etc. I know it’s never the BEST to get necessities, but I think my 3-year-old would be VERY excited to get her favorite vitamins, new character toothpaste and tooth brush, and themed socks in her stocking! Kill two birds!
Under the big tree, we will have one more expensive item for each child, along with three-to-five moderately priced items. These will be what the small gifts were leading up to the entire season! Our kids are only three and 21 months, so they don’t have a ton on their mind to ask for, but I reckon as they get older, the expensive items will be comprised of things like a tablet, a cell phone, new tires for their car, a trip to an amusement park, etc… if budget allows, of course! At this age, a large item might be an electric ride-along car, a bike, or a mini trampoline. The other items can be things like a Doc McStuffins doll with doctor accessories, a small train set, etc.
Have fun with it! This should NOT be a stressor. It should be something that is fun and fulfilling for the entire family. If it isn’t, don’t do it!
I’d LOVE to hear from those of you who try it out. Please comment below.
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