Every year I try to get more organized when it comes to Christmas shopping. With 10 in our family, it can become quite an undertaking. In addition, I have taken over the grand kid gift buying for my parents. This year, to help myself out, I created a printable Christmas wish list.
Gift buying rules
The list reflects the “four gift buying rules” that you see touted all over the internet. It’s the “something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read” guide. The idea is that you buy your children one item from each of those categories. I’ve read about other systems, such as the three gift system (three gifts that correspond to the three gifts given to Jesus – gold, frankincense, and myrrh..but not actually those gifts), and the five gift system (the four gift rules plus one that reads “a gift they don’t know they want” which doesn’t rhyme as nicely).
I modified the four rules by adding two more that include stocking gifts. As an aside, we actually .have “Christmas buckets” instead of stockings. When my first three were little, I had the idea to reuse the buckets for other holidays. We haven’t, but the idea stuck and my kids think they get more by having a bucket instead of a stocking so they like it.
The list
To keep up with the rhyme scheme (or at least the attempt to keep it) the rules on the Christmas wish list are: something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read, something to watch, something to feed (you). In their buckets, the kids always receive a movie and a favorite food, so that explains the two additions.
I made two versions of the list. The first includes my two added categories. The second has the original four rule version. Both versions have two lists per page so you can print out as many as you need and cut the pages in half to give to your kids. I have a space for the kids to write their names to help moms to keep lists organized.
Happy shopping!
You can download the first list here
