A lot of kids out there get a lot of toys for holidays and birthdays. At the Magic House, they give you an actual cart to take your gifts to the car after a birthday party! The amount is ridiculous. (Where is a bucket for my birthday gifts??).
At our house, we try to balance it out by talking about those who are less fortunate, volunteering our time, making donations, giving away toys, and modeling generosity and grace. Even then, it’s just too many toys.
It’s too many toys for each kid, it’s too many toys to thoroughly enjoy each one, and it’s certainly too many to show or even feel gratitude for each giver.
So we box them up.
The kids get to open what they receive and enjoy the pile of gifts they see. But once they get engaged in something, we put the rest in a big box that sits high enough that they can’t just help themselves (for us, that’s the dining room table). This box is such a good fit for those long days inside when it’s raining out, and you feel trapped. Need to mix it up? Let’s take something from the box! Is your youngest on yet another quarantine? For goodness sakes, take something from the box! Just want to do something special? Go treat yourself to a toy from the box.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I am tempted to get my kids yet another toy because, let’s be honest, buying and giving is fun! But I love that we can fill that desire to get yet another toy this way without buying something new and adding even more clutter. And, the best part is, you can make one of the requirements a thank you note before anything leaves the box. Because if you’re anything like our family, an outsider might think that I am torturing my kids when I ask them to write a thank you note. But that is the ticket to access the toy! No thank you note? No toy!
If you are REALLY brave, you can make a requirement giving away an old toy. We haven’t gotten there yet. Or maybe doing some extra chores like cleaning out their closet. Or shower consistently … I know, I know, I’m getting carried away!
I would really love to be a family in which, instead of toys, we ask for donations or a book to give away. My kids are still pretty little, but I hope they can come around to wanting to do that instead of the Magic House’s 3-foot tall bucket of toys. But that’s asking a lot for a child whose brain is still 15-20 years from full adult development. That is what I want, but that’s not what they want. We will get there. I also want them to clean their rooms and do something the first time I ask, but like I said, we will get there.
In the meantime, if we can just slow our kids down to really enjoy each gift, we are ahead of the game. Maybe it’s a lesson for us to slow down and enjoy these moments as well. The moment of joy when they hear everyone sing Happy Birthday just for them. Or the magic of seeing the lights at Tilles Park. Or when they climb up for an unprompted snuggle. Ok, I’m getting carried away again …
