The NO-TOY Christmas

Among the many things we stash in the basement, you will find two large storage bins full of toys. One bin is for the toys that have been all played out and are waiting to be donated, the other bin has toys that are "out of rotation". That's right, even though we empty that donation bin at Goodwill at least every three months, we still don't have room for the rest in our home and I hide some from the kids so that they are fun to play with again a few months down the road. I am not responsible for bringing all this stuff in the house! I buy the kids nothing but second-hand clothing and the occasional (2 or 3 per year) vintage toy or book I can't pass up at the thrift store. The true culprits are birthday, Christmas, and no-reason gifts from the many generous relatives we are blessed to have so close to us.

With the holidays looming, Matthew and I thought it out and we planned a No Toy Christmas. In preparation for this, we sat down with the kids and had a talk. We talked about their material possessions. We took them down to the basement to show them THE BINS. We talked about money, the environment, the true meaning of Christmas. We talked about the way that MOST children on this planet live.

Then we wrote this letter. It took a lot of courage to send it to all our relatives.

***

To all the beloved aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents,

We feel very blessed to have you all in our lives. The holiday season is the time we most experience your warmth and caring for our family. We very much look forward to spending time with you and we love to see the ways you enjoy the children and marvel at their growth. The generosity you show in your thoughtful gifts to the kids is always appreciated.

This year, we'd like to offer some gift suggestions that will hopefully make holiday shopping easier for you, and the holiday aftermath easier for Matthew and I. Each year, we come home from family parties with carloads of plastic, packaging, electronics, and do-dads. By the second day home with the kids' new treasures, toys are already broken, game pieces are lost, and an insatiable desire for MORE STUFF seems to infect the kids like an addiction. Last week, after what felt like the 100th trip to Goodwill with another box of old toys, we decided to have this year be a NO-TOY Christmas. There are many alternatives we have listed for you. Please don't feel confined to the list and feel free to call us if you have questions. Also, the older kids have chosen a charity that they will be donating 10% of any money they receive in Christmas cards. We've listed them so that you can make a donation in their name if you'd like.

General Suggestions

-Books

-Movie Tickets

-Ice Skating Pass

-Roller Skating Pass

-Rock Climbing Pass

-Art Lessons

-Music Lessons

-Craft Supplies

-Sports Equipment

-Stationary

-Restaurant, or ice cream or candy shop gift certificate

-Music CD's or iTunes credit

-Music or Theatre Performance Tickets

-Memberships to museums, cultural organizations, etc.

*Please call me if you're considering a membership to a museum or other organization so I can make sure we don't get doubles.

Charities

Mara-Hunger Task Force

Elijah-Rainforest Conservation Fund

We sent this letter in a fancy letterpress Christmas card with copies of hand-written lists by Mara and Elijah of their favorite things to do.

It was not hard at all to come up with this list of experience gifts and unique items that the kids would LOVE to receive. I'm still thinking of more things we could ask for that are NOT TOYS.

I am not a grinch, and I know I am not alone. I hear the "Gosh, our kids got so much CRAP this Christmas" all the time. And these parents aren't complaining about the quality of the stuff (although these days almost all our toys are indeed built to break) they're simply complaining about the overwhelming mass of material items that they've been burdened with. It's especially hard for us families who don't have much money. You know that these toys represent hundreds of dollars just washed down the drain because the kids would have been just as happy with half as much stuff purchased from Goodwill costing 1/100th the amount of money. Hell, two days later the baby is still playing with the wrapping paper and hasn't even touched that Baby-Genius-Light-up-Dinosaur-Sing-a-long-Pal.

I could go on and on and on. I don't like what the materialistic Christmas rituals do to our children, our culture, our environment. I think about all the millions of children in this world who don't even have decent food to eat let alone any toys to play with. I am also reminded of The Story of Stuff. A good thing to keep in mind this season especially.

I'll let you all know how our Christmas goes. Hopefully we don't upset anyone and the children really enjoy their non-toy gifts this year.