Avoiding the Over-Gifting Epidemic

We don’t know about you, but we can’t focus on a damn thing if our homes aren’t in perpetual Vogue Living status. Beyond the fact that it doesn’t look or feel good, hoarding loads of useless junk is not good for anyone’s soul, especially not a child’s.

Naturally, when our friends and family kept showing up bearing noisy, plastic, light-up toys that only added clutter to our spaces (that we work so hard to keep uncluttered), we had to figure out a way to put a stop to it.

First and foremost, your child does not actually need (or want, for that matter) all those toys. Kids were also around hundreds of years ago, and they developed just fine without Tickle Me Elmo (sorry, bro).

It’s also likely that your child already owns thirteen variations of whatever new Tonka truck they just received, and because they’ve got the attention span of a small rodent, they will play with this novelty item for a few days (a week at most) and then it will be forgotten, discarded, and left to die a slow death under a pile of snow in the backyard. Remind the gift-givers of this.

If you’re like us, you already work really damn hard to simplify your kid’s childhood in an era of over-consumption and instant gratification. Let would-be gift-givers know that you’d rather nurture your child’s curiosity by exposing them to the world around them (a.k.a. the outdoors), and that you’re trying to teach your kid that people and experiences matter more than “things.”

We haven’t even touched on the incredible amount of waste that is destroying our environment. We are all responsible for our consumption, and that applies to children’s toys, too.

That’s why we’re imploring you to ask your village to get creative about birthdays/holidays/showers/etc. Be the leader and encourage others to live by your example. You, your home, your recycling bin, your local playground, and your child will all be better for it.

Some Ideas:

• Splurging on a new baby is fine—everyone is allowed to purchase one incredibly adorable outfit or toy that is begging to be Instagrammed. Just not upon every damn visit. Make that clear.
• If they’re fixated on buying your babe a toy, suggest getting something they can both get involved in. A ball, a paint set, Play-Doh, puzzles, Legos—all of those things are better together.
• Remind them that kids love ridiculously simple things. If they come over with a bag of balloons, they’re guaranteed a positive reaction.
• Books, books, and more books. In the age of TV, iPads, and smartphones, your kid will need to balance out all of that screen time. Books never get old. They are loved, passed down, and used over and over until the pages are worn.
• The gift of music has the ability to transcend time and speak in a language everyone can understand. It teaches, it unifies, it evokes feelings, and it triggers the imagination. Whether it’s an instrument, records, or even a Spotify subscription, music is life.
• Rally your crew into doing something with your kid. Taking the bus across the city to bite into the best pizza slice in town can be an adventure of epic proportions.
• A stroll through a new park or playground in a different neighbourhood makes a glorious gift. Extra points if they get down and dirty exploring bugs with your mini-scientist.
• Ask them to babysit and go wherever they please for a few hours. Not only will this buy you some much-needed alone time, but they also get to choose their own adventure and learn something new about their surroundings in the process.
• If they’re aching to add some new clothes to the never-ending pile in your kid’s dresser, remind them to check in with you first, as you may be in the market for a new raincoat as opposed to the newest baby Air Jordans.
• Are monster trucks your child’s latest obsession? Look into when the monster-truck show is coming to town and make it a family trip. Kiddo into dinosaur bones? The museum’s got ’em and they are gigantic and amazing. Little sports fan on your hands? Suggest a blissfully boring baseball game and pack in some quality time in the sun.
• Most importantly, drive this concept home: Experiences over toys. Memories over stuff.

And if Grandma is still hell-bent on spending some money, advise her to drive to the local liquor store and snag you ladies some pinot noir to enjoy together, or have her just hand over the cold, hard cash so you can invest it on babe’s behalf.