I'm sorry to say that I don't have pictures of the gifts this year! It's getting harder and harder to make sure that the pics are hidden from the kids and that they won't see them while I'm blogging or when my hubby reads my blog, so I'll be explaining the gifts we're giving to the kids instead of showing them. So, you'll have to be satisfied with this funny pic of little Katri.
I'm writing about the gifts we are giving with the intention of inspiring my readers and giving you ideas for your own kids, not to flaunt our wealth/posessions. I want to be sensitive to those who may read this blog and come from a variety of countries/situations/cultures, etc. While some of my friends spend 7 times more on each kid than we do, I'm still very aware that compared to most people in the world, we have SO MUCH!
Here is what our kids are getting this year:
Combined gift for the boys:
The DVD Cars 2
(I confess I love Cars almost as much as my kids! I snagged this with a 30% off coupon.)
Little treats for their stockings:
GIANT lollipops, some little racecar candy doodads, chocolate gold coins, and shark fruit snacks. We'll probably throw an orange in there too!
Alathia:
A little Holly Shiftwell car for her stocking
A little stuffed dog in her stocking
6 new dress-up outfits that I found for $3-$5 each after Halloween (bride, princess of the sea, midnight butterfly, ballerina, bumble bee fairy, ) After I purchased these, unbenownst to Ali, she told me she wanted new dress-ups for Christmas! Yay! My kids play with dress-ups every day, and that is the #1 thing Ali's friends want to play with when they come over!
Jessie and Bullseye Pajamas (Cyber Monday sale, 50% off with free shipping!)
Jeremiah:
A little Finn McMissile car in his stocking
8 new Hot Wheels cars
(These were on a Black Friday deal for $5--Don't you love it when you ask your kid for gift ideas and they ask for something inexpensive?)
A cowboy costume (from the same after-Halloween clearance where I got Ali's stuff)
A little motorcycle toy from the thrift store
Buzz Lightyear pajamas (same sale where I bought Ali's PJs)
Justus:
A little Lightning McQueen car in his stocking
8 new Hot Wheels cars
(Justy loves to copy Jer, so by getting them the same toys, it will help with fighting/jealousy stuff on Christmas Day!)
A superman costume
A Tow-Mater toy from the thrift store
Lightning McQueen toy (the main thing he wanted)
Katrielle:
A pink Nalgene sippy cup (we now have one for each kid, in their own color! They're still my all-time favorites!)
Some little pink racecars for babies (since she loves to copy her big brothers, I knew she would want their Hot Wheels cars--so now she'll have some baby-safe ones of her own.)
A pretty crocheted hat (A friend made her a soft little winter hat from chenille yarn with a pink crocheted flower on it.)
A package of baby snacks for her stocking
2 of the cutest little dress-up outfits I've ever seen! A little pink cowgirl outfit and a pirate princess dress (size 2T) purchased from the same after-Halloween clearance as the other kids'.
As usual, I blessed my friends with a morning off from mom-duty to shop or wrap gifts or just enjoy a morning of peace. I threw a "Birthday Party for Jesus" and had 8 kids total here; we made Christmas suncatchers and celebrated the Savior's birth. We packed hats for the homeless and decorated a tree for a friend in need. It was really fun!
I made 5 different kinds of muffins to take to our retired neighbors next-door who regularly snow-blow our walk and are always so sweet to us. With the leftovers I was able to put together some muffin packages for friends who blessed us with goodies this year. I made a couple of fruit baskets from Bountiful Basket produce to thank a special Sunday School Teacher and another nice neighbor.
Last year most of my gifts were hand-made and very creative. This year I kept things really simple and didn't touch my sewing machine....not even once! This is one of the ways I'm keeping Christmas simple this year!
If you blogged about your kids' gifts this year, I'd love to read your posts to get ideas. Share your links in the comments!
4 comments:
It's great when you can find what you know they really want! I expect my daughter will be pleased with some big girl stuff this year; latch hook, string games (cat's cradle etc), yo yo tricks, and ... I can't remember what else. The others are easy still.
Once again, we probably overdid it with presents. I justify it because we don't just buy them random stuff during the year. And a lot of what they are getting is stuff that they need (new hats etc), but we just got them ones that are a little more "fun" than we maybe would have purchased if we had bought them at a non-christmas time. I am with you too, my boys get pretty much the same things- they like it that way!
Great ideas Thia!
Three 22nds,
I would buy a lot more if my hubby would give me more money for each kid! I like to go a little crazy with Christmas too! There's no judgement here; each family does Christmas their own way and that's okay!
Jason got a new camera last year on Black Friday and doesn't use his old one, so we are wrapping it up for our oldest Josiah who is always asking to use our camera. I also got a new computer because the old one sometimes gives me the blue screen of death and is unreliable so we are wrapping the old one (which is still usable) and giving that to him for his special computer time. They are used but I know he will love them and I won't feel bad if he breaks them.
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