Teach Your Child Thoughtfulness and Planning When Giving Gifts
Raising Thoughtful Gift Givers
Asking for and receiving gifts is only half of the holiday equation. Besides learning to receive gifts graciously, it’s also essential that kids learn how to be thoughtful gift givers as well.
Raising Thoughtful Gift Givers
Prepare A Budget In Advance
Like all things, the key is to prepare in advance. Just as their parents do, kids can start budgeting some of their allowance dollars in the weeks and months leading up to the holidays in preparation for gift buying for family and friends.
The strategy for handling this will vary hugely from family to family, even kid to kid. Parents might subsidize young children when they select gifts for grandparents, for example, within a certain budget. (Extra points if kids shop small and shop local...AND have a little chat about why.)
Pro Tip:
Discuss how sales tax will increase the overall price of a gift. Decide in advance who is responsible for this added cost.
Outline Their Responsibilities
When kids are a bit older, parents might match their contributions so their gift-givers have slightly more purchasing power. Still older kids might be responsible for buying, wrapping and giving a couple small gifts themselves. This is a hugely important life skill for kids to learn, one that can start small and build over the years as children grow older.
Notice Their Giving Glow
One of the BT kids recently got excited about a travel coffee mug with his favorite team logo he simply needed to get for his dad. Together, he went online with his mom, looked at the price, added to cart, noted the sales tax and shipping and placed the order using mom’s credit card. Together, they discussed how much he would contribute to the gift and he handed over a few of his “saving” dollars.
When the mug finally arrived by mail, he wrapped (if we can call it that) and labeled it for Dad, and it’s now sitting expectantly under the tree. Though this seven year old is counting the days until Christmas, he’s almost as excited to give this $14 trinket as he is to receive the most requested items on his Christmas list. And THAT is the spirit of the season.
Real Life Examples
Here’s a sample of how some of the BT dozen purchased their holiday gifts:
George (age 6) is painting holiday-themed wooden figures (thank you Target craft section!) to gift to his great-grandfather, who is an avid woodworker and his best buddy.
Alessia (age 6) used $50 of her SAVE dollars (with $20 subsidy from Mom!) to buy a new pack of golf balls for her golf-obsessed Dad, a Lego set for her older brother and a fluffy stuffed polar bear for her little brother. She is topping off her gifts with handmade cards and showing off her impressive wrapping skills.
Eleanor (age 7) handmade all of her holiday gifts. Dad will get a homemade photo frame (with a photo of the two of them), her little brother will receive an original board game (that she made up...props for major creativity!) and baby brother is set to get a hand-sculpted clay puppy dog.
Teddy (age 8) took $40 of his SAVE dollars to the school holiday fair. A “World's Greatest Dad” mug, daisy ring with purple gem, three fuzzy keychains, and a whoopie cushion later...his holiday shopping work is done!
From the smallest handmade token to a big fancy purchase, kids get even more when they give. Raising thoughtful gift-givers fosters gratitude, generosity and kindness in children. A little bit of prep from parents goes a long way in setting kids up for gift-giving success during the holiday season and beyond.
Benji’s Bottom Line
Raising thoughtful gift givers fosters generosity and kindness in children. A little bit of prep from parents goes a long way in setting kids up for success during the holiday season, over birthday celebrations and everything in between.
How does it make you feel when you give a gift?