Now that the holidays are basically over I want to mention the topic of gifts. I am amazed and astounded by the number of gifts my children received from family and friends. During Chanukah our family and friends were incredibly generous to my children. They literally showered them with gifts.
And then today we went over to the homes of some Christian friends who totally surprised me and provided more gifts for my children, so many gifts it is a little overwhelming.
Actually the whole experience is overwhelming to me and I am the adult.
I am very grateful for this, it was very nice, but I am really concerned with just how many toys the kids received. I want them to have some appreciation for what they have and when they get this much it is tough to make that happen.
We can try and take some of the toys away and divvy them out over time, but my son is old enough to realize that things are missing and that will present a small battle. I am not afraid to set limits with him, but that is not really the point.
What makes this even crazier is that his birthday is December 29th, more gifts are coming.
This week we are going to make another donation of toys to one of the charities that help children who are not as fortunate as he is. He needs to understand that he is in a position of privilege.
And I need to come up with a plan for how to deal with this next year. I am very concerned that this will be an ongoing issue. This should be the worst of my problems, how to deal with the gifts my children receive.
I’ve had the same “gift” issue for a number of years now. We solved it by giving less to our kids and spending the money that we would normally spend on them by making contributions to the charities of their choice.
They get so much from aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins, it was just too much. They still get little things from us each night of Chanukah, but nothing like what they used to get. This year each of my kids got to select two charities to make donations to. We do that, they get less from us, but they’re still well taken care of by other family members.
The issue of gifts is indeed a tough one.
I too am dealing with the same problem you are.
Hopefully we will both be sucessful.