I want to know if your kids are anything like mine…..
Yesterday morning I asked both girls what they wanted for Christmas. I was hoping to get at least a few answers seeing as my oldest also has a birthday coming up in December.
But no, I didn’t get a few answers.
They both really wanted one thing. And that was all they could come up with.
Ava wants a Play-Doh machine that comes with Play-Doh (which means I may have to lift the Play-Doh ban from the household.) Kailyn wants a chalk board to hang in her room.
I sat there for twenty minutes trying to get them to brainstorm more ideas. But nope, that was it. Ava really, really wants Play-Doh and Kailyn has been asking for a chalk board for at least a month now.
I’m Rubbing Off on Them
To be honest I’m secretly a little proud that both girls only want one thing. I’ve always felt that the best way to teach kids is to lead by example and I think my example is finally rubbing off on them.
We’ve already gotten rid of so many toys. They don’t care. They now come up to me all the time with very matter-of-fact tones saying “Mommy I don’t want this anymore. I don’t even play with it.” Other than a few ponies and Barbie’s that are occasionally played with, the only thing my kids use on a daily basis are paper and crayons.
Kailyn is even like me when it comes to her clothes. It’s scary! If she doesn’t wear something on a regular basis she does not want it to be in her dresser. (Ava on the other hand does like to hoard clothes and shoes. She’s very glittery, girly, and a little over the top in her clothes choices. Which, of course, I enjoy watching because it is the exact opposite of me.)
While I’m proud of my kids for keeping their requests so tamed down I do want to get them more than Play-Doh and a chalk board.
Here are my gift ideas for the practical girls:
Practical Gifts for Kids
A Desk for Each of Their Rooms
I recently (finally) finished up Kailyn’s room after having it torn apart for over a month. After it was complete I put an old kid’s table and chairs in her room as a desk. The table and chair set was something we discovered the old owners left here after giving the garage a thorough clean down. While I find the set to be cute it’s meant for kids ages 3-4 not ages 5-7. It’s too little.
Since they both loved this desk in Kailyn’s room so much (Ava will get up at 5:30 in the morning, sit at that table and write) I think a desk they can grow into will be perfect. I know they’ll both absolutely love having their own big girl desks and I’m sure they’ll get plenty of use.
Snow Boots & a Snow Suit
Now that we have a lot of room to roam around, animals to feed, and a big ole hill to play on we need better snow gear.
At this point I’m not sure if I’ll get this for them or just ask my Dad since he carries this type of stuff in his store. Either way, this a great practical winter gift for kids who like to be outdoors.
A Sled
Did I mention the giant hill yet? Oh yeah, we have perfect sledding grounds out here. In fact, even before we officially bought this house the girls and I were planning how much fun we’ll have sledding the hills.
Arts & Crafts Supplies
And last but not least you just can’t go wrong with arts and crafts supplies for my girls. Now if only I could teach them to consistently pick up the paper mess when they’re done………..
Other Practical Christmas Gift Ideas
If you’re doing some Cyber Monday scouting today (I am!) and need some ideas on gifts for practical minded kids here are some of the other ideas running through my head:
- Shampoo and Body Wash Sets
- Toothbrush and Toothpaste Sets
- Brushes/Combs
- Clothes
- Shoes/Boots
- Socks
- Notebooks/Sketchpads
- Markers/Crayons/Colored Pencils
- Winter Gear
- New Bedding
- Books
- Tickets (Aquarium, Zoo, Etc.)
- Online Subscriptions (ABC Mouse, as an example)
- Subscription Boxes
- A Tool Set
- Gardening Set (Although not the right time of the year, my kids would love this come summer time!)
- Wagon (One of the most used gifts my kids have ever received.)
- Organizing Gear
- A Label Maker (I know that sounds weird but my kids are obsessed with my cheapie label maker.)
Any other ideas?
I really believe it’s the way you raise your kids, for my daughter does the same thing every year. In fact I am the one who always goes the extra mile and throw in extra presents. I just always feel so guilty just getting one present. I mean wouldn’t the tree look a little odd if there was only one gift under it on Christmas Day? Well, at the end of the day I think we should just be really glad that we have such great kids!
I totally get that! I am proud of them for not making mile long lists like I remember my brothers and I making as kids. But at the same time I feel guilty for getting them so little. Plus, I kind of enjoy Christmas shopping 🙂
I think this post is really inspiring because I know a lot of moms who don’t feel like what they can buy is “enough”. This is a perfect example of how kids don’t feel that way at all and it’s the standards society puts on people and we put on ourselves. This just shows how wonderful Christmas is and has nothing to do with money!
I am in total agreement with you that it is the pressure we put on ourselves!! I’ve been doing some hardcore thinking on what I can get them that they’ll “love” but truth be told they’d love pretty much anything. We definitely more pressure on ourselves than our kids do.
We have entire list, however, he is only going to get up to three items. One of them is for sure a Lego and another one a book. However, he did get very practical items for his birthday as well, such as a bookshelf and a bike.
We got bikes for the girls last year and they’re (fortunately) still big enough for them. I did end up getting Kailyn Lincoln Logs for her birthday. While the girls love legos I get sick of stepping on them lol. I’m not buying anymore legos until they’re a little older.
I love it when kids request the simple stuff because that’s right up my alley as well. Everyone asks me all the time what my daughter has said she wanted for Christmas and they are totally shocked when I told them she hasn’t asked for anything. When they aren’t exposed to an excessive amount of ads and toy store displays, they really could care less about having a bunch of stuff. My daughter happily asks for crayons and notebooks everyday and she is basically happy with whatever someone gives her. It makes gift giving much more pleasurable.
Yep, sounds like my girls. Crayons and paper – the only two things that are consistently used!
That’s awesome that you’re raising your kids to be like you!! I love that they are willing and happy to get rid of stuff they no longer use. My kids are getting a Frozen Ice Palace dollhouse for Christmas and then some books and clothes. I really don’t like having toys all over the house, especially ones they never play with. Books and crafts are always a hit, so I stick with that.
Thanks for these ideas!! 🙂
My kids are finally over the Frozen craze. (At least until Frozen 2 comes out anyway.) But I’m completely like you – I don’t want to walk around and pick up toys that are drug out but never played with. Plus, it seems like kids appreciate what they have more when you just keep the favorites.
Sounds like a great list. We did desks for each of our girls rooms. We went with ones from ikea. They are sturdier than you would think and they were well priced as were the chairs. Mine are artists too so they also each got one of those paper roll holders and paper. They rip off what they need. Keep a garbage can right by the desk to keep as a reminder to tidy up when they’re done.
And my hints for dealing with play doh: it can only be used on a table that is placed on a hard surface (typically our kitchen table). The chairs get covered with towels. Then we use dollar store plastic tablecloths as drop cloths began they are done with the disaster I just have to roll it up and toss it! I shake the towels out into the garbage and throw them in the wash if necessary! I do this with that god awful kinetic sand too!!! In the summer they only play with this stuff OUTSIDE!!
That is such a GOOD idea. I need to go get some dollar store drop cloths. I got so tired of scraping playdoh out of rugs that I completely banned it. It would be amazing to roll it all up and throw it away! I’m definitely giving that a try.
I ended up finding desks. (Wish I would’ve looked at Ikea, I hadn’t even though of that.) I found some highly rated desks on Amazon that should last them through high school size-wise. They were fairly inexpensive so I’m hoping they hold up to all the hype.
I like this list! I think that gifts must to be practical a for kids and for adults:P
Yes. Practical gifts for adults too! One of my favorite things to receive is baskets of household products 🙂
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