Giving Christmas gifts provides the perfect opportunity to give gifts that encourage behavior or character qualities that God would have us teach to our children. We found a great way to do just that last Christmas with our four-year-old daughter.
We give each of our four children only one gift each Christmas in an effort to keep the focus on Christ’s birth. In exchange, we try to make birthdays big celebrations of the gift of each human life God has given us. With all the gifts that grandparents, aunts and uncles, and church family bestow upon our children, they aren’t missing out on anything by merely receiving one gift from their parents.
Last fall, the “cleaning” toys our daughters shared fell apart. The pieces of the little mop were done, falling out of the plastic head. The vacuum would no longer run no matter how fresh the batteries. Our four-year-old was heartbroken. She so loved helping Mommy with all the chores, being a diligent worker at home. The thought occurred to my husband that we should just find her a vacuum cleaner that would be small enough for her to actually begin to take on the vacuuming chore with me in a real way. Without much hunting at all, the perfect adjustable handled yellow vacuum cleaner was found.
Our daughter was so eager to find out what was inside the biggest box under our tree! And once she opened her gift, she was ready to get started helping around the house! Some assembly was required, so once Daddy finished his part, our daughter began helping vacuum the house. Some weeks, we divide the work, and it takes us half as much time to vacuum as when I previously did it alone. Other weeks, she and her older sister switch off rooms, and I get the week off from vacuuming! I’m so happy to see my daughters preparing to be homemakers in their own homes one day!
1 comment:
We only do one present for Christmas too! We also just do one for birthdays as well. Yes it's so great when the begin helping on their own!
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