Five Steps to Get Your Children Happily Involved in Gift-Giving

There is one big thing on many children’s minds during the holiday season – presents! For a lot of kids, the excitement of the holidays centers on receiving gifts. Parents can take this opportunity to try to instill in their children that same enthusiasm toward giving gifts.

Encouraging your child to take part in gift-giving can help to demonstrate the joys of giving, as well as to teach him or her the valuable life lesson of thinking of others.

Follow these simple steps for involving kids in gift-giving this holiday season:

• Identify who your child would like to give a gift to. Sit with your child and make a list of the important people in his or her life. Your child’s siblings, grandparents, teacher, and your significant other could be possible recipients.
• After deciding who your child would like to give a gift to, discuss with your child what he or she thinks the person would like to receive. Let your child be creative. Remember, the gift will be coming from your child, so try not to influence his or her ideas too much.
• Next, take your child to the store so that he or she can select the gifts or the supplies to make a do-it-yourself gift, such as the one described in this Gerber Life blog. Consider giving older children a specific amount of money to buy the gifts; better yet, if they have their own money, encourage them to use it and to work out the math to make sure that they stay within budget.
• Have your child wrap each gift and make a card to go with it. If your child is too young to make a card, you could select a card and have your child sign his or her name.
• When possible, let your child present the gift to the intended recipient and see the joy that his or her gift brings.