Wow Me Wednesday #2:Guide to Gift-giving

Today for Wow Me Wednesday, I decided to peruse my Pinterest board called "Maxwell Jackson Jude" for something I found to incorporate into his life that also wowed me a little. One of the values that Anthony and I have really wanted to focus on in our parenting is not becoming materialistic and accumulating for the sake of accumulating. We always feel like we have too much stuff and that we want Max to value the things he has and be grateful for gifts. We have been to Birthday Parties and opened Christmas gifts where children received 50-100 gifts each. It was astounding and disturbing at the same time. We would like Max to enjoy the things he gets but to also understand that they aren't going to be numbering in the hundreds so it would be best if he valued those items and took great care of them. We decided that adopting this practice might help us do that. This is the approach we are going to take for his birthday. We are not sure how Christmas is going to look just yet.

Just to give a picture of what this might look like..let's talk about a 4 year old child. I have a nephew this age and he is really into Superheros and toys in general. Here is an idea of how his birthday might look with this approach

1 thing they want: There is a giant superman action figure at Wal-mart that he has had his eye on. It costs about $25 and seems durable. This would be in this category.

1 thing they need: Shawn does not need for a lot but his bedding was getting pretty shabby so getting the avengers comforter and sheet set seems like a good option here at around $25 as well.

1 thing they wear: Shawn is always doing pretty well in his clothing but this year he needed some shorts. His mama shops at places like Once Upon a Child so let's say she allotted $20 for shorts.

1 thing they read: Shawn could always use more books as any kid could so maybe taking $20 and heading down to Inklings in order to get more for the money would be a good idea.

Budget for Birthday: $90-$100

I know that people spend far more on their kids for birthdays and as they get older, their wants tend to be more expensive so this may look different down the road but I feel like if we keep with this guideline it keeps Max from accumulating. It is less about price for me and more about him cherishing what he gets and not tossing it aside for the 75th present he opens.

What does everyone think about this guide to gift giving and could you do it?