The best gift for kids
If you have children in your life – kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, etc. – Christmas is such a fun time of year. The magic of Santa excites, the lights and decorations mesmerize. Christmas also comes with presents, of course, and I’ve been thinking a lot about the presents that mean the most to me, both when I was a kid and as a parent with my own kids.
With the exception of the Nintendo 64 I received one Christmas morning, I don’t remember any of the toys I received. As a parent, I have noticed how my kids will focus on 2-3 toys while ignoring the full toybox in the corner of the room.
The most impactful gift I received from my mom is a money lesson: the value of saving. She always encouraged me to save 10% of each paycheck, a practice that my wife and I have always strove to achieve, although it is much harder now with two in daycare. This lesson, I believe, has created so much opportunity for us.
Now that I’m older and with kids of my own, my mom each year renews our memberships to the Children’s Museum and the Zoo, a gift that allows us to have fun experiences with our girls. Having the membership is nice because we sometimes will head to the zoo for a short time and not feel like we have to “make the most of” our admission for the day.
My wife – the best gift giver I know – purchased this year a custom book for our daughters. It is a heartwarming story about sisterhood and it has our girls’ names and ages in it; the girls in the book even look like our girls. The result, I hope, is a book they will cherish for many years to come. [Although, so far, all they have done is fight over the other present we gave them: a baby doll with a car seat carrier.]
My wife also helps our girls go through their toys each year and pick the toys they no longer play with so they can be donated to charity. This – we hope – teaches our children that they are blessed to have plenty and the value of sharing the plenty with those who are less fortunate.
Ultimately, I have found that life lessons, experiences, and thoughtful sentimental gifts are much more memorable than toys.
About the Author
Joseph Fowler, CFP® is a financial planner and co-owner of 402 Financial in Lincoln, NE.
402 Financial provides financial planning and investment management services to people approaching or in retirement. Joe always acts as a fiduciary and never takes commissions on product sales.
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