The Daily Hailey

Alright, friends! I’m back again, like every year, to tell you what my children got from their parents for Christmas. Its NOT for competitive purposes at all, but more so to talk about the four categories we buy into over here! 

If you’re new, welcome! We do Christmas gifts in four categories in our family. You may have heard of this. We buy each child something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. On top of that, in the last couple of years, we usually buy a pair of jammies and I also crochet something. We don’t do stockings. 

To clarify the categories a little, we work pretty hard not to buy toys. They get lots of toys from others, and they have plenty already, so we have to get pretty creative. This year, their “wants” are things we know they will like but do not need. Their “needs,” on the other hand, aren’t necessarily needs, because we are fortunate enough to be able to give our children what they need along the way. In the “need” category, we just choose a more practical gift. Their “wear” can be anything from a new hoodie to jewelry, but since money was particularly tight this Christmas season, we ended up using the extra jammies as their “something to wear.” And their “something to read” also has a lot of range. Storybooks, magazine subscriptions, activity books, etc. 

So! What did we get the kids, you ask?? 

Dekker got a daily calendar for his want. Each day’s page is a new instruction for a paper airplane, and the page itself is colourful cardstock to make it out of. His need is a minion electric toothbrush, which is a new concept over here. His wear is a cute set of jammies with milk and cookies on them. His read is his BEST gift, easily! Its called the Ultimate Book of Vehicles. He got the construction version years ago and still LOVES it, so I knew he’d LOVE this one, too! On top of his gifts, I made him a blue toque and neck warmer set with aqua and grey triangles on them. 

Laela got a small loom and a ball of yarn for her want. She is always itching to knit with me, and this way she has a loom that fits her hands and attention span a little better 😉 Her need is a My Little Pony electric toothbrush. Her wear is matching jammies to Dekker, and her read is a book called the Dinky Donkey. Do you remember the Wonky Donkey book that blew up this year?? Its also a song, and Brady sings it to the kids all the time. There appears to be a spin off, and its a girly version! This book tells the story, and I’m confident she’ll sing along to it and we’ll all know it in no time! Laela got a dark purple toque and neck warmer with cupcakes on them.

Rowan’s want is a train whistle. He LOVES it. You can maybe sense a theme, but he also got a minion electric toothbrush and jammies, but he got a big cozy sleeper! His book is called Rowan the Red Squirrel, where he and his friends, Hazel, get into all kinds of trouble. I loved that Hazel is his friend, because Laela is Laela Hazel, and they definitely love to play together. Its SUCH a good fit. Rowan also got a grey toque and neck warmer set with foxes on them. 

Solomon’s want is probably the lamest, haha! I got him stars to stick on the ceiling above his bed. I think he’ll love them, but he won’t really be able to have them, as in play with them. But still, I think he’ll enjoy them once they’re up. He got a minion electric toothbrush and a sleeper, and then I got him the book The Day the Crayons Quit, mostly because I couldn’t work up the nerve to pay out $30 for the book I really wanted to get him, but also because its a really funny book. Sollys toque and neck warmer were black with greyish trees and moons. 

Waverly got a little stuffed singing caterpillar for her want. It has a super soft little song, which I love. I don’t love noisy toys. She, too, got a My Little Pony electric toothbrush and a sleeper. I botched up sized though, and her sleeper is too big 😔 So I also bought her a pink pair of monster feet slippers, because they’re cozy, and she LOVES dress up. Lastly, her book made me a little sad. The one I had my eye on was only released towards the end of this year. Brand new. And when I found it, it was only a paper book!! The board book version isn’t set to be released until (wait for it) June of 2021!!! Not even 2020. 2021!!!!! Absurd. While she does ok with books now, I felt like a board book was still the best, so she got a board book version of Chicka Chicka 123. Wavy’s toque and neck warmer were grey, with sheep and little coral and white hearts. 

Realistically, looking at their gifts, I know there’s nothing too thrilling there, but I LOVE their gifts, and they’re such grateful kids. ❤️ I like the standard we’ve set, and I like the push to be creative and practical with gifts, where I’m not bringing TONS of new stuff into the house every year, but they’re also not going without. I like brainstorming ideas with friends, too, if anyone wants to do categories with us next year!! The day before the children opened their gifts, I had a little sad moment where I wish we had done more. I worried their gifts were boring and merpy. I was disappointed that most of the gifts we got our kids, people would easily slip into stockings and wrap up the bigger, better gifts. After I took a step back, though, I am SO happy with how it all looks. 

And, true story, not a single child in the room was disappointed!! Win!