As our little family has grown, we have tried hard to focus on experiences together rather than presents. I love the traditions we have and the memories we make! We do, however, still do presents every year.
To keep myself from going overboard, I limit the gifts to a small number and within a certain budget. We try to do one big gift for each of the kids and for ourselves. If I have littler things I want to get the girls, I fit it into the budget for stockings.
I had a hard time deciding on the girls' gifts this year. It feels like we have so many toys already that they love and I love. I also like to get them something that they are excited to open but that I want to keep around afterwards, and it can be hard to find something that does both. I might have erred more on the side of the second this year, we'll see.
For Ashtyn, we decided to get her some games for her DS, which she really enjoys playing. We got them from eBay, so we were able to get a couple. We got a Sonic the Hedgehog game, a Puppies Pal game, and a My Little Pony game. I do think she'll be really excited to open them.
For Parker, I went with something safe--an action figure type toy. We got My Little Pony figurines for her. I know she'll be excited for that and they'll get played with a lot.
Rylee was the hardest one. She doesn't sit and play with a lot of toys. She does love little things that she can take apart and reorganize and put back together. So, I decided to get some wooden food that has the Velcro, so the child can "cut" it. It can replace the cheap plastic play food we currently have and I think she'll play with it a lot.
Ben decided to get a second dock for his Nintendo Switch, so he can easily move the Switch between his office and the basement. I decided to choose my gift as well this year (instead of being surprised) and got a Kindle that has a light. This will allow me to charge my phone in a different room but still read in the night if kids wake me up. It will also let me spend less time with my phone in general while still having access to ebooks.
None of the kids' gifts were as expensive as I'd planned, so we ended up getting them each a character hoodie as well. Ashtyn got a Pokemon one, Parker got a My Little Pony one, and Rylee got an Octonauts one. I'm almost more excited for those than the actual toys because they are so cute.
The kids are excited for Santa! Ashtyn is asking for science experiments, so we got her a science kit. She loves doing experiments, so I think she'll love it, and it looks like she can do a lot of them mostly independently.
When I very first asked Parker what she wanted for Christmas (trying to decide what WE would give her), she told me she wanted a blue bunny with a zipper so that it can have baby bunnies in its tummy (we have a unicorn like that). I told her I didn't think stores made that and she asked me, "So Santa's elves aren't real??" So of course, then I had to figure out how to get one for her. I bought a blue bunny and my mom sewed a zipper into its tummy, and then I bought smaller bunnies separately. I think she'll love it.
Rylee is asking Santa for underwear (because she wants to be potty trained) and Dashi (her favorite character from Octonauts).
Besides small stocking stuffers, I am also getting each of the girls binoculars from Santa. This is something they all really want and will love having. I also got them each scratch paper (where you scratch off the black to draw on it), which I think they'll absolutely love!
I am so excited to be moving into the Christmas season! This is one of my favorite times of the year.
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