Christmas can bring an overwhelming amount of clutter in your home. From presents and stockings from Santa, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera! So. Many. Gifts. And it’s so fun to give your children gifts and watch their delight at what they receive! However, one place that’s resulted in more junk than any other for us has been stockings. So this year I’m changing how I do stockings!
Gift consumables! We have a bunch of glow sticks going in that were on clearance after Halloween, they will be used for a glow bath and tossed! Candy is always a must. Play dough dries up and goes away. Bubble bath is always a hit!
Think useful! Our one year old is getting pajamas in her stocking. The brothers don’t need any, so wrapping them would offset our gifts numbers. Gloves, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hat, socks, think of something you will buy them anyway and have Santa bring it.
Break it up. There is nothing wrong with buying one thing and gifting it to multiple children. I got a doctor set to add a little of each to the three children’s stockings. The same works for candy, or those gift sets. Break up a bath and body gift set across teens or adults. Candy with multiple pieces can be opened and placed in several stockings.
Challenge your thoughts. Okay I’m gonna explain with our situation- this year my oldest is getting a Nintendo switch game in his stocking. It was something we thought of after I was done shopping, so similar to the pajamas offsetting gift numbers which I’m trying to keep even I didn’t want to wrap this. Normally I feel like if it’s over $10 it deserves wrapping paper, but this year I’m going against my feelings and letting Santa have credit for a little more.
(Disclaimer on Santa bringing the game, it’s the most expensive thing he will bring. We homeschool, and the cousin’s likely won’t mind at all Santa brought him a game. I understand Santa shouldn’t bring expensive gifts, but this year it worked out that way.)
Stockings can be so much fun to fill! Planning ahead on them and not leaving them until the last minute can make them even more enjoyable for everyone. It’s easier to keep clutter out than declutter after the excitement in our home!
