Christmas is fast approaching. I've been weighing how many presents to buy...initially resolving to be more reserved this year-- but slowly losing my conviction. Priorities need to play a role in making our decisions, but society and reality also must factor in.
The kids and I have been listening to Little House on the Prairie, and it is inspiring how the children are so grateful for an absolutely meager Christmas. However, these are children who haven't seen other kids for the entire year and have nothing to compare it to. The family is also quite poor, so they know that their parents truly are making an effort and could not afford a lot more.
It's hard to figure out exactly how much is optimal. I do sometimes wish we lived in a sort of bubble, like the Ingalls children, so that the kids don't expect or want the popular, plastic toys so much. The point of Christmas shopping, though, is to see the kids happy and excited on Christmas morning. All respect to the Ingalls, but a peppermint stick, penny, tin cup and cake aren't going to cut it for my worldly young'uns!
That said, I do not want a repeat of last year, when Fiona was overwhelmed with too much and became a little spastic and unable to appreciate her deluge. Secretly, though, I think I'll feel a tad less guilty about overwhelming her than I would feel if I got her even close to what I would consider a 'meager' Christmas. I know material goods don't translate into love, but I can't help but correlate the two. Alrighty...I'll try to tone it down a little bit...
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