Sometimes Christmas gift overload happens despite our best efforts to avoid it. Whether it be because you forgot how many gifts you already bought or grandma and grandpa got carried away, these tips will help you get through it.
This post is all about how to avoid Christmas gift overload, how to deal with it if it happens anyways, and how to remain grateful through it all.
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What is Christmas Gift Overload?
Christmas gift overload is the piles of presents that grandmas, grandpas, aunts, and uncles jam into your car after Christmas. It’s the massive pile of presents under the tree when you get a little too excited for the holidays. It’s someone buying your kids the LARGEST gifts possible. So, in short, it’s everyone getting a little too excited for the holiday and having the best intentions. But, houses can only hold so much stuff…
So here are a few ways to avoid the Christmas gift overload in your house and during all your holiday visits.
Tips for Christmas Gift Overload
Minimize the Gifts You Give At Home (max of 2-3 per kid)
If you’re reading this, it’s probably safe to say that a majority of the gift overload is coming from grandparents and extended family members. But even if that’s the case, you’ll still want to be careful about how many gifts you are giving at home as well. Stopping the overload starts first by limiting yourself.
I recommend giving a maximum of three gifts per kid. This not only will limit the clutter in your home, it will also improve how well your kids play and hold attention and give your kids a chance to actually play with their new toys on Christmas day.
Our family does three gifts, a small box of books, and an ornament that we think represents that year well. Another option is to do one gift from you and one gift from Santa for each child.
Focus on Practical Items in Their Stocking
While it’s definitely fun to jam pack stockings with a bunch of little toys, those little toys often end up being the toys that clutter your home and are hardly ever played with. So instead, focus on stocking stuffers that are both practical and fun. I often put themed electric toothbrushes in my kids’ stockings and they get SO excited. Some other ideas include the fun washcloths that grow in the tub, their favorite snack, new slippers, a fun themed water bottle, art supplies, hair accessories, or even a book light. Find my full list of 33 Practical Gift Ideas HERE. There are way more practical ideas than you’d think.
Give Shared Gifts
One of the best ways to limit the amount of gifts at Christmas is to give your kids combined gifts that they can enjoy together. This might be a nice play kitchen, a swing set, a trampoline, or even a new pet they all can enjoy together.
Keep Running Wish Lists for Each Kid Throughout the Year
One of the best ways to prevent emotional breakdowns over toys in the store is to ask your kids if they want that item added to their “wish list.” It often leaves them excited rather than angry that they have to leave that toy behind.
As a bonus, you also end up with an awesome wish list for birthdays and holidays. Having a list to go off will help you look through and see what items you think your kids would like the most and have talked about a lot this year vs. which ones they completely forgot about when they left the store.
Have Kids Choose A Certain Number of Toys to Donate
Sometimes being proactive is the only way to avoid the Christmas gift overload. So, when you first set up the Christmas tree, leave a box or basket underneath it and ask each of your children to place a certain number of their toys in the basket.
Younger children will need a little assistance choosing which toys to consider but I highly recommend you still have your kids put the toys into the basket themselves. Not only do you do a little preemptive decluttering with this, but your kids will also learn a lot about empathy, gratitude, and selflessness.
Ask for Experiences and/or Memberships to Places Nearby
Depending on how close you are with your extended family, it can feel a bit awkward to hand them wish lists for each one of your kids.
So, try asking for tickets to experiences instead. Amusement park tickets, zoo memberships, pool passes, trampolines, museums, etc. in your area make amazing gifts. They are gifts that you can use to get out of the house and also one that the grandparents can join in on enjoying too. It makes the ask a whole lot less awkward and doesn’t crowd your house with any more stuff.
Ask to Put a Small Toy Box at Each Grandparents House
If the grandparents or aunts/uncles you visit a lot don’t have toys at their house, consider asking if you can keep a small toy box of toys at their place. Then have your kids gather up a few things to keep at those houses when they go over to play. This way, they aren’t getting rid of them completely but they aren’t cluttering up your house.
This Delta children small toy box is only about two foot long so it’s not going to take up much space in their home and will gain you space at yours. Plus, then you don’t have to pack toys next time you go visit.
Put Some Toys in Storage Prior to Christmas
Grab a storage bin and gather up all the toys you haven’t seen your kids play with in a while. Place them all in a storage bin and tuck it away in your basement or attic prior to Christmas. Leave it there for 3 or 4 months after Christmas, only taking out toys that your kids ask about. Whatever is left at the end of the time frame you picked can be donated. Since your kids totally forgot those toys existed, you know they won’t be missed either.
Make Sure To Still Say Thank You
When your extended family members are filling your house up with large toys, it’s very easy to get annoyed. But it is still very important to say thank you and have your kids say thank you as well. Just say it a lot until you finally start to feel it. Because while you may see nothing but clutter as they open gift after gift, everyone has the same goal of making your child feel loved. So, cling to that.
Saying thank you is something simple that can totally change your perspective when you are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of stuff you’ve received. And too much is definitely a good problem to have (even if it doesn’t always feel that way).
This post was all about how to handle the Christmas gift overload logistically while still remaining grateful to all the people who simply wanted to show how much they care. I hope this helps ease the impending doom of the gift pile headed your way. Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
– Beautifully Busy Mom
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Meet the Author
Hi, I’m Monica! I’m a former teacher turned stay at home mom of three! I started this blog after feeling very lonely at the beginning of my motherhood journey. My goal is that no other moms would feel the way that I felt. So, this blog is filled with free resources, fun activities, and answers to the not so easy questions. That way, you can enjoy the beautiful chaos that is motherhood. Let’s be friends 🙂
