How I'm Approaching Birthday Gifts
a look at what I gifted my 3 year old this year
Gift-giving is my love language. I love reading gift guides almost as much as I love giving gifts so I hope you find some ideas in this newsletter.
A simple gift-giving formula
Like everyone, I’ve had to take a long, hard look at our budget lately. In an effort to simplify gift-giving, I’ve come up with a formula for birthday gifts that is loosely based on the Christmas gift-giving principle of “something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read”.
Can I be completely transparent for a minute? Our house is overrun with stuff but both of my kids love toys right now, specifically open-ended toys like Legos and Play-Doh. As much as I hate the smell of Play-Doh and the mess it leaves around the house, I’m happy to gift my preschool son something that promotes daily creativity. If that doesn’t sum up the duality of parenthood, I’m not sure what does.
Birthday Gifts for a 3 year old
Character pajamas — We are potty training so gone are the days of footed onesies. My son loves Blippi (we watch the ice cream truck episode every evening) so these character PJs are a cute way for him to dress up like his favorite YouTube star.
Candy — I couldn’t resist this Target truck PEZ dispenser. They’re so nostalgic. I swear my kids ask for candy after every meal so I know he’ll be thrilled with a favorite sweet treat.
Play-Doh — Inevitably Play-Doh gets left out and dried up so a 12-pack in a variety of colors will come in handy as we need to replace it.
Legos — Spiderman is a favorite superhero at our house and this Lego Duplo set will let my son feel like he’s more involved in play time but with larger pieces that are easier for growing hands to manipulate.
Books — Again with the favorite character theme, I bought Blippi’s Let’s Read! and the Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: Potty Time Yoto Card.
I know it can be taboo to talk about money but I think it’s helpful to talk honestly about it with other women. With cash-back bonuses, Target circle deals, and my Target debit card discount, I spent a little less than $50 on my son’s gift and he has plenty of things to open up. If you’re on a tighter budget, I think you could easily recreate a similar gift by picking up items from a dollar store— especially coloring books and craft supplies.
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What do you think about this gift-giving formula? Do you have any go-to items when it comes to birthday gifts?
Elsewhere on the Internet: Goodreads / Storygraph / Pinterest
Oh yes, I know the duality of parenthood all too well 😅 This is a really great idea. I’m always trying to cull the toy swamp’s ever growing presence so it’s always a struggle to balance the desire to buy with “do we really need it”.
I love these options! We struggle with the same thing in my house. After moving, our kids are truly OVERRUN with toys. I love the idea of things like consumables and clothing they’ll use that can still be fun! I’m thinking I’m gonna focus on experiential gifts this year because I’m sure my family won’t, so at least that’ll minimize a bit of clutter!