Think back to your childhood and remember what Christmas was like in your home. Maybe it was extravagant and you always got all the things on your list, no matter how long the list was. Maybe it was the opposite and Christmas morning saw very few gifts under the tree. Maybe it was somewhere in the middle. Now put those memories into perspective and think about how they were learning lessons for adulthood – did it cause you to put more focus on what Christmas really means instead of the gifts or have you gone overboard with your own kids, trying to make up for the disappointments you experienced?
There’s one thing that is human nature for all parents – we want our kids to have the best Christmas year after year! And what “the best Christmas” means is different for all of us! Whether you’re on a tight budget this year or not, there are ways to make Christmas a time of wonderful memories that your children will take with them into adulthood.
Start a rule of a number of gifts for each child. For instance, 4 gifts and those will include something they want, something they need, something they wear and something they read. Or that one of their gifts is a homemade gift every year. The work and detail you put into each of those gifts will be remembered, I promise!
Teach your children that every family is different, and what one family does or how they celebrate is no better or worse than another. A great way to do this is show them pictures of how other cultures celebrate this time of year, especially cultures that don’t even celebrate with gifts.
Determine what your budget will allow and think outside of the box. Maybe you don’t have a lot to spend per child but you could take that and combine it and use it for an experience for the whole family. An overnight stay at an affordable hotel with a day of ice skating, a movie, arcade and pizza at the hotel while opening small gifts with each child.
Allow siblings to help you shop for each other. Talk with them about what the budget is and allow them to come up with ideas. It takes the focus off of them and further teaches it’s better to give than receive. It allows them to also understand that there is a budget for their gifts too!
Start a new family tradition that focuses on fun times spent together with each other! Some great ones I’ve heard recently from friends is: allowing one person to choose what the menu will be for dinner with the family, matching pajamas, the tag on each gift has a nickname or something fun about the person who the gift is for instead of the name, giving something that is simple but comes from the heart – maybe a box of chocolates with a special poem or letter written by the giver. A timeless idea is reading the story of Jesus’ birth from the Bible and singing Christmas carols. Don’t you already feel warm and fuzzy?
Let you kids know that your gifts come from the heart, not your wallet. No matter what your budget is, Christmas is a time for love, family and loving your family! Going into debt for gifts that will one day break (and sometimes before you even get them paid off) isn’t showing love, it can put you in a bind that you will regret!