Let me start by saying that I’ve been trying to be more frugal and buying second hand things. In past years, I’ve mainly managed that, but I’ve still overbought into the consumerism of it.<\/p>\n
This year I thought I’d shop smart. I bought about 10 boxes of Lego (don’t judge me!) while they were on sale, and patted myself on the back for shopping a good couple of months ahead. Now, a week out from the fateful birthday date, and there’s only two left! What happened? Well, I wasn’t particularly careful about hiding them in my room. And I think it’s more fun to build pieces over time (plus my fingers don’t get as sore from putting the little bits together). So gradually they all got dolled out.<\/p>\n
Having just these two bits left makes me feel guilty for not having bought KK\u00a0more ‘stuff’. It’s a hard habit to break, I admit. But KK\u00a0simply doesn’t need more clothes. I’ve made some, picked up bags of stuff for free and bought a couple of items new that we needed.<\/p>\n
Just this week I dug out some old connector pens that were mine when I was in high school. They still worked, much to my surprise, and so I palmed them straight off to kidkid. I guess the smart thing would have been to keep them and wrap them up?<\/p>\n
Birthdays, Christmas and Santa Claus all seem like a bit of a modern cop-out. The kid asks for something in store, and the parent says maybe for their birthday or Christmas, so they’ll stop asking. By the time those occasions come around, parents have forgotten what the items were, and hope that the kid has forgotten too. Or blame Santa for the lack. I’ve fallen into this trap in complicity. GD and GM wanted her to have the ‘magic’ of Easter and Christmas, so I’ve gone along with it.<\/p>\n
Another idea is to give KK\u00a0an experience. DMH and I agreed that could be a good idea. But what to do? KK is only 5. Maybe we’ll go see an IMAX movie and hang out in the CBD. Or take a short break away. Even as I plan these things though, I know in a couple of years time she won’t remember any of it.<\/p>\n
I always remember that when I was a kid, I was frustrated by gifts outside what I had requested. I just wanted Lego! Or books! Not a clock or something else.<\/p>\n
So this year, KK will get coloring books and Lego, and I refuse to feel guilty over it. Right up until the point when the GD and GM\u00a0decide KK needs more stuff…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Let me start by saying that I’ve been trying to be more frugal and buying second hand things. In past years, I’ve mainly managed that,…<\/p>\n