THE PRE-HOLIDAY PURGE OF TOYS

Here’s how to decide what stays and what goes

It happens every year if you have children. So many gifts from Santa and loved ones and no where to put them. We’ve all made the mistake of over indulging our kids at the holidays. Before you know it, you have an avalanche of toys that you have no place to store!

Introducing the Pre-Holiday Purge

Take the time with your kids to sort through their toys before the Holidays. Try to make this a fun activity and a lesson on giving. Let them know that their toys can provide joy and happiness to families who may not be able to afford them.

HOW TO GET STARTED

1.   Broken Toys

Point out toys that are broken or have missing pieces and let them know it’s ok to let those go. It’s also fine to get rid of tiny pieces that you can no longer find the companion parts to.

2.   Multiples

If there are multiples of a toy, toy cars, stuffed animals, dolls etc., have them pick out their favorites and donate the rest. Ask your child, “Could someone else have fun playing with this toy like you did in the past?”

3.   Age Appropriate/Minimal use

It’s surprising how fast a child can outgrow a toy. Reassure your child that if they can give some toys to charity that it will make room for new Christmas toys. It’s also ok at this time to figure out if a toy rotation would be a good idea. You can divide the remaining toys in half and store the rest. Then when they get bored, switch it out.

4.   Experience Based Toys

This is one way to help keep the number of toys to a minimum. Experience based toys will give so many memories for your children. Some examples are:

zoo pass, swimming lessons, memberships to museums, tickets to movies or sporting events, fees to summer camps

The tradition of non-toy gifts has become a trend in the past few years. I think this is a great gift for grandparents and aunts and uncles to give children to help create those memories!

When we teach our children about how to edit their toys and make decisions to let things go, we are teaching them a useful life skill. This is the start of teaching them the importance of how to make good decisions and mange their things. Research has shown that this can help children regulate their emotions and not become overwhelmed with stuff. Therefore, I think this is one of the greatest gifts we can give them.