Christmas Stuff

Christmas is just around the corner and every year I get this little feeling in my stomach like something just isn’t quite right. I’ve had this feeling ever since I was younger, but I’ve never really done anything about it. I always feel like there is just way too much stuff. Too many toys, too much clothes, too much of everything.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the holidays and I love getting and giving. But I just feel like maybe this whole thing should be re-thought out. And now with children I feel it even more so.

I am worried that my boys may be growing up in a house where they have so much of what they want they cannot separate it from what they need. And Christmas is the pinnacle of this situation. What do my children need? Very little I suppose: clothes, food, shelter, love. But toys make life more fun and interesting. And books will help them learn.

This year for Christmas my wife and I decided to repurpose an old end table as a play kitchen. It was inexpensive and fun to build and I think the kids will really like it… for a while. And this is where the problem lies. They have both sets of grandparents and numerous aunts and uncles so toys will be in abundance. And they will enjoy each one, for some time. Soon they will tire of this toy or that, they may break it, or never play with it. But we still have it. Crowding up the living room or playroom or kitchen. What can I do about all this stuff?

I wish there was a nice way to ask for something else. Money for a college fund. Tickets to a musical. Membership to a museum. But most people like to give toys. And don’t get me wrong. I love toys; I loved getting them as a kid and I love giving them to my nieces and nephews. And I know that one of the big reasons to give the gifts is because you get joy out of seeing them happy.

But happiness can come from so many different places. This year the thing I am looking forward to most is the party we are having the Sunday before Christmas. There will be many family and friends sharing this time with us. There will be singing and laughter and talking and joyfulness. That is what I love about Christmas. It’s such a great gift to share with everyone. And I know that the memories from these parties will be what my sons will keep with them their whole lives. So what to do with all the stuff? I don’t know.

It’s just such a fine line to walk. I hope I can find a way (adopt a family, perhaps?) to show my sons that people have it much worse than they do. And I hope they appreciate everything they get and don’t become absorbed with the idea of more and more stuff.