![\"GettyImages-859732316\"](\"https:\/\/cdn2.hubspot.net\/hubfs\/3295812\/GettyImages-859732316.jpg\")
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Ahhh, Christmas: the most wonderful time of year. It\u2019s a season of love, family, joy and peace; carols playing on the radio and twinkling lights aglow on house after house down the street. There\u2019s fresh snow on the ground and magic in the air. Oh, and parents killing each other at the mall because there are only two LOL dolls left on the shelf.<\/p>\n
That part is less magical.<\/span><\/p>\n Each and every year there is at least one \u201cmust-have\u201d children\u2019s toy that countless parents fall over themselves to buy for their kids. One recent year, it was the Hatchimal and another time it was Furreal Friends. Back in my day, it was the original Baby Alive and that Teddy Ruxpin robot that read you stories when your parents didn\u2019t feel like it. This year, I don\u2019t even know for sure what the \u201cit\u201d toy is…and truly, I don\u2019t care.<\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t get me wrong: I love the holidays and I spend a ton of time finding the perfect gift for each of my kids to open from Santa on Christmas morning (and then I find an even better gift to give them from ME, because honestly, moms deserve some of the credit). I love seeing their faces light up when they open their stockings or rip into a carefully-wrapped package. What I don\u2019t care about is ticking some mega popular, often mega-priced item off a list because every other kid at school is going to have one. It\u2019s the same old, \u201cIf everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you?\u201d argument that our parents made in the 90s…except decidedly less morbid and this time, about toys.<\/p>\n I know my kids – I know what they like, how they play and what they really care about. I can tell the difference between a heartfelt request and a popular one, and I\u2019m more than happy to leverage the distinction. If they really, truly want that Hatchimal or Pomsie, it\u2019s not like I\u2019m going to ban it from my house. (I\u2019m not a monster – just a bit critical of their wish lists.) I\u2019ll go to the store and if it\u2019s there, I\u2019ll happily buy them one for Christmas. What I won\u2019t do is turn my life upside down trying to find one when they\u2019re sold out online and in stores. My willingness has a clear line, and my kids know it.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not going to line up outside a toy store at 6am to get my hands on a fad item that my kids are going to play with for maybe two days, and I\u2019m definitely not paying marked-up resale prices. Essentially, I\u2019ll buy them that hot toy if they really want it, it\u2019s within budget AND it\u2019s reasonably available – and so far, that\u2019s never happened.<\/p>\n That may make me sound like a jerk, but trust me – my kids have literally never been disappointed in Christmas Day. Their Christmas mornings are just as wonderful as the family that spent $50 on a Fingerling bought off some greedy re-seller dad on Facebook. Everyone in my house is happy, and no one is looking for that \u201cmissing\u201d item under the tree – they\u2019re too busy playing with what they did get while stuffing their faces with treats from their stocking.<\/p>\n I make a point to manage my kids expectations. Last year, they both wanted Fingerlings – a crazy-popular fad item. Their friends kept bringing them to school and they REALLY loved playing with them at recess, especially the purple ones. We heard about them day after day, particularly as the holidays approached, and they were genuinely into them. I checked the price and said sure, that\u2019s a cool idea – put it on your wishlist.<\/p>\n Then I realized that Fingerlings were selling out in minutes and then re-selling on Facebook groups for double the price. In that moment, I was done. There would be no Fingerlings under the tree. Sorry, kids.<\/p>\n I told them that Fingerlings were selling out everywhere because every kid on earth wanted one. I said I had found other awesome gifts and Santa had great ideas of his own. Then I mentioned that there would be plenty of Fingerlings in stores after Christmas, when buying slows down. \u201cIf you REALLY want one, why don\u2019t you plan on using your Christmas money from Grandma to buy one sometime after Christmas?\u201d I suggested cheerfully. \u201cThere will be a lot more to choose from and you\u2019re only going to wait a little while longer.\u201d My kids barely blinked. \u201cYay, we can pick our own after Christmas!\u201d Then they were off, and our Fingerling-free Christmas was great. They did end up buying them a month or two later, when they had finally narrowed down the perfect colour and style, but they weren\u2019t given much thought on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n The bottom line is that presents are great, but they aren\u2019t what Christmas is all about. Our family focuses on being together and yes, on giving each other gifts, but not in a way that stresses each other out. When I see a mom pleading for a Hatchimal because \u201cMy kid\u2019s Christmas will be totally ruined if I don\u2019t find one,\u201d my heart breaks for her. \u201cCHRISTMAS WILL BE AWESOME!\u201d I want to yell. \u201cSCREW THAT HATCHIMAL STRESS – JUST FIND SOMETHING ELSE!\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone does the holidays differently and I\u2019m not here to judge moms who do the 6am lineup thing, especially if it makes her happy. That said, please let my alternative approach be a simple reminder: toys don\u2019t make Christmas magical – people do. Christmas can be amazing no matter what\u2019s under the tree. Don\u2019t let mom guilt or peer pressure rule your shopping list – just do the best you can, hype it up and never apologize for what DOESN\u2019T happen on Christmas morning. You don\u2019t have to kill yourself obtaining the right coloured Pomsie to be a great mom – you already are. I know it, your kids know it, and hey…Santa probably knows it, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ahhh, Christmas: the most wonderful time of year. It\u2019s a season of love, family, joy and peace; carols playing on the radio and twinkling lights aglow on house after house down the street. There\u2019s fresh snow on the ground and magic in the air. Oh, and parents killing each other at the mall because there<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-170","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-parenting","7":"category-seasonal"},"yoast_head":"\n