How often do you hear that? Kids really loving their gifts? I was pleased that that was our experience this year. Why should I be surprised? First I should mention my husband is something of a professional shopping engineer. By that I mean he has quantified all the variables related to selecting and securing stuff. I personally haven't mastered this but I think the algorithm goes something like this. [MSRP] - [seasonal sale discounts] - [club membership discounts] - [coupon or competitor coupon matching] = actual purchase price. Then you take other more intrinsic factors and add them to calculate "gift value index". Those factors include general popularity of the item, what it is made of, whether it is extremely new (modern) or extremely old (historic), if the item conforms with desirable cultural ideals, how large it is, how flashy it is, etc. That's how he chooses what to buy. He maintains an ongoing collection of "gift" items he can draw from any time the need for a gift should arise; unexpected out of town visitors, wedding invite, last minute birthday party, etc. Did you notice one criteria completely absent from his formula? Never once did I mention anything about the person to whom the gift is being given. This is not at all how I choose gifts. (And these are gifts my kids and I usually don't enjoy receiving.) Factors I take into account when selecting a gift are (in this order) the occasion, the person, budget, the practicality of the gift. So this year for Christmas my gifts were very intentional and absolutely did not fit his algorithm. Since my son is known for finding his gifts I waited until the 23rd to shop. My youngest daughter has been asking for a pet but she's not really ready to go it on her own so her sister offered tank space. Besides we have a dog so there are limits to what other animals would coexist. That's kind of the how. Now here's the what. Oh, and the items on this list range in price from $0.19 to $20. blocks of carving wood the world's largest coloring book (sort of) an educational science game and rock project water show computer speakers gloves, scarves, and hats a lego kit four goldfish from Meijer "Liberty's Kids" the complete series on DVD a build your own four cylinder engine kit Now here's the thing. What do you think my kids did during their break? It was all about building. They built the legos and engine. They colored and assembled speakers. They watched "Liberty's Kids" and Mythbusters and Duck Dynasty marathons on TV. We made cookies. We assembled new stick furniture, cleaned house, and set a pretty table. Then, since it was a beautiful sun shiny day, they played in the yard and found frozen rain water in the sandbox. Of course they carved 3d relief images in the chunks which now hang on the outside of my north facing windows. The best thing is that I watched them go from a typical whiny, "When can we open our presents?" attitude to, "I can't wait to see what the Myth Busters are going to do next!" And, "Hey guys! Put on your coats and boots and come see what I found outside." These are good hands-on home-grown kids. I couldn't be happier with their response to the items, programming, and activities we had this Christmas. I hope they learn to put thought into their choices in the future. Come to think of it, I guess I do have my own algorithm. ;)
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Brenda G.Enjoying the journey through my kids' childhood as a home educating mom. (And no, I don't have time for a blog but sometimes you just gotta write.) Archives
April 2019
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