How Much is Too Much?
This Christmas AJ needs certain things; fine motor games, gross motor games, and games and activities that work on coordination and keep him active and structured throughout the day. We have been working very hard on structuring his day after preschool because he instantly goes into meltdown mode after lunch. My job as a parent is to basically create a preschool structure for him. In order to do this I have to keep him active.
We have plenty of craft activities that we got for him last Christmas, some blocks, a few Duplo blocks, a monster Brio train set, enough cars to build a highway from here to Florida, and a few memory games that he still has trouble with. He still does not get the concepts of games like Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders, which we also have.
So, this Christmas we decided to create a preschool for him. He is getting a shoe so he can learn to tie, a stacking game, a car game (from an Uncle), a marble set (his big present from us), the marble jump, a present from his uncle, and the Big Santa Present is a car garage and a BRIO Speaking Station
To me it seems like a ton of presents for one little guy but what we do is put them away and save over half of them for over the course of the year or sometimes the gifts end up not being quite age appropriate and we end up putting them away for later. We still have things from two Christmas’ ago that we have not brought out because we know he can’t handle them yet.
We allow him to open them and then we carefully, after he goes to bed, put them away and allow him to play with one or two things. Because really, how much it too much?
By creating a structured “preschool”environment for him I can allow only a few things a day for him to play with and can help him with his developmental needs. Sure, it may not always work because he and I both get frustrated by the end of the afternoon but at least we can say that we tried and he was not crazy all day. It sure works better than to let him run wild from the start and not learn anything.
So here is my question…how much do your children get at Christmas and how do you manage it?
My kids always get too much and it is a problem because we have such a small apartment. I use a formula I read about in a magazine.
The four formula for Christmas satisfaction: something warm and cuddly for winter warmth, something interest or hobby-oriented, something practical and something whimsical that brings delight. I think the secret, though, is to make each thing special.
That said, I still tend to go overboard with the kids. I have to remind myself that love is not over-indulgence.
wow! Can I call you Santa!? What happened to like… one present for Christmas?
For me, I would rather keep things a little more separate… fun is fun. Learn is Learn. Sure, they intersect, but I would rather it not be that obvious, at least not for Christmas…
Ah, but he has no idea that all those are for learning. He just thinks he is having fun.
The gifts are spread out some because they are from different people…and I do put many of them away for later in the year so he does not see them again for a while.
It is just my way of being practical. That way he does not think he gets presents “just because.”