Holiday advice notice...

[bssage]

Hey all. I thought to start a thread to help others not to "learn the hard way" Some of the pitfalls and some of the dangerous stuff that we all have learned on the holidays.


<U>THIS IS NOT A RELIGION, SANTA, DEBATE THREAD.</U>

Even people who do not celebrate the holidays are going to have some exposure to them. Just advice from parents for parents. A list of sorts, for new parents, from parents who's kids are getting into different age groups ect.

Please be aware that <U>some of the advice may either be used, or linked to in the Parenting Forums Front Page.</U>

Have fun like any other thread. And while debates are both normal and accepted. Just please start a new thread in its proper place to have one.

General holiday advice can use this thread.

I would touch base with Grandparents uncles ect. On the type's of gifts you want to avoid for your kids. No one wants to give/get a gift only to have it taken right away.

If entertaining make sure the other parents can share the rules of your house with their kids in advance. I.E. No going into bedrooms/basement. Or leave the cat alone its mean. ect

 

[MomoJA]

I think a lot of people draw names in their families. We do. The advice I have is simple and obvious, so forgive me in advance. We send out a mass email to all the parents involved in the draw with a "wish list" for our kids. Makes it easier to shop.

 

[IADad]

When DS1 was something like 4, his unlce got him this awesome lego building set...for ages 10 and over or something like that. It was horrible. DS wanted to put it together, but damn, I couldn't make sense of these tiny little pieces, let alone help him with them, so we managed to get it lost in the clutter and put it away forgotten. When we quizeed uncle on why he had gotten it, he said he'd read the age, but thought "his nephew was pretty bright and it was so cool..."

So, the advice is try to stay close to the ages on the labels and advize relatives too if you need to.

If you are getting something from Santa that is going to require assembly Christmas Eve, have a plan and have a plan for what to do whtne soemthing goes wrong...idealy try to do the assembly days earlier so you can do something different if something doesn't work out. I've been up too late and bee too frustrated too many Christmas eve nights trying to assmble something that doesn't go quite right. This year there's going to be a new tablet under the tree, so I forsee a lot of "testing" by santa before christams morning, beacues I don't think I'll touch it again for months after it gets into DS' hands.

 

[TabascoNatalie]

We don't have such thing as forbidden gifts. Some things get put away, well, if people bring clothes a few sizes too big or we already have something like that.

But there's one thing that annoys me. There's such a fad that gifts should be "memorable". These are people's handicrafts, souvenirs and other unusable items which become dust-gathering junk. Come on, people -- try to count how many Xmases and birthdays there are in life, plus other gift-giving occasions. Especially for kids -- they want toys, they want sweets. Ok, those maybe won't last very long, won't be very memorable or educational. But at least will be enjoyed for a while. :wub:

 

[IADad]

We don't have such thing as forbidden gifts. Some things get put away, well, if people bring clothes a few sizes too big or we already have something like that.

But there's one thing that annoys me. There's such a fad that gifts should be "memorable". These are people's handicrafts, souvenirs and other unusable items which become dust-gathering junk. Come on, people -- try to count how many Xmases and birthdays there are in life, plus other gift-giving occasions. Especially for kids -- they want toys, they want sweets. Ok, those maybe won't last very long, won't be very memorable or educational. But at least will be enjoyed for a while. :wub:

good point.

and I heard one suggestion that giving "Consumable gifts" is best because the recipient gets to use them up, enjoy them (child and adult alike) and then they are left with stuff to store or otherwise dispense with.

Not everything needs to be a lifelong keepsake. One grandma gives us and the boys each, not one, but several christams tree ornaments each year...the burden of storing and displaying them each year is becoming oppressive.

 

[momof3girls]

When in doubt ASK!!! and if its clothes leave the tag on and give a gift receipt. Every year my MIL buys my kids an outfit that not only they dislike but so do I. And Every year she rips the tags off and I'm stuck with them. Until the next goodwill run

 

[Doloreta]

well...
i spent my all holidays in my at home ....