Why I'm Doing My Christmas Shopping at Five Below

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(And this is not a sponsored post, although it should be.)

This Christmas will be my sixth Christmas as a mom. As I get more experienced, I'm kind of thinking that I had it right the first year: I think I spent around $25 on Bug's first Christmas. He was barely two months old, and I probably bought him a rattle and some stuffed animals. I remember feeling a tremendous amount of guilt for spending so little on my precious firstborn, but we had a wonderful first Christmas nonetheless.

Last year I made two huge mistakes. First, I bought two of everything in an attempt to circumvent the inevitable bickering between siblings. Long story short: it didn't help with the arguing, and each of my boys got a lot of toys that were not the best match for their individual interests and personalities. Dumb idea. Second: I was overly concerned about competing with the grandparents as far as the sheer number and monetary value of gifts. Again, dumb idea. The boys are still to young to remember who exactly gave them what...and plus...I know, rationally, that no matter how many Kindle Fire HDs or $100 LEGO sets a kid gets from extended family, he'll eventually grow up and "get" the big picture like we all do.

Cheap, cool game.

So, Prickly Mom, let's chill out and do Christmas 2013 differently. Let's look at the facts: my kids do not need more toys...but that's what they want--more toys. I look at the toys around my house regularly and ask myself, do the boys really need this? No. Do they even play with this? No. Do I really want to be a player in this consumerism-focused, useless plastic-fest? Um, no. So here's the strategy I've decided to try this year: doing all my Christmas shopping at Five Below.

Think about it: Five Below has Play-Doh (my kids always love Play-Doh). They have Angry Birds sticker books (the boys love anything Angry Birds). They have art supplies (something we use daily around here). They have cool candy novelties (kids love candy). They have lava lamps (good for decorating bedrooms). They have a bunch of cheap-o toys and games (which kids always want for some reason).

This is the perfect solution, right? I don't waste a lot of money, the boys get to open a lot of presents, and everything is either useful or designed to be eaten or break and be thrown out before the New Year. Don't get me wrong; I am buying a few medium-ticket items from ToysRUs (I'm not a complete Scrooge), but I have confidence that this might be a good way to tackle Christmas for Prickly Family.

Welcome to The Sunday Parenting Party, hosted by Dirt and Boogers, Play Activities, Crayon Freckles, Taming the Goblin, The Golden Gleam, Prickly Mom, and The Tao of Poop. The SPP is place for readers to find ideas on nurturing, educating, and caring for children, as well as honest posts about the stresses of being a parent or caregiver. Links to reviews and giveaways are welcome as long as they are relevant to the topic. All parenting philosophies are welcome with one exception: please do not link to posts promoting physical discipline, as this is something we would feel uncomfortable having on our blogs. (P.S. By linking up you agree that your post and photos are Pinterest, Sulia, G+ and FB friendly. We will be showcasing ideas on The Sunday Parenting Party Pinterest board.)

I had to choose five submissions to highlight from last week...and I could have chosen more! Great posts, fellow moms!

• When Your Child Is Anxious (Mommy, for Real)
• Thanksgiving Devotional: Five Grains of Corn (Grandparents Plus)
• Finding Time for Mom (Dirt and Boogers) 
• Teaching Kindness (Green Owl Art)
• 10 Blessings in Disguise (Mamas Like Me)