Christmas is such a stressful time of the year for me. I don’t
have a lot of people to buy for, but it’s enough for our already strained
budget. Add in the complications the holiday’s bring to my kiddos and it can be
a trying time. A post on Facebook of an article
suggested it is best to buy children only 4 gifts for Christmas because getting
them too much stuff really overwhelms them and doesn’t make them any happier.
The four gifts should fit into the following categories – something the child
wants, something they need, something they can wear, something they can read. I
bought the four of us matching Christmas pajamas, so I have the something they
can wear covered. Primero wants new Bluetooth wireless earbuds for his phone,
since he washed them and one stopped working. It’s Apple I-stuff, so of course
it’s pricey. Chica Marie wants an American girl doll. I’m going to try to find
a generic equivalent. Love Bug wants the Polar Express but I know any train
will do. He fell in love with a block train when we were shopping at Michael’s
craft store a few weeks back, so maybe I’ll try to find him that one. I think
the hardest part will be finding something for Primero that fits into the reading
category. He isn’t much of a reader. Christmas time is still stressful, but
having a game plan helps. Now, I just need to figure out what to get the rest
of my family.
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You sound pretty much organised. I'm organised except for a teenage nephew. Boys are so hard to buy for when they are teens!
ReplyDeleteI love the four gift idea!
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity and not judging you, if chica Marie is getting a generic American girl doll why isn't primeo getting generic headphones. Also I have much experience with American girl dolls. The generic hair usually gets tangled up right away into a big mess. I would try to find a used one on craigslist or Ebay. I generally end up with better deals on craigslist since people usually sell it as a bundle with accessories. Either way try to get one with straight hair medium length, it's very tempting to do a look a like but if you go with this you get much less tangles. If you go the generic way I find target much better than the Walmart one. I would also invest in a wire doll hair brush, which you get on Amazon for around $6. If you use only that one with the doll you have much less chance of a huge mess of hair.
ReplyDeleteI.have tons of nieces and bought many dolls over the past 15 years. The only big thing I have noticed is once the generic hair becomes a huge tangled mess the doll generally does not get played with it after.
Again no judging
My sister has American Girl dolls from when she was younger. She has offered to gift them to Chica Marie, however I asked her to hold off because the rate at which the kids toys get broken or destroyed is quite rapid. Maybe next year, when she is a bit older, would be a more appropriate time for her to get a more expensive doll. As for Primero, is there such a thing as generic wireless Bluetooth headphones for IPhones? Because if there are, I will definitely be getting him those. But, as it is my biggest bone of contention for Apple products, the generic usually don't work. Which is why I have an Android and have no plans to ever get I-anything.
DeleteThank you for the advise on dolls. Chica Marie likes to play with their hair and she has a few dolls who's hair is as you described. She still manages to find a few strands to play with, but as for using a particular brush or comb, I doubt she would do that with any consistency.
I guess, the simple answer to your question about why Chica Marie would get a generic doll but Primero would get the authentic headphones is because Chica Marie would not know the difference but Primero definitely would. I actually think my mom is gong to get Chica Marie a doll, so I think I'm going to get her a tablet since she loves being on the one at daycare (a kid-friendly one, not an IPad).
Thanks for answering my question?nI don't use iPhone galaxy all the way but I'm sure you could find headphones that would work. Makes sense about the doll. M asybe take a look at the lori dolls they are the size of American girl doll minis. They are made by target and some even come with a pet. Tonight I actually have my brother kids their chanukah presents, I use to be ultra orthodox jew, but left. I'm one of 7 and he has 6 kids under the age of 10. The oldest is a girl and the rest are boys. They have so many toys, since I prefer to spend more money on them so they don't break and can be passed down, and these boys are wild. In the past I got them byer trucks which are basically impossible to break, even when its thrown down steps or stomped on. So this year my sister inlaw suggested projects and they were a huge hit. The 7 and 8 boys each got this thing that makes gadgets out of specific lego piecesand it's not packaged like regular lego sets. the 4 and 5 year old boys each got these paint your vehicles by melissa and doug. I also found washable paint markers that work on the wood and equal no mess. My almost 10 year niece got a make your own blanket by melissa and doug. Nobody really complained that much about the smaller size presents, and once they realized it was something they could make and wasn't a craft project that gets thrown out and fit their intrests they were thrilled. Some actually said maybe they wanted a bigger one for their birthday over playmobil, lego and trucks all of which they have so much, between chanukah and birthdays of all 4 boys. Simpler smaller things worked and is great for my sister inlaw because its less stuff. They are learning it's more the thought and not the size especially when they realized I knew what they liked and didn't care that they didn't get the bigger things, because these were things they didn't know existed and they will be made by them and then they can play with it afterwards.
ReplyDeleteI never go overboard and also try to get as many outdoor toys for them since they have way to much enerhy. They all have razor scooters, the younger ones have the 3 wheels and it actually makes walking to the park much easier and they are very easy to transport over bikes. I got them the scooters this past summer instead of taking them to an amusement park like I usually do every summer when they come and visit. We went to a skate park and they played with them the entire week they were by my mom and then took them home with them. Their was a little complaining about not going to the amusement park but by the second day the older ones all agreed that this was much better (they live in Michigan and I'm in new york). I think its important to set realistic expectations about presents and that it's more about me caring about them. It was also much easier on my wallet. My older sisters kids who are teenagers use to ask for electronics, but instead I gave them money towards getting it and not the full amount. They got money from other relatives and sometimes had to wait and save up to get what they wanted, but it taught them great lessons and they actually took much better care over them, because at the end of the day they bought it and wanted to use them and realized how much it would cost them to get new one. Sorry if I rambled on its get really late when I posted
I've been reading the blog for about a year and went back to read around the time you got primo. I want to adopt so thank you for keeping it real
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