Setting the Pace

Setting the pace is not about running or even working out. This article/post is just a tad over due I intended to publish before the holidays. Setting the pace is about holiday giving for children.

It is my thoughts that children will begin to expect a certain amount of gifts on the holiday based on what they are used to receiving. Many households may have been thriving a couple years ago and you may have been able to buy your child/children their entire wish list for Christmas. And then comes “Recession”, how do you explain to young tots that the family is on a budget? Children surely do not understand the concept of Mommie and Daddy or Santa does not have as much money to spend this year on Christmas. Trust me a fit will be thrown if your children are use to receiving a mountain of gifts and now have a few items under the tree.

This Christmas was my daughter’s second Christmas at 14mons old. Last year’s Christmas gifts was only for picture sake. I purchased my daughter two gifts. Yes, you did read correctly. I purchased a kitchen and a doll. Her family was allowed to purchase gifts for her of their choice. We decided to limit the amount of gift under the tree for many reasons:

1.)    My daughter is the only child so I am constantly purchasing clothes and shoes because she grows like a sprout

2.)   I purchase books for her regularly as reading is a HUGE part of our daily routine. I truly believe there is really no such thing as too many books. Especially for when she learns to read.

3.)   I buy development toys as needed. I try to exercise some self control over purchasing toys.

4.)   Toys that are purely for fun I save for special occasions: birthday, holiday and an occasional purchase

5.)   Christmas is so much more than just the gifts under tree (Do not tell my husband I said that, this message is strictly for the Mommies)

6.)   In the event later in life we cannot afford many gifts for Christmas, it will not be foreign to her. She will be accustomed to receiving a few gifts on Christmas, I am setting the pace for the future.

7.)   I will always preplan not swipe credit cards to pay for gifts for children. Children who watch their parents swipe their way to debt and interest ridden Christmas may grow up to do just the same.

Once my daughter is old enough to understand the concept of giving to others, I have bigger plans for her Christmas’s.  One plan of the big idea is to give one of her toys away to a less fortunate child. Giving is a lesson that my parents instilled within me and needs to continue to be passed down for generations to come. Giving is the essence of the Christmas spirit.