I love it! Such a good way to fight the materialism we often see in America and give intentional gifts to our children.
However, I had one addition to this list. Each year for Christmas (and perhaps for his birthday too), we want to give Hadden a small amount of money that he gets to donate to an important cause of his choice. This way we're teaching him to give to others even as he is receiving gifts. Since we don't have a lot of money, we won't be giving him very much to donate. But I think it's good for him to learn to give what little he has and to pick an organization that means something to him.
At this point he's still a baby so he won't be choosing for a couple years. But I've got a few ideas of where we could donate money in his honor, like our local zoo where we love going as a family. Or a local food pantry because as I look at my baby boy, I can't imagine the agony a mother must feel when she can't afford food for her children and has to watch them go hungry.
Is this all a bit idealist of me? Will my son someday complain because his friends get more gifts than he does? Probably. :) But my husband and I are doing what we think is very best for our son and I hope that one day he sees that.
I love you guys. And I think it's a great decision. someday (it may be far in the future) he'll thank you for it when he realizes how much farther it pushed him into becoming a productive and good human being.
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