Comments on: 2008 Gift Giving Guide: Don’t let Santa go crazy

By: Tuesdays with Linden's Favorite Links: Christmas Gifts | 16 Dec 2008 | Linden's Pensieve

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:37:36 +0000

[...] Unclutterer » Archive » 2008 Gift Giving Guide: Don’t let Santa go crazy [...]

By: Marc Rohde

Marc Rohde — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 01:56:30 +0000

I love the idea of consumable gifts. They are activity based and usually cause the family to spend more time together; that is what children really want!

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:53:49 +0000

When my dad asked what to get our 2-year-old daughter, I scratched my head at what would be useful, but not cluttery. She is starting to get into her baby doll, and uses shoe boxes, a plastic pumpkin, etc, for “Baby Ha-Ha’s” ‘crib’ and ‘carrier’ and ‘high chair’. I remembered that my dad had saved my old doll crib and a classic Mrs. Beasley doll and they were under wraps in his workshop. He’s been on a decluttering kick himself, and as soon as I mentioned it, he was happy to dust it off. He spends nothing (except some time cleaning it off), and my daughter gets a gift she will be thrilled to have. AND she has no clue that it’s — ahem — 30something years old. I realize this is adding clutter of a sort to her room, but I can also get rid of the boxes and plastic pails she is using as crib substitutes. (Basically, all her clothes and toys and books come from the local Value Village anyway, so ‘new’ to her means ‘new to her’.)

By: OogieM

OogieM — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:08:13 +0000

I requested a gift certificate for Amazon to buy books for my kindle. I am also giving gift certificates to Penzey’s Spices by request. We will also give gifts of lamb chops, steaks, roasts from our farm to local neighbors.

By: Anne

Anne — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:13:25 +0000

My kids have enjoyed magazine subscriptions also and there are suitable ones for different ages and interests. For my son’s last birthday, the grandparents gave him money to be used on “activities” only, not to buy “stuff”. He used his money to take our family to a movie he wanted to see.

This year for Christmas, I’m trying to convince the grandparents to not purchase items, but to take our family in the car to a holiday light display in our area. It’s fairly inexpensive for a car to go through, we can all fit in our family’s van, bring our own favorite music and treats to eat on our way through, and just spend time together delighting in the light displays. I’m sure memories of something like that will be treasured by my boys forever. Toys are so quickly forgotten!

I really like the season pass idea also!

By: Dorothy

Dorothy — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:42:45 +0000

Amanda, the magazine subscription idea is superb! Every child LOVES getting mail. So it’s a gift that the child receives many times during the year, it encourages reading, and it is (may be) educational. A great suggestion!

By: John

John — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 23:10:14 +0000

For my kids I give them gift certificates, similar to the GrandParent tickets. These are some of the ones I use or have used:
Game Ticket – Presentation of ticket gets to play a board game (unless it’s Monopoly 5 minutes before bed) without Dad saying no
Sleep Over ticket – Friend for a sleep over
Movie Ticket – Take them to a movie they want to see

etc

By: Sian

Sian — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:13:39 +0000

I love ‘early inheritance’ presents. When I was 21, my aunt gave me a beautiful cherry wood bureau that she had been given by my Gran (her mum) when she was 21 (my aunt was also down-sizing to live on a boat at the time so we both benefited!). My Gran had been given it by her Gran when she was 21, and my Gran’s Gran had been given it new-for her 21st birthday. I hope to continue the tradition when the time is right…

When I was a kid my parents couldn’t afford routine riding lessons for me but I always appreciated riding lessons for birthdays and Christmas-if several relatives are in on the idea you can end up with a surprising amount that can last several months-much better than a toy that gets forgotten about after a month.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:13:27 +0000

My maternal grandmother always gave me savings bonds for Christmas (and some toys, yes, but not as many as she might have…). Of course I didn’t really appreciate these when I was 5 but when it was time to pay for college I was very grateful.

My paternal grandparents gave each of their grandkids an ornament every year. As someone said above, it meant that when I moved out on my own I had a nice collection of them to decorate my own tree with. Plus, most years they gave us all the same ornament, so my cousins and I have a few matching ones. We made it a tradition to have the ornament be the present I got to open on Christmas Eve (yeah, I was one of those impatient kids who Could. Not. Wait.).

By: Dawn

Dawn — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:35:14 +0000

What about a season pass to an amusement park like Sea World, etc.? Perhaps a family pack of season passes instead of tons of gifts? It would be like giving a whole year of family fun and togetherness that doesn’t involve batteries or the television! Board games could be fun, too – maybe it would encourage a weekly Family Game Night. Perhaps tickets to an upcoming music concert/event. Happy Holidays!

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:04:59 +0000

When my oldest was an infant, I told my mother in law that the best present he could get from them would be a book. My in laws have 18 (now, was 14 then) grandkids, and my mother in law loves to buy them something to mark birthdays and Christmas, but we didn’t want them going broke.

She calls me about a month before Christmas and asks for a list of book suggestions for the kids. For the oldest, I generally suggest a classic novel that I was planning to assign for reading; for the little ones, they are still into board books bath books. Sometimes if they’re visiting, we even go to the bookstore together and I give her ideas.

So for grandparents, or aunts or uncles, I would tell parents to suggest a book. While it may not be exciting as a battery-powered Jeep, my in laws inscribe each book with a personal message and the date of the holiday/birthday, and the kids love looking for their name.

For my goddaughter, I wanted to keep the gift religious-themed, so I researched the saint she was named after and found a wood-mounted, hand-painted icon for her room.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:04:35 +0000

I think this is a great post. My grandparents wanted to spoil us but were early unclutterers. Instead of toys, we got magazine subscriptions, visits to the zoo, and aquarium. We also got non-toy gifts when we visited them like horsback riding, visiting a friends farm, sewing projects and wood working projects. I remember these things much more than any toy.

By: Tabitha (From Single to Married)

Tabitha (From Single to Married) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:53:16 +0000

I like the idea of giving something that belongs to you – my mother recently gave me a piece of jewelry she’s had since she was a little girl. Something like that often means more than anything store bought.

By: Another Deb

Another Deb — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:58:00 +0000

Thanks for this timely post. I have been struggling to find a suitable present for some grand-nephs. It seems that little kids these days have a wealth of grand parents and great grand parents chomping at the bit to shower them with toys.

One family has two infants and their present is going to be a supply of diapers. They won’t know the difference but their parents will!

I am also giving movie passes and certificates to a “children-friendly” restaurant to another set of small relatives.

My husband is planning to get his nephew a single share of a candy company stock. He polled the child to find out what products he likes.

Years ago, I began buying a single Christmas ornament for each of my nephews and nieces. That generation is now leaving their parents’ homes and have a small set of starter ornaments.