Overboard is an understatement. Last year I spend hundreds, HUNDREDS on Christmas. A foolish thing to do since my then 20-month-old opened a few gifts then got distracted by shiny, intact toys yet to be molested by her destructive hand. Scarlett just wanted to play with her new doll house and kitchen, who gives a damn about dolls, clothes and candy that took Mommy weeks to shop for and wrap?
Brian claims we train our children to quickly open one gift, then the other, passing them down as if working on an assembly line. We give them no time to enjoy what they’ve just been given -- conditioning our kids to be little tyrants as they demand more gifts.
I used to question: What’s so wrong with spoiling your child? As parents, don’t we set out to make our kids’ lives better than our own? I mean, I only got a rock and stick to play with, Scarlett DESERVES a plethora of Chinese-made toys that will either be recalled or break within the first week.
This year, my approach to the holiday is a bit different. Maybe because of the introduction of another child, which by universal law must destroy the first-born’s happiness. I think it’s because I realized I wasn’t teaching my children to appreciate what they have all year, instead using the holidays as a time to reflect and give to others.
Gifts under the tree have been cut in half, there isn’t a big gift that cost Scarlett’s daft Mommy hundreds of dollars, and I’ll be introducing presents one at a time, so that when gift-fatigue sets in, I’ll cut off the supply. I plan to save those gifts for her birthday next month.
Cutting back has my husband breathing a sigh of relief, apparently there’s this thing called a bugett? Budge? It must be a French word…something to do with money? Avoiding debt for the holiday has made it a much more enjoyable experience for both of us; we need not worry about out Jonesing the Joneses.
It’s time to program my children to realize, while not raised by overly religious parents, Christmas isn’t just about gifts, wrapping paper, and blowing the budjee?; it’s about enjoying family, making positive memories, and giving. I forgot that last year while I piled on the gifts to an unaware toddler who was happy just to be playing with her family.
Disclaimer — this by no means should sway my spouse from purchasing my required gifts, should he read this.
