Readers Question: Practical Christmas Gift Ideas!
A reader emailed with this great question:
“With the holidays coming, can you or your readers please share some practical gift ideas that really get their kids excited? I really don’t want a houseful of toys this year, and would like to find some practical things that the kids can really appreciate?”
This is such a great topic to discuss! In the past, I’ve felt like some of the Christmas gifts I’ve purchased turn into junk right after being opened! My thinking is, even if you can snag a toy for next to nothing, it’s still NOT a good deal if it will be another item collecting dust!
With Christmas around the corner, lets help one another out with practical gift ideas! This will be a great topic to discuss. I’d also be interested to hear how many presents you purchase for each of your kids and what you think is a fair amount. And finally, if you have any frugal Christmas gift-giving traditions, I’m sure we’d all enjoy hearing about those too.
My teenagers make baskets for their female friend with all of the free make up I get.
I don’t have kids,but growing up we each got one gift from my parents, and the rest of us kids(8 of us total) drew one other sibling’s name and so we received 2 gifts at Christmas and gave 3. Not saying it is the best way,but just what I grew up with.
I have three daughters, ages 13,10 & 8. I get them each 3 gifts, plus a gift from Santa under the tree and a christmas stocking. In addition to what I buy them, their grandparents and aunt buy them gifts too. So this is more than enough. We don’t have extra money to buy extra things during the year, so for christmas I get them things like new clothes, dvds, cds, jewelry, itunes gift cards, pjs, slippers and of course a special toy or something they really want and have on their list!
This year our kids are getting each one small present for Christmas and there birthdays. Then Right before Chirstmas we are going to buy a new piano for them. They are all taking lessons and the one we have now is not worth fixing. Any money they get from other family members goes to camps they attend or for sports equipment for summer sports. We can’t afford much but when you put presents for 4 kids together you can really get one nice large gift that they can really use for years. And I am sure they will remember that piano more than a truck or doll anyway.
I think gifts you can do with your child is great. I loved getting crafting materials that I could do with my mom and sister. You can use a Michael’s or AC Moore coupon to make it an inexpensive gift.
We have a theme park near us and this time of year (usually November-December) their season passes are 1/3 the cost. So we get those for our kids. This year, we’ll do camping gear so we can go camping
My parents, sister and I have agreed to stop with buying all the expensive wrapping paper, bows, bags, etc. We all wrap christmas gifts in newspaper. Of course we all have enough curling ribbon to last us a lifetime, so newspaper with some pretty curly ribbon and write to/from with sharpie!
We have two girls age 4 and age 1. We started a tradition that everyone gets 2 gifts under the tree on Christmas morning…right now it is one from mom and dad and one from Santa. Once they out grow Santa it will be one from mom and dad and one from each other. We also do a stocking that holds batteries and dvds etc. Our girls get way too much from grandparents, aunts/uncles etc. And we just do not want the focus to be gifts.
We always got our “practical” big gifts for Christmas. One year I was begging to get rid of my water bed and so I got a twin bed for Christmas (which is what my parents would have eventually bought me anyway) I come from a musical family so one year I got my own clarinet…which they were going to buy anyway…etc… I think it’s fun because I never thought my parents were being practical…I thought it was GREAT! For my kids now we usually give several gifts, but they are things that I pick up throughout the year on clearance. It sure does take the pressure off and we don’t spend any money around the holidays…other than travel expenses. 🙂
~Rachael~
I did spend less than 100 dollars for my 2 1/2 yr old and 10 month old for christmas toys and I can assure you that the thing they will love the most is the box that one of them came in. being still young my kids favorite part of the holidays is spending it with all of our family. For my family gifts the best ones are pictures or photobooks of my children. most of which i use all the free ones that we have been getting!
For christmas our kids get 3 gifts (think gifts from the 3 kings got for baby Jesus) and then they pick one that has to be given to a child that doesnt get anything. The get gifts from relatives so they get more than enough, but they are learning the spirit of Christmas is about giving.
I like getting craft stuff like Playdoh or those big colorwonder things for my kids. They really enjoy them and when they are all used up you can toss them and not feel guilty. I dont need giant toys taking up space! lol. I will probably only spend around 50 on each of my 3 kids this year.
Katie
My friends and I get together and play “Dirty Santa” We each bring something from our house that we do not want or need. It is so much fun!! Last time I scored some great hair products and one of my friends LOVED my old canister set.(which I hate LOL).
We take a family vacation to Disney World every year for christmas. I know that may not be feasible for everybody but we live in Florida and get a better deal than most and can drive there. They get a few presents from “Santa” but usually stuff they need like clothes and 1 toy. My husband and I don’t buy each other anything. The vacation is our present. We save all year to make this happen and couponing helps tremendously with that. This way every gets a yearly vacation to spend time together and we don’t have a bunch of useless toys lying around that nobody plays with a week later.
I’m going to get this wrong, so please correct me if you know the right way. I read a story about the Obama’s and his kids are the exact ages of my girls. The girls say their is a Santa because thier parents would NEVER but them that much. To my best memory, the girls only get 1 gift from the parents and the rest is Santa. I like the ideal of the having only once gift. I also really like the innocence that his kids still have….and i want my girls to believe forEVER.
i really like games and crafts that i can do with the girls
i also like books
I have 5 kids..13,11,8,4,and 1. I get deodorant,body wash,toothpaste,mouth wash,etc in the brands that each of the kids like. I try to buy enough for a year and that becomes 1/2 of their presents. (For my daughters, I also get them hairspray, makeup, hair ties, curling irons, etc). They appreciate these gifts more because they know that if they use it all up, they have to use what I have in the house. Grandparents give them gift cards to use for anything that I wouldn’t buy for them throughout the year. (They can treat themselves to whatever). It works pretty good. I still get them a couple of toys…but coming from a large family, they’ve learned to enjoy every little thing they get.
My 5 year old I will have a $200 dollar budget for presents. But this includes gifts from us gifts from both sets of grandparents and from 2 uncles. (they always ask me to shop for them) And from Santa of course. The number of gifts I buy depends on what good deals I get. Sometimes I think this is a large amount to spend. But she gets no other gifts during the year except on her birthday. Whenever she says “I want” I tell her to put in on her Christmas list.
Oh…and I forgot to say that every time right before Christmas and right before her birthday, I ask my daughter to put together one or two bags of toys to give to goodwill. Since I know she will get many new toys to replace.
growing up my parents never used wrapping paper…it was always cartoons.
i will sometimes wrap birthday gifts in a brown paper grocery bag and have the kids color it.
Our house is littered with books. My three-year old son just eats them up. Unlike toys – it’s hard to have too many books if your children actually use them. However, he is getting a big-ticket item this year: a wagon. Yeah it’s a toy, but I have no doubt it will get plenty of use – he pulls stuff around in boxes right now:)
PS Props to all these cool chicks who give more presents to their kids than Santa.
My mom used to give me (in addition to other things) shopping money. After christmas everything goes on clearance so I would use it to buy clothes etc.
That’s what got me into saving money. You can spread out your “loot” and really see the savings. For example before christmas that money would have only gotten me a pair of jeans. Now it gets me jeans, two tops, and shoes.
You could really turn that into a fun activity and its a good life lesson.
Every year our kids get 3 or 4 new ornaments for their tree. (They have there own 3 ft. trees in their room) I always try to buy the ornaments that are relavent to the sport they play, or music they like and so on) When they grow up and move out, (which won’t be too long for my son) they will have a big collection of ornaments to take with them.
The way I usually do this is buy the ornaments after Christmas on big Clearance! and hold on to them until the following year, although every year there is that way-to-cute ornament that I always end up buying!
My kids look forward to this every year! Then when it is time to decorate before Christmas we always laugh and joke about the ones that were bought during a funny phase in their life! Like when my daughter had a piggy bank fetish, a purse fetish, and of course Hannah Montana! LOL!
Oh memory lane!! Now, I can’t wait to get them all out again!
I like the 3 gifts just like Jesus!!!!
My kids are spoiled rotten but they also give. My kids love to give to others.
Last year money was really tight and i told the kids I didnt have any money for the angel tree at church and all 3 kids told me that i could thier gift money on another child.
this year, i’ve been stocking on deals all year thanks to Colin.
I totally agree with Jennifer on the gifts.. My mom (mom of 3 girls) always got us lots of our favorite products that she wouldn’t usually by us during the year. make up, shampoos, nail polish, lotions, special toothpaste and toothbrushes (character ones when we were little) those are my favorite memories because when I will little I felt like a big girl and when I was older it saved me money!
she still stocks us all up at christmas underwear,bras, socks, fun products!
I GOT MY NEPHEWS (11 & 10)GIFT CARDS FOR THE MOVIE THEATER,THEY LOVED IT CAUSE IT WAS SOMETHING THEY COULD CHOOSE TO SEE AND GO WITHOUT MOM AND DAD BUT YET TAKE A FRIEND OR EACH OTHER!
my daughter is 2 1/2 years old and has more toys and gets more toys than she can play with…this year i have asked family members to buy her clothes in bigger sizes for all seasons….
I, like Jane, have started a little tradition with her, where she will be giving a toy to a charity, with all the clearence posts about toys, I have been able to pick up a few things for toys for tots, i’m hoping by doing this she will eventually see how lucky she is to have the things she does…
I bargain shop all year long and pick up great buys for Christmas, Birthdays etc… I usually try to give each kid 1 or 2 gifts (depending on price) that they really want and a few practical gifts that they need. Santa brings 1 gift. On Christmas Eve, each kid gets to open 1 gift that I have selected and it’s usually new pajamas. Sometimes they don’t get exactly what they want at Christmas but I can usually find it on clearance after Christmas and we save that item until their birthday or next Christmas. We do make cookies, breads and fudge for our neighbors and friends for Christmas. My kids love helping and taking the cookie plates to our friends.
Wonderful topic. I do have to stop myself and really think… Am I buying this because it’s dirt cheap or because I think my kids will really enjoy it.
My mom spoiled the heck out of us at christmas. Our Santa presents were so abundant. think 30 gifts or so each (there was two of us). I can’t bring myself to do the same. Though I also can’t bring myself to see a empty bottom of the christmas tree. So in an order to feel like I’m giving alot without giving junk I am buying tons of clearance or reasonably priced books for my 2 year old and 1year old. They love books anyway so why not spend the money on something like that instead of a bunch of toys they just chew on or throw or most likely never touch.
Sorry for the long post just to say I am mainly buying books! lol!
I bought up art supplies at Back to School time for my nieces for christmas.
my girls love building things… but tinker toys/ lincoln logs/ and legos are so expensive and you get very little. I was thinking of telling the grandparents, etc that we want to build a collection of these things (especially the new pink legos) so that even if they get a few packs of them, we can dump them into one container and then have enough to build something great with.
I purchase Christmas Themed fabric on clearance and sew easy to make gift bags – they are reusable and don’t take a lot of time to make. The open end I just pink with shears and tie with a ribbon. No tape, no paper mess! We try to buy clothing, learning toys like Ant Farm, etc., puzzles and games, craft supplies – things we can do together as a family.
My grandma got us tickets to the circus one year. It was a lot of fun and very memorable.
last year I gave my 8 year old daughter a canopy for her bed. She loved it and it looks great in her room – I try and get something “practical” but still “fun” for them.
Pictures are always the best gifts. Those are things you keep forever. Every year my brothers and I do something with picturs (picture book, posters, blankets) and every year my Mom cries. haha!
Its so heartwarming and I can imagine as a kid and getting something like this would be so great to keep around.
I have a 13 tech head so we are go to after thanksgiving sales. We are buying a new computer screen for gaming and a hard drive. That will be most of our “Christmas”. I then get him small stuff on clearance to open. Last year I bought him clothes from ebay and goodwill. Yeah they are used but he doesn’t mind. We couldn’t afford the clothes he likes new anyway. I also told him to make a list of his favorite shampoo, body wash etc. I will use those to fill his stocking. We never did santa clause so that was never a problem.
After a Christmas a few years ago we found half the toys he got for christmas on clearance. So we save money for after christmas shopping. No point in paying full price when the next day you can get them half off.
Sadly, my husband and I (really my husband) has spoiled our children each year with more presents than they can play with. No including all the presents from family. I really want to cut down this year. I am drowning with toys already. I like the idea of 3 gifts (gift for Jesus) but how can I get my husband to cut back? Also, I am struggling on my kids gifts this year. I’m just tired of JUNK TOYS. My boys are 4 (almost 5) and 7. I need ideas. Thanks for all the tips.
shereepowell@hotmail.com
My son will be two this December. Our tradition is to buy an ornament each year for the tree (which I buy on after-Christmas clearance the year before). Also, on Christmas Eve, he will get a fun pair of pajamas to wear to bed that night. Otherwise, we will buy him a few “little” (and inexpensive) toys to put in his stocking that I’ve bought on clearance throughout the year. He gets so many toys from the three set of grandparents so this year, I’ve asked my mom to buy a membership to our local Children’s Museum. That way, he can enjoy it year-round.
This year my family made the decision to sponser another family. We let all of our extended relatives know that we were not buying gifts but would instead be making baked goods and crafts for them. We also asked them not to buy us gifts and instead donate the money to charity if they wanted to. So this year my two sons (7 and 3) will get to pick gifts for children who don’t have as much as we do. Since they are little my husband and I will still get them gifts from Santa but that will be it. My oldest son is so excited about this. We have been talking about it with them for a while and now he just wants it to be here so he can buy toys for other kids. If it goes well we will do it every year. I hate giving gifts to people they don’t really want or need and I also hate recieving gifts I don’t want or need. My boys are so spoiled – they have so many toys they can’t possibly play with them all.
Gosh I’m reading these and thinking there are some great ideas here. My kids do get a LOT with all the aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents but they’ve learned to give a lot too. We adopt a family through the United Way or whatever group is doing that and send food to church, school and Daddy’s office for food drives. We also bake TONS of treats for neighbors, mail and paper carriers and teachers at school. My girls both take various afterschool classes so we’ve asked grandparents for gift certificates to dance, gymnastics, music class, etc. We also have them work together to purchase a BIG item that they wouldn’t normally get—-the swingset out back came from both sets of grandparents and was a gift for Christmas and birthdays for both girls. It cuts down on the junk in my house and gets the kids something they wouldn’t normally get or something we may have to struggle through the year to pay for. My mom also gets each girl a savings bond each year and my SIL and I exchange pearls for the girls instead of toys. Each girl gets one pearl for Christmas and one for her birthday and they will collect these until they grow up and then have them strung into a necklace. My SIL wears hers all the time and she is thankful for all of the family members who contributed to this gift through the years. Check with your local jeweler to see if they do the Add-a-Pearl program. They keep track of each girl for you so people can come in and spend what they want and maybe get a bigger or smaller pearl depending upon their budget.
We only buy toys for our children that pass the “test”: before we spend money on it, it must be good for their minds, their bodies, or their souls. We don’t buy “stuff” because we’ve noticed that crap is free and comes from everywhere and we spend our lives trying to weed it out of the house!
We’ve always been desperately poor, but last year we spent $35 on a Christmas gift for our four children, and we somehow struck gold: we only bought an indoor trampoline with electronic games and controls attached to it (KidActive brand). My 9, 7, 4 and 1 year old all use it daily, enthusiastically!, and in the winter time it’s wonderful for exercise (they have to jump a certain number of jumps each day to earn a certain amount of time video gaming).
The first time we took our kids to Disney World, we kept it as a secret ’til Christmas. We planned our trip for a long weekend in late January. We wrapped up several boxes with the clues for our vacation. The kids were so excited to open up packages and then play a guessing game! Disney was their big present! They also had a couple smaller gifts from Santa too!
I have a son that will be 2 soon, and his birthday happens to be 6 days before Christmas. This is very hard because I don’t want to cheat him from his birthday or Christmas. He is young enough now to not worry about it.
I usually buy him toys that I see on clearance throughout the year and store them in his closet. Right now he has enough for his birthday and Christmas. Buying on clearance throughout the year works the best for me, that way I am not slammed with extra costs for gifts around the holiday.
I also use my rewards points from my bank card to get gift cards, these work well for nieces, nephews, in-laws..etc.
Great topic! Christmas my 3 kids get tons of stuff- because I find things at garage sales that I know they will love and put it away. They never complain that it’s not new and I always seems to find the things they like- dress up princess clothes and barbies are a big hit from garage sales. I must say though- that I like the idea of only doing 3 gifts- like Jesus (from the other post) I definately don’t want my kids to focus on the gifts. When they get older (they are 5, 3, and 1) I will have to do that because they will most likely want more specific items and things that are more expensive. Although my 5 year old asked for a wiifit this year- lol! Also- when you had the post for $4 Tastefully Simple cookbooks I snagged enough of those nice hardcover Christmas cookbooks for their Sunday school teachers, dance instructors, aunts, etc. I ALWAYS buy throughout the whole year for Christmas and when I find deals I stock them away. I already have all the gifts for the neices and nephews birthdays next spring from the great summer clearance items lately. It works out so good that the only people I really have to buy for at Christmas time is my parents and my in-laws because I don’t get a Christmas list from them until Dec. Thanks for all your posts Collin!
We get each of our 8 children 1 main gift and 1 smaller stocking gift. We did this even when we only had 1 child. They exchange names among each other, too. They might get a total of one or two other gifts from relatives. I like practical gifts as well. Something I’m thinking of for my 2 little girls is a little box with a few tiny,metal cookie cutters, a little rolling pin, tiny bread pan, etc., with some cookie dough. I make things like dress up clothes when there is a good sale at the fabric store. I am always on the lookout for bargain prices for things I would enjoy giving them as gifts.
Also a great suggestion for a grandparent who asks is a family zoo pass. Ours cost about $65.00 for the whole family for a year. That is like us going 1 1/2 times at the gate rate. This way we can go whenever we want and most zoos offer special sneak peaks to members and other discounts once inside as well. We do skip the parking pass, as we are willing to walk a block or two and save the 35.00 extra a year.
This year my sister is not giving her kids christmas presents, instead they are taking a family vacation (a weekend cruise to mexico) and then kids will be getting their plan tickets and cruise tickets under the tree. And vacation cruise are pretty cheap I thought it was a great idea!
I have a friend that only gives 3 presents from Santa to each of their kids at Christmas — because that’s how many Jesus got!
BOOKS! I look all year long for books for good prices and then give those at Christmas time. Toys get played with for about two weeks after Christmas and then get put on a shelf somewhere, but books last all year long!
Our grandson has had a big interest in reading and in science. When he was ten we bought him a nice telescope and several space and planets books.
Kept him very occupied for a long time.
For our granddaughter who’s into “arts” we try to get crafty things that she can do over and over.
My mother made her a sewing kit with just about everything you can imagine for hand sewing … including fabric. She actually made some barbie clothes by herself when she was only nine!
Think “interest” and you will surely be able to figure something out.
I just sold 250.00 worth of toys on Craigslist for 55.00 and they were all in mint condition (played with maybe five times each). I’m sick of buying my toddler son toys that he isn’t interested in (and they’re expensive!). Any suggestions for a 2 1/2 year old boy that are practical?