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Have a Simple Christmas
I have always loved to keep our Christmas celebration simple.
Not in the number of gifts I give each person, but in the type of gifts I give to them.
My goal in keeping Christmas gifts simple was to teach my twelve children to be happy, content, thankful, and even excited about the small things in life.
How to Create Your Best Simple Christmas – 12 Gifts to Give
#1 – A Coffee Cup
One of my favorite childhood Christmas memories was the time Ma gave me a Snoopy cup.
I can still see that cup.
It was a totally white coffee cup with a black Snoopy on it.
I loved it!
That’s probably where my love for All Things Snoopy comes from!
To this day, I still give all 12 of my children a nice cup for Christmas all because I loved my Snoopy Christmas gift so much.
Thanks, Ma!
#2 – A Deck of Cards
Whenever I ask my twelve children what they would like for Christmas, they inevitably ask for a deck of cards.
Yup, they always ask for a simple deck of cards!
Does your family play cards?
#3 – Game
Yahtzee!
Our family is the game playing type of family.
We love all kinds of games!
Head over here to read, 12 Amazing Games to Give for Christmas.
#4 – Movie
I have always tried to give each one of my children their very own movie each Christmas.
Go over here to read about the types of movies my family has always enjoyed getting as gifts.
12 Amazing Family Movies to Give for Christmas
We also have certain must watch Christmasy movies that we love to see year after year.
Which are your family’s must see Christmas movies?
12 Amazing Family Christmas Movies You Must Watch in 2020
#5 – Warm Socks
There’s a popular saying that says, The older you get the happier you are to get socks for Christmas.
Well, I don’t know about the older part, but everyone in my family has always loved to open up a fuzzy, warm pair of new slipper socks on Christmas morning.
Does your family like to get socks for Christmas? Do you like to get socks for Christmas?
#6 – A New Book
Have you ever heard of the Christmas gift-giving challenge – Want, Need, Wear, Read?
The idea is to only give each one of your children four gifts on Christmas.
Want – Something they want.
Need – Something they need.
Wear – Something to wear.
Do you use this system at your house?
Do you include books in your gift-giving?
#7 – Outfit
Who doesn’t love to get a nice new outfit for Christmas?
I always hit the clearance racks to buy my children each a new outfit for Christmas.
You can easily pick up shirts for $1.00 or even 50 cents on clearance.
The outfit doesn’t have to be fancy.
My kids love to just get a new shirt and a pair of sweatpants.
#8 – Hat and Gloves
We live in the North Country where it seems to stay winter a lot longer than it stays summer.
Therefore, my family always gets a new hat and gloves for Christmas.
#9 – Pajamas
I love the idea of Christmas pajamas because they are practical, but still so much fun.
Does your family get special Christmas pajamas?
Check out this article, 12 Best Pajamas For Christmas to Buy Now
#10 – Snacks
If you were to ask my children what they wanted for Christmas, you would hear things like, chocolate milk, Little Debbies, Pringles, Caprisun, thin mints, chocolate-covered cherries, and candy bars.
The excitement at getting things that seem so mundane to many probably comes from the fact that my children grew up on homemade food way more than processed foods.
You always consider something a treat when you don’t get it often.
Giving snacks is part of our simple Christmas.
#11 – Sled
Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas at the Foote house without new sleds for everyone.
My kids love to be outside no matter which season.
In the winter, you will find them building snow forts, ice skating, snowboarding, making snowmen, having snowball fights, and sledding downhill.
Does your family have fun during the wintertime?
#12 – Glow Sticks
Glowsticks are just plain fun.
I like to put them in my kids’ special stockings.
Special stockings aren’t your typical Christmas morning stockings.
I save them until everyone is settling down Christmas night.
Just when they think the celebration is over, out comes Mama with everyone’s special stockings.
One year, I used old blue jeans. I cut them into shorts, sewed up the legs, put bailing twine around like a belt, and filled them up with little gifts.
One time, I bought a bunch of Dollar Tree cowboy hats during their Halloween sales and used them as the special stockings.
Another year, I bought actual stockings during the after-Christmas sales for a dime each.
I saved them for the following year, and used them as the special stockings.
Glowsticks work as a perfect gift to add to the special stockings.
Do you have a special Christmas tradition that you do with your family every year?
#13 – Bonus – Toilet Paper and Light Bulbs
When my children were little, I would tell them I was going to give them toilet paper and light bulbs as gifts.
Everyone would always just laugh.
That is until they got older.
Now that they are grown, they always remind me that I promised to give them toilet paper and light bulbs!
Don’t forget to get me toilet paper and light bulbs, Mama!
How to Create Your Best Simple Christmas – 12 Gifts to Give
Are you planning to have a simple Christmas this year?
I hope you enjoyed reading about the 12 simple gifts I like to give to my family.
Tell me about your simple gift-giving ideas in the comments.
12 Simple Gift Ideas for Grandparents
Wondering what to give Grandma and Grandpa this year?
Make it a simple Christmas for them too.
Check out this article, 12 Simple Gift Ideas for Grandparents.
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