Prior to my children, I made a pledge with my husband that we will not buy our kids too much toys. Surprisingly, we actually kept this goal. But, if you know me well enough, you’re probably wondering why my girls have toys, toys and more toys! They are not from us, they’re from basically everyone else.
Look, we are very grateful for the generosity of family and friends. But what can we do as parents to share this blessings to others? AHUH! Here’s some suggestions.
CHRISTMAS RULE: Christmas is the time we remember the birth of our savior. It is also the time we spread the gift of giving. We have one strict rule on Christmas, we only give each child 3 gifts. Hey, Jesus received 3 gifts from the 3 wise men, why would we get more – it’s not even our birthday 🙂 This way, not only do we minimize the amount of toys in our household, we also think the gifts thoroughly. Can they keep it longer than 5minutes? What skills would they learn (Math, art, etc. )? Will they really enjoy it, or is it another Hatchimal type toy that doesn’t work very well?
NEW YEAR CLEANING: Every year after Christmas, when the massive amount of gifts arrive our home, we make it a habit to go through the old toys and donate the toys we don’t intend to keep. Of course, there are toys that holds sentimental value that we store in storage bins for my future nephews, nieces and grandchildren (What?!) . There are also toys that my children cannot live without (Most of them are night time stuffed toys). And then, there’s “The Others” that they’ve seen on infomercials, hobbykids TV and naturally included in their list for Santa. Salvation Army is not the only place you can donate. There are also churches that have nursery and pre-school rooms that may need toys while their parents attend the service, so check it out.
THINK BEFORE YOU BUY: Toys are VERY expensive. Most of the plastic toys sold in stores varies from $40 and above. That is a lot of money! If you want to kill two birds with one stone, before getting a new toy SET SOME EXPECTATION. Instead of getting toys “just because” why not set a target for your child? For example, if you get good 3rd QTR grades, we will reward you with a $20 budget toy. See what I did there? My daughters not only have a target to achieve, they also know that they can only get something less than or equal to $20. We noticed that with this strategy Cydney really thinks through her purchases when it comes to toys. Also, some of these toys are already sitting in Salvation Army. Check out these places first, clean them well (Seriously clean them), you maybe saving more than half of your money.
There’s a lot more to talk about regarding toy purchases, but for now we will end here. Next time we will talk about where to get amazing and unique toys for less $$$.
POWERFUL WOMEN 