I am already starting my Christmas shopping. I usually make a lot of gifts, so I need to get a good jump start, but that's not my question.
My question is about gifts for my son. He will be almost 5 at Christmas. He gets tons of gifts from family, so I don't want or feel the need to have him 100 gifts under the tree from Santa. I am trying to think of one super-nice gift to give him that will be his main gift, with just a couple other small things under the tree. Problem is, I can't think of anything! I know I should know my son best, but he already has some of the more big-ticket items like a bicycle, a DS, a John Deere battery powered tractor, that kind of stuff (mostly gifts from grandparents and such). And he has lots of toys, too, and I don't want to keep adding to the pile he already has. He has ENOUGH toys! Yes, he is very fortunate in that he has nice things, and he seems to appreciate them and takes care of his things. Also, we frequently donate outgrown toys that he selects to a local church to give to underpriviledged kids. So my dilemma is that I don't want to buy something just to buy it, but at the same time, I do want to give him something nice from Santa.
Any ideas for one big-ticket gift for an almost 5 year old boy? Just trying to brainstorm... I am really at a loss this year.
And just to clarify, we ARE scaling back, thus not buying many toys to have under the tree. Looking for one item that is of reasonable value to replace the many toys that ultimately, cost much more, and probably mean less.
AWESOME ideas in the blog posted by Jamie B. Thanks!
And I do get the idea of quantity over quality for smaller kids, but I am really trying to get him used to NOT getting tons of gifts under the tree because we don't want to set that precedent. As I said, he does get lots of gifts from family, AND his birthday is in January! I'd rather him come to expect a really, really nice gift from Santa, or a few really nice things, (with a couple small items or a stocking, too) that he will come to look forward to. I don't want to clutter our house anymore with 20 more inexpensive toys, that will get stored in a bin somewhere until we give them away. I'd rather spend money on something nice that he will actually enjoy using, rather than having the momentary thrill of opening 25 gifts, and never really 'loving' any of them. Just my opinion.
Found this blog- thought it might be useful to you:
http://www.oneshetwoshe.com/2009/07/gift-ideas-5-year-old...
Good luck!
How about a membership to a local zoo, or park that he loves. Or what about a special class he wants to take? My son loved swim class and that was his birthday present last year.
i agree with Tanna... I'd go with quantity rather than quality. My older daughter is the same age, and last year I didn't want to buy too much because the grandparents go crazy.
So the girls opened a TON of gifts at my MIL's on christmas eve, then I had maybe 5 things for each of them under the tree on christmas. It looked pathetic, even to me. Then later that day, we saw more grandparents and more gifts galore!
Anyway, a few days later, my daughter told me "santa didn't bring us that much", and I said it was because he knew the grandparents spoil her! whoops!
so this year, i will definately hit the dollar store. I'm not sure if boys are as crafty as girls, but I'm going to buy lots of arts and crafts type things... so then it's fun for them to do, but it's not necessarily a toy that will sit around forever, know what i mean? Also board games and card games.
Hope this helps!
We never have gotten our girls much for Christmas. Like you, I make many of my gifts (I started a month ago to get everything done by Dec.). It's not that we can't afford to buy gifts, I just believe it means more when someone actually takes the time to make something specifically for you rather than needing to make a last minute dash to the mall for a gift certificate. Santa has always only brought our girls 3 gifts, then I make them each something and then they have a few stocking stuffers. I never worry about getting them "the big one" because I know their aunts/uncles and my grandparents will go completely crazy on them anyway. Good luck!
Gift idea to make:
My MIL made each of my kids a tied fleece throw blanket in a pattern she knew they would like. (Skulls for the 12 year old, guitars for the middle one and horses for my 6 year old daughter .) The kids LOVE these. She actually made my daughters first and the boys were always stealing hers to use, so they eventually got their own.
What about a trip to the Science Center in Pittsburgh? Santa could bring the tickets and some pictures of the things to do there, and you could go on Dec 26th or 27th. I think for it to have an impact and be exciting for a child that age, the plans would have to be in place to go on the trip almost immediately.
What about tickets or a membership to somewhere? That would be giving him the gift of your time and a new experience, which is the best of all. Kids don't know how much stuff costs-- if you feel like you need to spend a certain amount on him, put it in his college account-- he'll thank you later.
at this age kids can't really tell how much you spent on their presents. I wouldn't worry about getting him one expensive gift. does he have any special hobbies? like art, you could get him one of those big art centers, that come with an easel and supplies such as paints and crayons. Oh and there is nothing wrong with thinking about christmas already. My husband and I started shopping for one gift a month right after last christmas for our son (that way we wouldnt have a huge bill on christmas gifts in december) we finished up though when we got our tax return in march
I have the same problem. My kids are blessed with my parents who spoil them rotten! But they are anything but ungrateful. They are respectful and take care of all of their stuff. What about re-doing his room?? Or giving him passes to go bowling, or swimming? Last year we took the kids to Disney for their big gift. For Valentines we did Diseny on Ice. We tend to get tickets to things we can do together and that isn't stuff because we have too many toys also :o). What about an air hockey table? They have Spider man ones for under $100. Does he have a swingset? Trampoline? Pool? My boys LOVE Transformers too...so we just get them nicer ones of those instead of the cheap ones...magazine subscription? Camp? Good luck!! I havent even STARTED this yet. OH!! Last year a big hit was board games. Ours were all old and falling apart, so Santa brought TONS of new board games! (K-mart has them for buy one get one free on Thanksgiving!)
I guess it depends on your son's tastes. Some of the things that our twin boys (a few months younger than yours) have loved recently are a kitchen set, a work bench (both are well made Melissa & Doug toys that really let them use their imagination, so let me know if you want more details about either) and classic Legos. We made sure to find Lego sets that have many of the basic building blocks rather than a lot of specialized pieces to only make a couple of things. You could buy several sets, and package them in a big bin for him, along with some of the instructions packets that come with them. They also love the big box of dress-up stuff that we have for them (most of which were clearance items we picked up after Halloween) and the beanbag chairs for their bedroom. Big gifts that we have considered buying them are a puppet theater, outdoor clubhouse, trampoline. On another note, each Christmas they receive electric train pieces from their uncle. We have yet to put them up for them (maybe this year?) but we love the idea of starting a collection that they will appreciate for years to come...
Well, just to tell you what we just did for my daughters 7th bday was that my mom bought her a "big kid" desk for her room, my grandmother got her the desk chair that she picked out with 2 DS games and my mother in law is going to get her new carpet for her room. And we the parents paid for her bday party. For xmas my mother in law got my son carpet for his room. We have always liked the practical gifts. My daughter also decided that instead of her friends buying her gifts that she asked them to bring her dog and cat items, then her and I were going to take them to a local charity and spend the afternoon with the animals. She agrees that she has TOO much stuff and doesnt need anything else. She really wanted the desk and carpet so that is what we decided to do.
In my house, Santa always brought things that were educational or things that used imagination..the simply toys like a bean bag tic-tac-toe board for playing outside that mom and dad made. Santa always found games and such that were educational like workbooks that were in that grade level or the next one up so we could play school and learn in the process. Of course when I was young we didn't have the video game stuff. For my daughter we continued the tradition of educational toys. She always wanted a doll at that age so we gave her a doll with clothes that didn't pee or poo or talk or wipe anything...just a doll. My son always got construction toys..tonka toys for digging in the dirt...he loved them and would play for hours. That was amazing because he was hyperactive. Santa always brought him a new construction toy and new age appropriate work books and reading books. Santa wanted to make sure the kids learned things. I hope this helps.
I think he's too young for getting only one big gift. At his age he's more interested in the quantity of present and not the price or quality - I'd be willing to bet he'd be more excited about opening 20 dollar store items than one $20 gift. If you're set on getting only one big gift then maybe an iPod??
Or maybe go with gift certificates for things like bowling, roller skating, movies, etc.
Good luck!
Does he have a trampoline or a scooter? I'm thinking about getting those things for my kids this year.
I don't know if he is old enough yet for this. How about a trip or a some kind of fun experience he's been begging to have? I could see an older kid being really excited to find just a plane ticket to Florida and then the whole family hopping online and figuring out what is there. On the other hand, that could blow up in your face if he really just wants something fun to play with on Christmas morning. Sorry I'm not much help!
I would start at this age (before he gets any older) and scale back what you're giving him.
My 2 cents is the more that's given, the less it's appreciated. A toy at this age should not be "big ticket."
(:
