Holiday Gifts?

Namastè!

Just as sure as Halloween ended, Christmas began. Retail wise, anyway.

With the first red and green tinsel in store displays come the age old question, "What can I get you for Christmas?" (Or Chanukah. Or Kwanzaa.)

I decided early in my Mommyhood to never tell people what they couldn't get for my kids. We get them what they need, so if the extended family wants to splurge for toys or games, we don't fuss. As long as the gift is appropriate--Baby Namastè doesn't need an iPhone yet, nor will a gas card do him any good--and the intended recipient can actually enjoy it, we try to be very loose in regulations.

The fact is, people enjoy buying toys. They love getting the baby doll or Tonka trucks. I've been an aunt and godmother longer than I've been a mom, so I understand the appeal. There's something special about seeing a child's face light up when they've received a cool new toy or gadget.

There is a line, though.

For example, I would not be happy if someone presented Baby Namastè with a 12-volt ride on toy. He is eight months old, cannot use such a toy, and we would have to store the thing until such time as he could safely ride in it. Most importantly, he would quite possibly be frightened by it. That means we now have to teach him that it's okay, that it's only a simple toy to drive. (The robotics in those ride-ons are loud, and can be very jarring.

While we do exercise a pretty liberal policy with gifts, we don't allow certain items. Toy guns, fireworks, electronics (cell phones or the like), and gifts with tiny pieces are not preferred. At the very least, we'd hate to have to put it in the closet until the intended recipient could use it.

When we are on the giving end, we like to get with the parents and suss out what we can give that the child will enjoy. For instance, we don't want to buy Susie her 42nd Elmo doll, but we'd be chuffed to get her the Big Bird friend to go along with it.

What's your gifting preference?

Namastè!

-- Tayè K. ♡