I have had it. Over the past 3 days, I have slowly been working my way through the playroom. Instead of just tossing toys and having a huge meltdown happen courtesy of our 3 1/2 year old daughter, I let her be part of the process. I explained simply that my brain was going to explode I was feeling overwhelmed by the toys and constant cleanup and tripping over magnetic alphabet pieces and wooden blocks was making me crazy. She was really gung-ho about it. Couldn’t wait to help. She started by choosing all of her favorite toys and putting them in the bag. Um…NO. I may be a decluttering nazi but I am NOT a fool. I know better. I knew we had to be realistic about this. So slowly we ridded the playroom of many more than 10 items. Some she was okay with, others not so much, but I am feeling mellow and in the end, she understands that a child only needs so many primary colored plastic toys.
Now, here I am, asking all of you. Anyone out there that has just been itching to buy my children gifts – DON’T BUY THEM TOYS. So many go unused, untouched, unappreciated. And not because of any reason other than that there are just too many of them. We live in a small home. 7 feet of tents and tunnels is not practical, Grandma. So even though they were on sale at Marshall’s and you just couldn’t pass up the deal, we don’t need them and we don’t have the space for them. It would’ve been SO MUCH COOLER if you’d sent a $50 giftcard or put $50 in a bank account or sent $50 so we could’ve spent an afternoon as a family experiencing something that the kids would have memories of to last a lifetime.
I know that it just feels so good to pick up something tangible and put it in a box and wrap it up and put a bow on it. It feels so much more loving and giving. But it’s not. All you are doing is adding to our stress level. I don’t want to sound unappreciative, I’m not. It’s wonderful that anyone wants to do anything for my kids. I just want you to know that there are better things than toys to offer them. Things that won’t get outgrown, things that will be used, things can last a lot longer and add much more value to all of our lives. So, please, when it comes to your mind to buy one of my beautiful children a gift…think of me tripping over them, picking them up, swearing softly mumbling under my breath, and then think of the smiles and memories that would come from learning and experiencing something new from a gift that will last.
Thank you.
Thank you for posting this…we don’t even have kids yet and we are ready to say this to our family!
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And for the love of God, stop taking them to the Dollar Store and letting them buy every cheap toy they want! I will just throw them away. I know, I know, that is not environmentally friendly, but neither is driving back and forth to Goodwill every day to drop off a car load. So just stop it already.
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Amen sista!! The things I would like my family to know are that the dollar store is not a gift giving depot and buckets of candy just get thrown away. There is only so much candy a kid can eat.
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Good to know! What about clothes?
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@ Mom and Stephanie – yes, the Dollar Store! Ugh!!!!
@ deepali – clothes have been an issue in the past but not so much anymore because i try to emphasize if/when they do need something so it’s specific and they only get what they need. we do go through them like crazy but they don’t pile up unused the way so many of the toys do. thank goodness for craigslist and goodwill and being able to pass them along to friends so the stuff doesn’t totally go to waste.
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Amen. We have a never ending supply of toys to trip over courtesy of friends and family. Despite my requests for things like savings bonds or clothes or even books-nobody hears me. IT’s 99 cents store water guns and slinkys…ugghhh.
I feel ya!
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We all need to read this post again when we are grandmas!!
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