Less is More

I was so excited this Christmas to peruse daily deals online, comparison shop, track prices...all to get my babies the very best toys for rock bottom prices.  Getting a great deal definitely gives me a high!  All these gifts were lovingly wrapped and placed under tree to delight my family, especially my son Noah who would be able to participate in this yearly unwrapping ritual for the first time.  So what happened?  Noah opened one gift, happily shredding the wrapping paper and handing the little pieces to Mommy for a "thank you."  Then he crawled off into the kitchen to play with a can of panko bread crumbs that never got put away after a grocery trip.  Later that day, he was entertained for a couple of HOURS by two Starbucks lids and two red plastic Solo cups.  So after this experience, it has really made me start thinking about whether or not a toddler NEEDS toys at all.  All this money we spend on educational toys to build motor skills and make our kids brilliant, and really they are actually born with this amazing thing called an imagination and skill building is a natural process that happens without our help mostly.  Sure, my son loves his shape sorter and his stacking cups, but he plays with non-toy items around the house in the same manner.  If I had it to do all over again, I'd buy him just ONE toy and put money in a savings account for a family vacation.  In fact, we may just do that next year!  People, not things, are what is really important in life, and I'd rather make memories than accumulate more stuff.  Yet another important life lesson I learned from my toddler.  :)