A few minutes ago I was chatting with other mothers while we had coffee at the solidarity market that the school organizes every Christmas, we exchanged opinions about himThe gifts we give to children at Christmas or Kings, and about our own experience during childhood.
I remember that since I discovered the 'best kept secret of all the parents in the world', I accompanied my parents to choose my and my brothers' gifts, and also that at home the Magi of the East only left one toy for each one, and maybe some more to share (there were three of us), plus some clothes and stories. There were also gifts at the home of grandparents and uncles, until my mother and my aunt agreed to stop that custom, and thus achieve a somewhat simpler Party, in addition to the children begin to appreciate more what we received. With my children I try every year to ask for a maximum of three gifts (toys, video games, stories etc), and I tell them that if the total exceeds that figure by counting what Santa Claus or the Kings (now the driver of most famous flying sleds in all of Northern Europe) leave them, They may be more than grateful, because other children settle for second-hand toys.
Also today (but at lunchtime), I laughed a lot while the elder (who discovered the 'secret' two and a half years ago), confessed to his sister that he thinks parents talk in secret with the Kings ( complicity to keep the magic is not lacking) so that they do not go over with gifts. And reason is not lacking, because although it has cost us, In the end we have achieved a bit of sense in large families that are large: I have two brothers, my husband four; so as not to be overwhelmed and not discover with a bit of sadness how the children barely appreciated the piles of toys that we had to hide around the house 'until further notice'.
Fortunately, parents who want to 'contain' the consumer trend have it easy to convince others, because many experts (although we should not need to resort to them), recommend that do not exceed the number of gifts, because otherwise they are sent the message that 'you can have everything you want', and this is unreal (for most mortals).
Children will never be disappointed, let alone if we help them select from among the catalogs, the toys that make them most excited, and we go sifting until we are left with what is acceptable for us to ask. My daughter has made a list with 11 toys, plus three that she has requested in the letter that they deliver to the 'royal mailman' of the school ... I have already told her that we have to reduce; He is at a stage where he still believes, but he has little left to stop, and the explanations (sometimes too convoluted) that his brother gives him, will only get this year or next to discover 'the secret'.
Initially, our interest in asking for little is not taken well, but it is our intention to learn to prioritize, and above all to think that it is fortunate, and consequently, it feels good asking for what really makes you excited or need
It is recommended to talk with family members so that children receive the right number of gifts that they will appreciate and with which they will enjoy, thus avoiding 'parking' other toys that they will almost not use, and avoiding above all that children feel contempt for the effort of Santa or the Magi. Arrived at that number that must be decided as a family, children can also receive the dictionary they need, a new case, the book they will read next quarter, or a scarf, in short, those things that parents call useful ( and they really are).
Children need toys (they used to make them, now they get them ready to run), but an excess of them does not make them happier, but rather the opposite, power fantasy and illusion. Now I only have to remind you of some criteria to choose the best toy.
And by the way, how many gifts will your children receive this holiday season?
