By Danielle Rush
My son came and sat on my lap the other day, with the Fisher-Price Christmas catalog in his hands.
It’s open to the Imaginext Batman page, full of Batman figurines, vehicles and play sets.
“Mommy,” he says, snuggling his head against my shoulder, “I want everything on this page for Christmas this year.”
Yep, the Christmas greed bug has bitten my baby this year.
This is the first Christmas he’s had an extensive wish list. His first Christmas, he was barely 2 months old, and was oblivious to the whole thing. In fact, I’m pretty sure he slept through most of it. Each year, he’s received a few more presents, and as he’s grown older, he’s started making a list of what he wants Santa to leave under our tree.
This year, he’s been shopping with me and seen the kind of toys that are available, and he’s seen the commercials on TV. He also sees the toys his friends and cousins have, and his list continues to grow.
My husband and I agreed early on we were not going overboard at Christmas. Our kids have three sets of grandparents, so the potential is there for them to receive a lot of stuff. If we also buy every toy the kids want, we would have to move or build a toy annex.
We also don’t want our kids to have the idea they are entitled to get everything they want for Christmas. It is tempting to buy, because it’s so much fun to see how excited they are when they open their presents, but I don’t want to raise brats with a sense of entitlement, who expect to be given everything they want. I want them to learn to work for what they want, and how to occasionally handle disappointment.
So where do you draw the line? That’s a work in progress at our house.
We’ve talked to our son about the joy of giving, too. We give handmade gifts to our siblings and aunts and uncles. Nathan has helped me make cashew brittle and caramels, and this year, he and I are making a fleece blanket together for his sister. We’re also talking about other little boys and girls whose parents can’t afford to buy them presents, and I’ll give him change for the Salvation Army kettle and help him pick a toy for the Marines Toys for Tots program.
And of course, we talk a lot about the real reason we have Christmas — to celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. We read the Christmas story together, we read parts of the Christmas story as we light our Advent wreath each Sunday, and we take the kids to the family Christmas Eve service at our church. I’ve been impressed with this service, which we’ve attended each year since joining First Presbyterian Church, because the children participate in the Christmas story and there is a birthday cake and candles for Jesus.
Nathan was an adorable shepherd last year. I remember getting misty-eyed watching him kneeling by the manger, looking in like he expected to see a real baby Jesus in there. When I saw the wonder in his eyes, I knew he was starting to understand what Christmas is truly about. And that is the greatest gift I can give him.
• Danielle Rush is the education reporter for the Kokomo Tribune. Contact her at danielle.rush@ kokomotribune.com or
765-454-8585.
