Shopping with children is stressful at the best of times. Add more colors, lights, and decorations for the occasion, mix this with excitement and holiday shopping is even more stressful than ever with children. Add the stress of not knowing what to purchase, and an experience that should be enjoyed is now at the bottom of the ‘To Do’ list.
Here are our Top 3 ways for how you can take the stress out of holiday shopping for kids.
1. Making a Holiday Shopping Wish List Together
This is often the time of the year where stores send out catalog after catalog. Instead of throwing them straight into the recycling, why not get your kids together for an afternoon of old-fashioned craft fun. Grab some scissors, glue, and paper, and make a wish list poster by cutting out and then pasting the things that catch your kid's eye. Conversations will naturally start and you may discover that your child has different tastes and interests than what you thought. You may not want to just limit this to toys and fun items. Think clothing as well as practical items.
2. Complete Your Holiday Shopping Online
What makes shopping extremely stressful is often the other distractions that exist at shopping malls. Not only from the impulse shopping items aimed at children such as candy but also many distractions for you as the shopper that is there to encourage you to stray away from your organized list. Working parents need to be organized and ensure that their precious time is used efficiently. Removing the distractions of shopping malls and completing your shopping online at home is efficient and time effective, and you can do it around your schedule.
3. Think Outside the Box with Gift Ideas
When you start the process of holiday shopping for kids, it may be that you are met with blank stares, no ideas, or have children that really do have everything they need or want. A perfect idea for older children and teenagers, consider experiences instead of things. Cooking or art classes or sessions at climbing walls or bowling alleys are great ideas for the kids that have everything.
Another idea is to brainstorm some ideas for experiences you would like to do as a family and offer these suggestions to grandparents or friends who would like to get gifts for you. Not only will you then get a great activity to do as a family but it avoids receiving another pair of socks or awful perfume you really don’t want.
Conclusion
In an age where children have technology at their fingertips, their needs and wants have become not only more expensive but often based on a trend or “what everyone else has”. Gone are the days where small gifts are enough… or is that what our kids have us believe! When we actually sit down and chat with our kids, we realize that they don’t always want everything with all the bells and whistles. They just may not know what other options there are or how to express what they are interested in.
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