So, Christmas is coming. The goose is getting fat. Oh did you forget? Well it is coming, ready or not. Nick and I consistently find ourselves completely NOT ready for Christmas. It's our special Christmas tradition. Now when I say "not ready", I mean the "never-enough-money" kind of not ready. Who isn't right? Well Bill Gates is probably usually ready, and also those moms from Beverly Hills Housewives (60 K on a birthday party, seriously!) Me and Nick? We're good at never being ready.
This isn't really a problem when you are newlywed, no one expects you to have money for gifts. It's also not really a problem when your children are young. I can remember a few years in which we wrapped a box of cheerios and called it good. Those were great years!
Well, about 6 years ago we had a baby boy. He grew a little and we had another baby boy. That one grew a little and we had another baby boy. Today we find ourselves elbow deep in little boys that have sugarplums dancing in their heads and believe in EVERYTHING from Ghosts to the fact that they are all magical Wizards. They especially believe in Santa Claus. They definitely think that decorating the house is very important (I hate it!) So we decorate, and I can honestly say that it is always for the kids. Nick and I always enjoy doing it together, but I must admit that if it weren't for our boys then we would be a bit more...Humbug.
I have a problem this year. Gabe and Ian are sure that they are going to get what they want for Christmas, because Santa is magical and as I already mentioned, we believe in magic in our house BIG TIME. Gabe wants a nintendo DS and Ian wants a Spike the dinosaur, both of which fall above our price range. My question to all of you is, how do you handle this? Usually we try to talk them into different things, but they are really quite adamant this year that this is what they really want and know Santa will bring them. I know that I can't be the only parent in the world with a budget, so tell me your secrets? How do I get around this obstacle without crushing hopes and dreams?
9 comments:
Ok, This is EXACTLY why I don't want my kids to believe in Santa. I DO still want Santa to be a fun tradition, but I also want them to know that it is just make-believe.
James doesn't totally agree with me on this. He thinks it's too bah humbug on my part and that I am ruining the magical part of Christmas for kids.
So, basically, unless you want to smash the hopes and dreams of your children, I have no good advice for you. ;) Maybe you could say that the elves ran out of DS parts???
Naomi knows Santa isn't real, but we still do all of the fun stuff involved with Santa and elves. Its really fun! She doesn't seem let down by it at all. She sorta likes knowing what the other kids don't, haha.
But as per your question, you could say that its like prayers, sometimes you ask for something and the answer is no. I don't know if that is what you are looking for or not.
Or you could ask your parents to join in with you on a group gift for the kids. They will get less overall because the grandparents won't be giving gifts, but they will still be getting what they want from Santa. That way Santa and the grandparents joined together to get their presents and its even more magical! Right? Good luck! I hope you find a good solution that they will still be happy with.
Hey, you don't know me but I saw your blog on Nick and Nikki Taylors and was intrigued by your title.
My friend told her kids that although Santa and his Elves make and deliver your presents, parents still have to help Santa pay for them and Santa would never bring you something your parents couldn't afford. She didn't ruin the magic of Santa but also taught them that you can't get EVERYTHING you ask for.
I'm loving the advice you're getting here - I hope some of it works.
I'm also loving how magical Christmas is for your family - I think it's a beautiful thing.
I hope your boys are thrilled on Christmas morning with all that Santa (and everyone else who loves them) brings!
Kalli also wanted a DS and I told her that Santa wasn't making any of those this year and that mommy and daddy couldn't afford to by her one, so if she wanted one she had to save up and buy one herself. This made her realize that she didn't want it that bad and asked Santa for other things.
So dont worry abt any cousin having one on Christams Morning:)
Em, thank you for this post... in SO many ways.
My problem is different that Josh is WAY TOO specific with what he wants. (like some obscure character from Mater's Tall Tales movie) If it's even a manufactured toy, it's rare and EXPENSIVE. (like a $40 Monster Truck Mater... seriously, Disney)
I love the advice from everyone.
I've actually thought about this for a few days, and I think I may even post a whole blog about it. We always have done small Christmases, and the kids have just accepted that as fact. We actually spend more time talking about the needy and helping people who do not have as much as we have. Giving used toys away or saying why don't we all skip one gift and buy presents for this family who needs help takes the kids minds off of what they want. It is nice for the kids to do that. Believe it or not, it really helps in the big gift desires.
But, we do big birthdays. If our kids want something big, we tell them that is for birthdays when you are the only one getting the gift. (It is a lot more affordable that way.) We can handle an extra $100 for one kid in any given month but that much per kid in our family all at Christmas would kill us. You can say things like Santa needs to be fair with so many kids to get gifts for.
Or if you really want to get them the big Christmas, get a discover card with no interest and pay it off when you get your tax return. (not our recommended method, but it works, and I know good people who do it every year to make Christmas magical even though they are poor.)
not looking forward to when my kids actually have "want lists". i'm positive it will happen soon since cole is almost 4.
anyway, have you tried looking on ksl.com? you can always find good cheap stuff on there!
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