Sunday, December 12, 2010

December 6th, 2010


've had a few conversations with some good friends lately about gift giving and receiving and how it affects our kids.  We expect our children to be grateful for each gift, but instead of letting them play with and enjoy and appreciate the gifts they open, we are quickly shoving another gift into their hands for them to unwrap.  It can be overwhelming. 

I was thinking about this yesterday as Declan unwrapped his gifts.  I could tell that he was done opening part way through (he was still being very well behaved and thankful, but he was just done), but everyone was there to give him their gifts and they wanted to see him open them (which I totally understand).  When it came to the last gift (which was from us) we told him he could be done, and we saved it for him to open today. 


So, when he got home from daycare today, we opened his last present.  He was just as excited, if not more so, than he was yesterday, and it was great, because he got to play with it right after he said thank you and gave us hugs!

I don't have a solution for this gift dilemma, though I'd like to find one by Christmas.  I don't want to feed this idea that more is better.  I want my kids to be just as thankful if they receive one gift, as opposed to 5 or 6.  How do you do gift giving in your family? Do you take the time to cherish each gift as they are opened, or is special importance placed on them later?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We tend to open gifts real slowly. We pass them out one at a time and take turns opening. The guys are allowed to take as much time as they want to enjoy their gift (within reason) before opening another. Hope you find what works for your family.