These are the gifts we are giving our 3 girls for Christmas this year. This year, they are 4, 6, and 8 years old!
By Will and Erin Odom
Every year, we give our children three gifts each–a want, a need, and a gift to nurture their spiritual growth.
We started this tradition when our firstborn was a baby, so they have never known any different. This helps us to keep the gifts intentional, and it also helps us not to overspend (although we are spending a bit more this year than in years past–only because we have a larger budget).
Our girls do get more gifts from other relatives, but we have begun putting most grandparent money toward their education funds.
You can check out what we gave our girls the last 3 years here:
Without further ado, check out what we are giving our girls for Christmas this year!*
(* Please keep in mind that some of the prices may be different since we purchased our items. I have noticed that some items are currently unavailable on Amazon, so the prices are inflated.)
As you do your online Christmas shopping, don’t forget to earn money with Ebates or Swagbucks.
Something they want:
The girls can choose one item that they really want, and it is usually some kind of toy.
Our girls love Legos, and we love all the educational value they add to play time. Plus, they are just fun.
This year our oldest is getting the Lego Friends Amusement Park Roller Coaster. She saw this months ago and has not stopped asking for it. I thought she would change her mind, but she has not.
Our 6-year-old has fallen in love with the new Wellie Wisher* line from American Girl. My husband and I love them because they teach kindness and compassion.
We got a magazine in the mail, and she found this Bunny and Hutch playset that she cannot stop talking about.
Hubs and I are especially excited about the doll we are giving our 4-year-old: a Hearts for Hearts doll! She was sitting with me one day looking at them, and she specifically picked out Rahel from Ethiopia.
These dolls each come with their own stories and teach cultural and ethnic appreciation.
If you need other ideas check out the kids’ section of our 2016 Gift Guide.
Something they need:
Our girls truly don’t need anything at this point; however, it is important for us to nurture the interests of our children, so sometimes “needs” can take a different form.
Our 8-year-old loves to sew. She would spend all day doing it if we let her. She loves to design and sew things for her dolls and sometimes tries to make things for her sisters. We think this is a useful skill she will be able to use throughout her life, so we are encouraging her to practice and learn as much as she can while she is young.
That’s why she’s getting this fashion design set and a dress form for 18-inch dolls. We want her to continue to learn a skill that she will need in the future.
Our middle child is currently in kindergarten and is learning to read. She’s doing great but needs some help learning some of her blends and sounds. She loves playing games, so we thought a game focused on reading and words would be good for her.
She will be getting the Spelligator Word Building Game. It helps with sounding out words and spelling rules, and that is definitely something she will need in the future.
Our youngest child’s need is a little more practical, but something that she will still enjoy because she loves wearing coats.
She has needed a thicker winter coat for a while since we didn’t really have any hand-me-down coats from her sisters. She is getting this Carter’s Fairisle 2-in-1 Jacket that we found on sale at Kohls (and used our discounts).
Something spiritual:
This is perhaps the most difficult area to buy for, but it is an area that we want to foster in our children.
Our two oldest girls attend a Christian university-model school, and they are required to have a small Bible that they can read at school.
The other Bibles they have are pocket Bibles with very tiny print, so we decided to give them a slightly bigger backpack Bible that is still small but has bigger print and is an age-appropriate version.
My husband has a set of Russian nesting dolls that a former student gave him several years ago. Every time our youngest visits him at school, the nesting dolls are the first thing she picks up.
We thought it would be fun for her to have her own set to play with, so she is getting this Nativity Family Nesting Family. It’s some of the only spiritual ones we could find, but we think she will really enjoy them.
For more spiritual gift ideas for your little ones, check out Will’s post on 65+ gift ideas to foster spiritual growth.
Stocking Stuffers
In addition to their 3 gifts, we also stuff their stockings with smaller items. This year, this will include fun socks, hair accessories, a box of band-aids, a few organic lollipops or candy, some piggy paint, sticky hands, a doll hairbrush, Shopkins bracelets, and a coin purse.
As you do your online Christmas shopping, don’t forget to earn money with Ebates or Swagbucks.
Becca
We always go overboard at Christmas, not in terms of money but in number of gifts. (Sidenote, I’m not saying you’re wrong and we’re right.) I think the gifts the kids will be most excited about are the Kindle Fires (one of which was purchased entirely using Swagbucks – the cheapest Kindle here is about $200 but thankfully my parents agreed to bring them over when they visited, so I saved a bundle!) and skim disks for the beach (like boogie boards, but circular, and very big, if conditions are right you can even surf on them – normally $40 but I got them at end of season clearance for $5.) The kids have January off school for Summer vacation so Christmas is a great excuse for stocking up on books and arts and crafts supplies to keep the kids entertained, so there are plenty of those, too.
Will
Becca,
That’s awesome! I love that you used your Swagbucks and end-of-season clearance to offset the cost of gifts. That’s smart!
And it sounds like they will have some great fun at the beach. Wish we lived closer to the beach.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!!
Heather R
I look forward to this post each year! I really struggle with stocking stuffer ideas, and I buy them throughout the year based on what you give your girls. They will love their stockings this year! I love that Nativity nesting family. This year my girls are each getting a Hatchimal, a Learning Resources teaching cash register and Melissa and Doug shopping cart to share, my oldest is getting a Melissa and Doug fashion design kit and the NLT Hands on Bible, and my youngest is getting a Crayola light up Stamper set and My First Hands on Bible. Christmas Eve they always open new pyjamas.
Will O
We are considering a gift for them to share as well. Just not sure what yet.
Megan
Oh, I am just in love with the nativity nesting set! Aravis is entranced with our santa nesting set (inherited from my family) but I love this PURPOSE even more- and how cute! I might just have to see if I can fit this in their stocking. We do the three main gifts as well, just like the wise men! We also got them a gift to share- a membership to Discover Place Science and Nature.
Will
We are talking about share gift but haven’t come up with anything yet.
Caitlin
My son (almost 2) loves the nesting dolls we got when we were in Russia this year! I didn’t even think about getting him his own set for Christmas (I am not at ALL sure about the quality of the paint on the ones we got from the tourist shop… he still occasionally puts toys in his mouth and I feel like these might give him lead poisoning or something!) In Russia its perfectly traditional to paint icons or other religious art on nesting dolls, so this tickled me! 🙂
Aimee Hadden
I love the thought and care that goes into each item. And that you have a system for Christmas buying. This is something I would love to implement in our home.
Claudette
Our youngest daughter is 10 this year. She is the only one left at home. This year her wish list included an American Girl doll from the year she was born. I thought this was an interesting choice. We always do activities and research about the new dolls when they come out. (As of right now she only owns the Isabelle doll). So, after searching and researching my husband and I were able to obtain one from Ebay. I think I’m just as excited as she is. And of course I’m already crafting some accessories to go with it. I guess you’re never too old to play with dolls.
Keelie Reason
Love the list. 🙂 I think it will be a great Christmas at your house.