Prior to Christmas morning, the kids had visited with Santa on several occasions. Their lists were quite short, but consistent. Hudson wanted a real cow dog, Dalanie asked for love (and every time, Santa would question 'gloves?') and Ruby wanted a baby. While there are some expectations on Christmas morning, the kids were equally excited to exchange the gifts that they had carefully selected for family members. I was involved in taking the kids shopping and it was one of my favorite parts of Christmas, to watch the kids think of others and giving more than their own wants.
Both Hudson and Dalanie brainstormed and compiled lists of ideas. Then money was counted and withdrawn from savings and lists were quickly revamped. Each child set their own budget and decided which stores they'd like to shop at.
It was a no-brainer for Dalanie, she is a converted DI shopper. After making her selections, it was time for her to pay. She was deflated when the cashier requested nearly $7.50 which meant she had to hand over her $5 bill. She hid her head and started to cry, it tore at my heartstrings. I told her that she could put things back, but deep within her, she wanted to give. She resolved to work and earn another $5 bill.
Hudson decided to withdraw $30 from his savings account. Our first stop was at Ross and then on to Target. I tried to offer suggestions, but ultimately he wanted to hand select every gift. And for a boy of seven, there are limitless possibilities and so many options. He would have loved an entire day, but we only had a few hours. And then he had to carefully balance what he wanted to give with the price range he had established, and that is no easy task.
And by the time it was Ruby's turn, we had nearly ran out of time and I was out of the energy to negotiate in a store with a three year old. Instead, I set up a little store in the basement and she got to pick gifts for everyone out of my stash of clearance finds. She was so excited, she couldn't keep a secret from anyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment