One Stop Shopping

Wes is getting older and we want to teach him that Christmas is not just about Santa Claus and getting gifts. We talk about and read books about Jesus and the Christmas story and Wes helps us shop for our Salvation Army Christmas Angels. This year though, I thought he was old enough to pick out some gifts for his family. I wanted him to learn about the time and effort it takes to thoughtfully select and wrap a gift for the people you love. I also wanted him to experience the excitement of watching the person open the gift you chose for them. The joy of giving, not just getting, which is all a 3 year old pretty much knows. So, we headed out to the dollar store for Wes to begin and complete his Christmas shopping. I figured the dollar store was safe, because I could let him pick out whatever he wanted for each person and I didn't have to worry about explaining to him why we couldn't get Papa a plasma TV (sorry Papa). We went down each person on his list and he would tell me the type of things that person liked to do, then we would head to that area of the store and he would select a gift. He was really quite thoughtful. Here is what he ended up with.

Daddy - flashlight
Nate - toy train (Grandma Dee Dee had helped him pick this out a few weeks earlier at a different store)
Grandma Dee Dee - sewing kit
Linde - DVD
Adam - screwdriver
Jaime - travel coffee mug
Michael - car wash soap
Lou Lou - kitchen dish towel
Papa - screwdriver
Lizzy - spatula/turner
Chris - pens
Jack - Seasame Street book

I gave him money that he had "earned" for helping me around the house and he paid like a big boy. We went home and he helped me wrap everything and even wrote his name on all the name tags. He was quite proud and I think only told Daddy what he got him...it's really hard to keep secrets when you're 3. It was definitely a success and we'll continue to do this every year, eventually moving up from the dollar store.