For the kid who has everything…

Scrap Mom is facing a similar dilemma to the one that I just dealt with. Her son is coming up on his first birthday in a week, and, of course, Christmas just passed. She told me that she had really focused on getting him toys for Christmas (he has an older sister whose toys he most likely won’t want, seeing as how they are pink and princess-y) because he already had plenty of clothes (both new and hand-me-downs from an older cousin). Although this kid is already wearing 18-24 month size clothes – did I mention that he is really big? He has begun to crawl and hasn’t gained any weight recently – Gaming Dad says he’s “growing into his baby fat.” He is one cute kid, though.

Anyway, as I’ve said about the Munchkin previously, the outgrowing-toys-before-the-next-big-gift-giving-occasion problem is about to strike. It’s harder when they are little, too, because when they get older they can at least tell you what they didn’t get for Christmas, which you now have the opportunity to get for their birthday. Auntie, my youngest sister, has a mid-January birthday and I used to just take her for a day at the mall and a new outfit as a birthday present. She wants to do that again this year, too, though I do have a gift from the kids in my closet for her. I coordinated with others who also bought from her Christmas list to make sure that we didn’t overlap.

So… what do we get for the kid who has everything already? Do we give him even bigger clothes, knowing that he will grow into them someday? Do we give him a book, knowing that no one ever outgrows a good book? We did give him a board book at Christmas, along with pajamas (which were 18 month sized and I hope he fits them), so I’m loath to give yet another book – though a nice book that could be saved for when he is older might be an option. Do we give a gift card, letting Scrap Mom and Gaming Dad pick something out for him when he needs a new something-or-other before next Christmas?

Or do I just give him an empty box and let him play with it to his heart’s desire? Kidding, kidding… sort of.

If anyone has any ideas out there, let me know. I wish this kid could talk.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2006 at 8:18 am and is filed under General.
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