Today I want to share something with you that we are doing with our kids. It has been a HUGE hit!
We are doing one on one dates with each child this week to Christmas shop for ideas online. Here is how it plays out.
We drew names from a hat to see who got to go on which night. The rule was you have to be happy for the other brothers when it is their night!
When your night comes for a shopping date with mom and dad, you get to pick a special snack and stay up late browsing things online and hanging out with mom and dad all by yourself.
It has been one of the most fun things we've done with our boys. Milk shakes, pj's, Christmas tree, making wish lists together, having the special one on one time. It is so much fun to let them browse and dream.
Some of our favorite sites are Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart, and Fat Brain Toys.
I tried to start a "Family Fun Day Christmas Shopping Day" as a new tradition a couple years ago. We drug our way through the awfulness of it all two years in a row before we buried that tradition. We got in one of the biggest fights of our marriage on the way home from "Family Fun Day" and I learned something valuable. My boys hate shopping!
This tradition is turning out so much better. No crowds. No fussing. Each child gets to think through and look at toys. When anyone asks what is on their list, we'll have some good ideas. And most importantly, it has been such a simple, simple way to invest individually in each child.
Tonight our six year old is up to bat and rumor has it he has his sights set on a Chick-fil-A shake for his special treat. Glory. His big brothers told him a toy he saw in the Target sale ad was highly toxic so every time he has mentioned what he wants he always says, "Legos, the highly toxic toy, and world peace." OK, so I made up the very last part. That was Miss Congeniality.
