Christmas Gifts Experiment

As I sat down for lunch with my kids this afternoon, we somehow ended up talking about Christmas gifts. K said all she wants for Christmas this year are some stationaries. She's being nice coz' she knows we've spent a lot of money on the house renovation.

Anyway, I said maybe this year we should try some different kinds of Christmas gifts. I proposed that this year the rule would be giving gifts that don't require money. D1 went "Huh? Are there such gifts?" I gave examples like how I could give him 30 minutes of my time to play badminton, playing 1 board game with K, giving daddy a service coupon for 1 car wash etc....

Don't get the wrong idea that I don't have money to get them presents. I can still buy them gifts if I want to but I thought I should run this little experiment to see if my kids can feel better the joy of giving. Maybe Christmas can be more meaningful when we strip away the materialism. Goodness knows my kids need it. There's been too much selfishness in the house lately. Too much of "I want this," "Can you but me that", "Don't take mine", etc....

This year, it is going to be a "What can I give" Christmas and not a "What am I going to get" Christmas. Let's see if I can turn things around.