Tis' the season.....

Now is the time of year for most parents to freak out out buying stuff that will be thrown away in a matter of months. I figured out a way to by pass all of this. The magic word is compromise. If you think about it, most adults become more excited about "Santa Claus" than the kids do. Thank God I only have one bubble to pop this year about that. I have started preparing my youngest for what she may see as the biggest betrayal in her life to date. So, this year I decided to tell her that Santa was not visiting this year due to the economy and he has to save all of his toys for needy kids and mommy and daddy would buy her gifts. She is not giving up! Of course, she still wanted to take photos with him at school. She told my husband that she knew he was the fake one because she had already seen the real one on a firetruck. (lol) Getting back to the original subject of compromising, I have started a tradition of only allowing them 3 gifts and a trip for spring break. For the past two years it has worked out great. Not only does it relieve the stress of buying a bunch of junk, it also makes it easier on the pocket. The moral of this story is that we as adults have the power to groom our kids to think and act a certain way and it is best to start while they are young. If you start off with a small amount of gifts and a family activity or trip, they will be use to it by the time all of their little friends try to convince them that more is better.