Christmas is Upon Us

It's hard to believe that we are already in the holiday season.

This morning, I got my first "happy holidays" at the Starbucks drive thru and it rattled me a little bit.

I'm in love with the fall-winter-holiday season.

Summer doesn't do much for me. I look forward to Labor Day. It's the beginning of so many things that bring joy to our family. School, sports, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas are key among so many other little milestones of the season.

With three young little ones, the Christmas spirit comes on strong. My oldest has been discussing this Christmas since before last Christmas was over.

A few weeks ago, we started plotting some of our planned Christmas purchases for the kids. This is important for our family so we stay on budget and don't over do it. We want our kids to feel joy from the gifts we are able to provide but we are far more into the idea of year round gifting versus an onslaught for one holiday.

Here's a few of our planned gifts heading towards the holidays!

Nintendo Switch Case

While we don't bring the Nintendo outside our home often, we are acquiring a few more games and this is a great way to keep everything under control. There are so many great options for these cases with differe

nt sizes and characters but a simple plain color like this Black Nintendo Switch case is a perfect neutral to allow all of our kids to use this shared console.

Books

I'm big on trying to incorporate something to read into any of our holiday or seasonal gifts. I grew up feeling like reading was such a chore and even now as an adult, I really struggle with reading for fun. I'm trying to model a love for reading with and for our kids. One series that was recommended to us is the What Should Danny Do? books. These are great for young readers who are learning to navigate all the choices they have and the consequences for some of their decisions. We'll be adding this box set to our list this year!

Board Games

In the same way we love to encourage reading, we love to encourage the strategy, thinking and teamwork that comes with board games. I'll admit, I was a little shocked when one of my kids asked to learn how to play chess. I'm still not sure where this request originates but I definitely want to support it!

Even better, I came across this ADORABLE Super Mario Chess Set this one checks so many boxes. After seeing the most recent Mario movie, Mario and his pals are very popular in our home. More on that later in the list!

Admittedly, I have no idea what the point of this game is but since the whole family loves Bluey, this Keepy Uppy Game will absolutely be a fun family game this year.

We'll be implementing A LOT of self control to not buy all the Bluey things this year.

Coloring

Crafts are always popular for our kids but especially coloring. These Crayola Pip-Squeaks markers are the best for little ones. Small enough for little hands, washable and with a great case to keep everything organized.

We'll also find some new coloring books, journals and notebooks. These are exciting all year round. The Crayola Giant Coloring Pages are a top choice because we can be in control of how many pages get colored in one sitting. Handing kids a coloring book can be a gateway for a single scribble on each page leading to a request for a brand new book even though they didn't finish this one.

LEGO Sets

A timeless option. We still have some of our LEGO sets and pieces from when we were kids. LEGO has so many options for creativity and accomplishment. Open-ended sets are always a favorite (and usually what I'll direct family and friends towards!) but we also like small sets like this Gabby's Dollhouse Bakey with Cakey option. Small sets are awesome to let little ones feel the achievement of finishing on their own.

Aside from some of these options, we do tend to grab some clothes or winter wear like new hats and gloves. We try to keep things practical and limit what we are buying to things that each individual child can be excited about but also could be something that the whole family could use if the child chooses to share. This makes it a lot easier if one kid loses interest in something a week after Christmas.

We're big on practical gifts in stockings, too. I still need to come up with the plan for this year...