Wants and Needs

One thing about being an adult and a parent is the moment you become Santa! It’s so hard to know what to give your kids and how much and not be influenced by other families and what they do or can afford. It’s sometimes hard not to loose sight of Christmas’ true meaning and get too caught up in all the shopping and unbelievable amount of stuff for kids thats out there – You really could go nuts and have a house full of Tat come the new year!
I have been very cautious since I started my family that I didn’t overload my kids at Christmas and birthdays with a tonne of stuff, that they would become spoiled and loose sight of it all. I’m also a bargain hunter and despise spending loads of money anyway when I know I can get it cheaper else where or even second hand.

I want my kids to appreciate the things they get and also to know that things don’t have to be new to be good. I started last year (courtesy of Pinterest) the “want, need, wear, read” system at Christmas. Mummy and Daddy buy them 4 gifts that fall under those categories and Santa will leave them a stocking with chocolate, one small (cheap) toy, crafty bits, a mag, a DVD and some toiletries. I feel this way they can be appreciative, have useful things and also experience the magic of Father Christmas whilst they’re young. I’ll be honest though I have been completely stumped with “Needs” this year – I really want them to learn the difference between a want and a need but Its taken me til now to figure out what that could be. Last year Ethan got an Umbrella, mainly because all I heard through the Autumn was “Mummy I really neeeedddd an umbrella” and Megs had some wooden ELC fairy puzzles I found for £1 in the chazza because I felt she needed some educational stuff! So this year I expected it to be pretty straight forward, I did the shopping in September to avoid stress in December with a newborn (because that worked out!) but never bought for them a “need” gift because nothing seemed to justify being such. A couple of weeks ago we discussed getting them a family DVD each, but really do they really “need” more DVDs?? So I did buy them a classic for their stockings; Mary Poppins and Robin hood! I then thought maybe socks or underwear but again they don’t really need those at the moment either.
Well today I think I cracked it, Ethan needs a bigger car seat which I have been looking for, so why not give him it for Christmas and Megan Needs potty training (round 3) and so with those in mind that is what they will get. Ethan a stage 2-3 car seat (hello “cars” one £15 off a local selling site) and Megan a Princess toilet seat and potty to entice her to wee (Probs check out B&M)!
For Nathan and I we decided to buy together a small trip or date for the coming year so maybe theatre tickets or a cheap city break, concert or something like that. We felt it would be more memorable, a blessing to our relationship and both a want and a need in one – Im hoping for a city break because after this year I really do need a break and who doesnt want to travel?!
I feel really happy and content at we will be giving them Christmas morning and hope they will be loving their lives & start to learn the difference between a want and a need and enjoy this tradition for yrs to come…

What do you do for your Kids at Christmas and what do you normally put in their stockings?