a new tradition

I am super excited about this idea.

This year will be the start of a new tradition in our home, and it's thanks to Sara and this post. The picture {above} and the original idea came from this blog.

{as a sidenote, it's a lovely little blog; I followed Sara's link to it and stayed for an hour clicking through her posts.}
The idea is to simplify gift giving, yet still be thoughtful and generous, but in a meaningful and simplified way. This Christmas we're going to shop for Henry and William according to these four categories: want, need, wear, read. That means that each of them will get something they want, something they need, something they wear and something they read. In addition they will each get a gift from Santa and of course we couldn't survive without stockings! But other than that we're going to scale back and get just one gift for them in each of these categories.

Patrick and I usually spend a night out together doing {frantic, last-minute}Christmas shopping for the boys. I always have this internal struggle of wanting to do so much (why not surprise them with a pony on Christmas?) and realizing at the same time that they need so little. I also want them to grow up being thankful for the things they have and I don't want to teach them by my giving, or my emphasis on bigger and better gifts, to be materialistic and to have an insatiable appetite for things. Afterall, things never satisfy. Children are such gracious receivers though, and giving is one of the greatest joys at Christmastime. I am already excited for Christmas morning when the boys will race down the stairs and find presents, for them, under the tree.

I'm so excited to shop for them now. I think shopping in terms of these categories not only helps give me direction and helps to simplify my shopping, but it also makes the gifts we give them more meaningful. The something they wear will most probably be new pjs that they can open on Christmas Eve. {having an internal struggle; we always get them pjs for Christmas Eve, so should that really count as "something they wear"? I think yes, but see how I struggle?! Simplify, simplify, simplify!}

I told Henry about this new tradition and he said he didn't really want something to wear because clothes are "boring". The classic boy answer. Other than that he seemed excited thinking about what book he might get or what thing he might need. I hope this new idea takes root and becomes a tradition in our family. For me paring down helps to shift the focus back to what this season and Christmas is about.