Full disclosure! I love this idea! The strategy is called “Want, Need, Wear, Read”. The idea is that you give your child four gifts, and you can bring them into part of the decision-making process.
Want, Need, Wear, Read... Make Christmas gift giving easy with this gift giving strategy. It is as simple as it sounds.
Full disclosure!! I love, love, love this idea and we used it last year with the boys. The strategy is called “Want, Need, Wear, Read”. You may have heard of it as you can now purchase cute wooden gift tags as a set which you can re-use.
It’s a super self-explanatory strategy. The idea is that you give your child four gifts, and you can bring them into part of the decision-making process. Particularly with the Want gift. But here are some ideas so you can get a feel for this strategy.
Want:
The ‘Want’ gift is your little one’s chance to have a say. This should be something fun and exciting that is purely for enjoyment. A time to listen to our kids and celebrate their passion. For Freddy this year it will no doubt be something that involves wheels or spinning or balls or something that moves. PJ is similar in his love of sports, and things that go fast. Santa’s wish list becomes helpful here.
Need:
The “Need” gift is a little different. In our house this is usually something they will need for the upcoming year. A new drink bottle, pencil case, backpack, or headphones for school. There can still be a fun element to these things, but it is about building the excitement of the year to come.
Wear:
As the name suggests, the “Wear” gift is usually an item of clothing. For us we did Pyjamas last year, but some other great suggestions include swimwear, hats, headbands, winter clothes and shoes. I usually try to make it fun such as Wiggles and Cars sleepwear which also doubles as a practical need item for us as well.
Finally, Read:
The “Read” gift is a book of some sort. These days there are so many options and ways to find something to capture everyone’s interests. You could choose them one from your own childhood to create an invitation to enjoy reading together, or you could choose many of the great new books. If you have an older child that isn’t into reading there are also a great range of graphic novels, LEGO building ideas books and early readers with themes such as Hot Wheels. And for the babies, I can’t recommend the “that’s not my…” books enough. Or better yet, the Freddy and Co Australian Alphabet play mat, which they can learn to read their letters on and will grow with them and double up as the base of your play and reading space for years to come.
