The holiday season is meant to be a time of joy, comfort, and togetherness. However, we also know it brings about stress too. It can be far too easy to get swept up in shopping and buying, and so the season can leave us feeling far too Grinch-like (before his heart grew in size, of course).
Admittedly, I love shopping at this time of year. I focus a lot on local shops and Canadian gift giving. I also recognize that we shouldn’t be spending to the point of stress, just for the sake of giving gifts.
When our children write their wish lists, they may go through recent store flyers or start creating shopping lists on their favourite websites. Sometimes, kids don’t even know what they want until they see it in an ad. They aren’t necessarily aware of the prices on their favourite toys or Sephora items, either.
I love finding the perfect gift for my kids and while in the past there has been some wishful thinking when it came to their lists, for the most part they don’t always choose the most expensive items they can think of. We’ve always tried to focus less on the price tag and more on the way a gift makes us feel.
While we have surprised our kids with more extravagant purchases in the past (gifted from us, not from Santa), a few favourite gifts that were under our Christmas tree in previous festive years weren’t very expensive. One gift that comes to mind that had a huge impact on one of our kids was actually an item I found in a thrift store!
If we aren’t careful, this time of year can become more about what’s found in the store than what’s in our hearts. For decades, this message has been shared over and over again through holiday shows and movies like A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Grinch, and more. We need to remember this in our everyday lives, too.
So how are parents supposed to manage online trends, playground chatter about hot toys, and the many YouTube and TV ads our kids see while they think about what they want on their holiday gift lists? Luckily, there are resources for parents. We don’t have to try and figure this out alone.
MediaSmarts has a guide for parents with helpful tips on what to say and how to prepare kids for the gift-giving season. Download the tip sheet here.
Need some gift ideas? Here are some electronic gift suggestions!
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