The Strength of $1.49

Have you ever found yourself racking your brain for the perfect gift for one of your children or perhaps grandchildren? Have you, at one time or another, found yourself being influenced by senseless advertisers screaming their message in your direction? And then somehow you allow their message of ‘buy now’ to make you feel like less of a parent if you don’t get little Johnny or little Sarah the gift of the season or the latest and greatest ‘in thing’.

Through the Christmas season, I saw many parents spending, charging and fighting over the last Princess Barbie on the shelf or the coveted Mario Kart Wii game. We too bought our children gifts for the season but we made a decision that we were not going overboard.

As Christmas day approached and the excitement in the house grew with the impending arrival of Santa Claus, my youngest found herself drawn to the tree. She simply couldn’t resist the shiny paper, the well-wrapped gifts shouting ‘tear me open’. She joyfully shook every gift and tried her hardest to peek, without tearing the paper, and thankfully was successful a few times. She counted the days, checked the fireplace to make sure Santa’s landing place was acceptable and then joined the rest of us and waited.

Finally, the morning arrived and it was time to find out what was hidden beneath the beautifully designed paper. Our designated Santa handed out each gift with a HO, HO, HO. The excitement in the room could have been bottled and sold for a hefty price. My youngest ripped and tore and unwrapped like a wild woman, she squealed with delight when she saw the doll, ‘Darla’, that she had been hoping and praying for. A few new Barbies added to her collection also caused her to jump for joy. In that moment, and in the following moments watching our older two children, every line-up I had stood in, every wintery road I had driven on, every hour of wrapping felt so good and was worth it.

Finally, a few last little gifts were distributed. My youngest, who is 3.5 years old and in her words ‘loves to do homework’, could hardly contain herself. She opened this flimsy gift and much to her absolute surprise and overwhelming pleasure it contained a pack of four Hilroy scribblers that cost a total of $1.49. She stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by her new doll, by her latest Barbies, some candies and a few other gifts and exclaimed for everyone to hear, “This is the bestest present I ever gotted.”

I share this with you to help take the pressure off. We are so conditioned, for a number of reasons, to think that our children need the latest and greatest in every area of life. The pressure can be overwhelming and crippling. Through this little story and the words of a 3.5-year-old, I encourage you to be creative and know that your children, like mine, will not suffer, nor will they be forever damaged if they don’t have exactly what they want, when they want it. Sometimes the greatest gifts cost the least.

Use kind words, your arms of love and hearts of compassion and see your family go from strength to strength.

Enjoy the journey.
Susan