Any suggestions, moms?

Fit_mommy

Fit_mommy

Cathlete
Okay, so I have a small house with VERY LITTLE storage space. My son is the first baby in many years on DH's side of the family. They are going INSANE over him! He is already going to get MANY (smaller) gifts for Christmas Eve and there is nothing I can do about that but I am worried about Christmas Day!

How does one tactfully explain that we don't have the room or the need for a million gifts for him? He will only be 7.5 months old come Christmas...how much does he really need? Some clothes and a few small toys is about it but I KNOW they all want to buy him many presents a piece. Plus the fact that at his age, he is not even going to appreciate them! Yeah, he'll play with the toys but he's not gonna get the whole Christmas/gift giving thing!

DH and I agreed to go very small on him this year...we bought him one gift for Christmas Eve and one for Christmas Day. That's it and I think it's the smartest thing we could have done!

I can truly appreciate the thought behind his family going hog-wild on DS but I cringe when I try to figure out what I am going to do with all of this STUFF!?!?!http://www.smileys.ws/smls/speechless/00000039.gif[/img]

What would you do???
 
Suggest savings bonds. Since the baby is too small to understand.
I am a grandma. I always overbuy.
This year i am getting him a full size bed. Something he needs.
Let them know next year wil be a more fun year to save it for.
Anne
 
Wendy-

You said it very well.

Just explain in a friendly manner to them at your next visit, that Joey really doesn't understand about the whole gift thing. And most importantly, it is not the quantity that counts, but the love that comes with a gift that means the most. And a large quantity of toys/ clothes will not fit in your home's space.

You are a wise woman to start with this trend when he is a baby.


Judy "Likes2bfit"
 
Wendy,
I want to wish you luck because same thing happened to me. Do you think they listened????????????????? Now I have a HUGE pile of unwanted toys that are new, rarely played with, etc...It's in garbage bags waiting to be send out to poor kids with very little or no toys. Of course, my family is angry with me about it but TOO BAD. If they had listened to me in the first place then it wouldn't have been a problem. I would not let them buy much clothes either because Joey is going to outgrow them before you know it unless you plan on having a second child but who knows if it'll be a girl or a boy. My youngest is 19 months now and I got rid of his clothes that are too small and most of his clothes were hand me down from his brother. 95% of them are new or in a great shape so I donated their clothes.

I think savings bond is a great idea or you can open a bank account for Joey and have your relatives, friends, etc send you a check for his XMas present or birthday present and by the time Joey starts college or wants a car, he'll have the money already. That's what I'm doing with my boys. They have their own savings account and you'd be surprised at how quickly the money adds up. Depending on the bank, some children's savings account are free, some you have to pay a buck a month. Whenever people ask me what to give to the boys for XMas or birthday, I tell them to write a check in their name and I deposit it. Works well for me and much, much less mess and room taken up. :)

Lisa
 
Thanks for the suggestions ladies. I can try the savings bond and money thing but I can see it being only PART of a gift. LOL Then again, I guess that's okay b/c that still means that much less clutter! (I HOPE!)

Joey already has a savings account with quite a bit of $ in it. He got $ even at my baby shower!!!:eek: LOL The little guy will be taking his parents out to dinner as he'll have more $ than us soon!:7 :p
 
Wendy, you're on the right track with the savings account. I hear college will cost a pretty penny in 18 years. Sigh... I only have 13 more in which to pile up some measly dough. Anyway, you talked about stuff your baby doesn't use. Are there any consignment shops for baby and kids' stuff in your area? There are several in mine and I've made some $$$ bringing Andrew's gently used items (toys, clothes, books, furniture, rockers, linen, etc.) in there. I could exchange the $$$ with stuff they have in the store, or take the $$$ and shop somewhere else. Doing this has taken some load of the clothes budget. Every little bit helps.

Pinky
 
Awwww grand babies are for spoiling !!! LOL They know Joey doesnt really understand etc etc . But It makes those grandparents feel so good to be part of the spoiling ... It will wear off by the time Joey understands ... Let them spoil him then later you just take the stuff somewhere for a donation !!!or save for baby #2..Plus trust me (Mine are 20,17 and 4) they grow up real fast this is only a small phase for those grandparents ..I say Let them do it !!!!!Plus once its all opened and re stacked its never as much as it looked under the tree !!!!:) :) :) :) :) Also you can put some of it away and pull it out later rotating toys is great !!!
 
My Dad and brother just hand me cash for the kids birthdays and Christmas. I put it in an envelope and save it until I come across something really awesome for them. Last spring it was a wooden swing set that cost $1,000.00. We make sure they know that it is from Granddad and Uncle Jeff.

We don't have that kind of cash to just buy the kids big stuff like that whenever they (and we) want but when we hold onto the funds gifted, it accumulates and you can get nice stuff like that when the time is right.

It's not as responsible as saving for college but if your family wants to see the money put to use in the near future, it's an idea. My brother is still so thrilled to play with my kids on the swing set that he helped buy and put together.

Just an idea!
 
Wendy,

If they do indeed go overboard with gifts how about donating some of them to battered women shelters or similiar places where they could be put to good use. They don't have to know you do it and you would be helping families that really need it.

Just a thought!

Terri
 
The college expense is astronimical. We currently have two kids at pirvate universities and one in a private Jesuit Middle school and it really is expensive. The best way to save is to start early and be consistent. My DH was very strict with this when our kids were born and we are really thankful now.


Judy "Likes2bfit"
 
Ask for clothes only. Clothes in a bigger size than he is right now. You can never have too many clothes, since they grow so fast..I know. :)

I would either ask for clothes or gift cards. Just tell them he has enough toys.

:)

ETA: I like the Savings Bond idea too...or money toward their College Savings. I have a college savings account through www.brightstartsavings.com for my little guy.
 
My family was the same way when my kids were babies and I agree with Merrybaker - it wears off. It is kind of wasteful to watch yourself give those things away and for me I had some guilt about not even opening some of the packages. You are may also be trying to establish yourself as a "parent" which is a role no one has ever seen you play and it is not very confidence inspiring to be overriden by your family. It passes!

I begged my family not to load my kids up on gifts. For the first few Christmas holidays I barely bought my kids anything because of the piles of "stuff" they got. I tried to explain it to them over and over that we wanted our kids to think that 4 presents was a pile and really appreciate the spirit of the holiday which for us is BEING TOGETHER.

Luckily my brother's kids are complete spoiled brats and when my Mom was complaining about how they don't appreciate anything and all they want is more stuff all the time, I got to ask her "How do you think they got that way." She got what I was trying to say and drastically cut back on the piles and started giving cash and bonds.

Good luck and enjoy this first Christmas. It is so special. Is Joey small enough to have his pic taken in a stocking? I always regret not doing that!
Melissa
 
You might ask some of them to get gifts that will suit Joey when he is 2 and when he is 3, and then you store tham away, maybe at your Mum's house?, until he is ready for them.

Otherwise, you ask them for book gift tokens and you buy him a library of excellent books that will keep him engrossed from this age 'til he is 4 or 5.

No kid can ever have too many books and a single bookshelf takes up way less space than a whole load of toys.

Clare
 
You could also tell them that they can keep the toys at their house for when you visit. Also, buying clothes for the next season comes in handy. Melissa
 
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