Avoid Useless Gifts – My Top 5 Things to consider when purchasing a gift for children

The holiday shopping season is underway and many of you are getting into that shopping mood. The kids are writing their wish list and you’re hoping to grab as many things you can off their list.

Before you grab everything off a child’s wish list, I want you to start thinking about the things you are buying for them. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a child gets a useless item.  I know the thought is there and I really appreciate that.  But sometimes people are in such a hurry to finish their shopping they end up buying an item these children end up using once and their useless and a waste of money.

I know I’ve purchased a bunch of things to find out they were useless.  So I’ve made a list of the Top 5 things to avoid/consider when purchasing a gift.

1.)  Toys that have a gazillion pieces.  You’ll especially want to avoid this if you don’t have proper storage for all of your kid’s toys.  A toy box just doesn’t do it.  The kids dump all of their toys into the toy box and they don’t even bother looking for all of the pieces to play with the toy again.

2.)  Extremely Large Toys.  These can be anything from indoor basketball hoops, motorized cars, bouncy ball etc. These types of toys get in the way of everything and are hard to store.  We end up getting rid of the items sooner because we are just frustrated with tripping over these items.

3.)  Think about how your child is going to use the item.  One year Santa brought a wagon for our youngest child.  The wagon seemed like a great gift to put all of the toys in, ride along with etc.  However, living in the desert and all of the rocks we have in our backyard made the wagon useless. We never took it anywhere because it wasn’t an easy item to load up in the vehicle and go.

4.)  Board Games. A great gift — if you get the right ones.  When choosing these types of gifts find games that are age appropriate.  If you’re purchasing a game that says 4 or more players and you only have a family of 3 it’s not going to get much use.  Also, choose games that don’t require your assistance.  I love being able to play games with my kids but not all the time.  I want them to be able to play the games without me.

5.)  Clothes. One of my biggest pet peeves when kids get gifts of clothes.  When you are buying a bigger size for a child so they can grow into it, consider the season.  Winter clothes are what you’ll find during the holiday season.  If you’re purchasing a gift for a baby that is 12 months and you buy an 18-month winter outfit and it’ll fit them in the summer.  You just bought a useless gift.

I wrote this article a few years ago when my children were smaller.  These 5 tips still ring true today.

What’s on your list that you try to avoid?

Need some ideas? Check out some of our gift suggestions.

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Gina Horne

Gina is a stay-at-home mother of 4, ages 27, 18 (a set of twins), and 14. Grandmother of 2. ages 4 and 10 months. With 3 children still at home and full-time babysitter of her grandkids. Life continues to be overwhelming. She's a master of making life a little easier and saving money. When she's not chauffeuring her kids to school, cleaning the house, or taking her kids to their activities, she finds her sanity through this blog, DIY projects, and connecting with family and friends. Her journey would not succeed without remembering to put Faith first, Family second and Work third.

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