Giving "Non-Toy" Gifts

I blogged about this last December, and I think I will continue to do it every December going forward. That's how important I think it is!

Kids these days have too.much.stuff.

 

Yep, I said it. And believe it or not, I'm as guilty as the next parent. I can't even tell you how many times I've said to my husband, "We have a playroom full of stuff that never gets played with!" Now, our family has scaled back quite a bit in recent years, but still, it's an ongoing process.

 

The kids & I evaluate their toys twice a year. (And sometimes, I do some small purging when they are at school!) We go through their toys / books / games before their birthdays, and before Christmas.

 

I tell them it's to

1) make room for new toys and

2) to give toys to those that don't have very many

 

Usually, it's a surprisingly painless task.

 

But herein lies the problem. Even if you have scaled back the amount of toys you buy your kids, there's always grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. that want to spoil them with lots of "stuff!"

 

So here's a few ideas for Christmas this year, for some non-toy gifts for toddlers.

Be sure to check out this blogger's non-toy ideas for Children, Teens, Teachers etc.

So this Christmas, consider asking family members to buy things like gymnastics classes, museum memberships, basketball tickets, zoo memberships, or ice-skating tickets (instead of a Barbie doll or another Lego set). If the gift is an experience that they can do with the child, it will make it even more memorable.