Shopping is Done

I am so relived to be done with all of my Christmas shopping and after everything is wrapped I can sit back and really enjoy the holiday season. On the evening of Black Friday I was watching the news and so surprised at the way people act as they are shopping. 3 years ago I decided to simplify the gift giving in our family. We have a large family and are slowly running out of room. Plus the kids really don't need all that stuff that usually just sits there after the excitement is over. This will be the 3rd year that my kids will get 3 gifts from us. We use a guideline based on the gifts that Christ received from the Wise Men. They get a garment-clothing (gold) gift, a fun (frankincense) gift, and a mentally stimulating(myrr) gift, such as a book or puzzle. Santa also gets them 1 gift. I have found that this has made my shopping for them more meaningful. In years passed I was always worried about making sure everything was even and just ended up buying more and more. The first year I started this I had a few people chuckle at me and wish me luck saying their kids would not be happy to only get 3 gifts. My kids responded well and I hope our tradition lasts through their childhood. Last year I started having the kids draw names so that they were able to buy a gift for a sibling. This worked well and we will do this again this year.