Fewer people than normal (is there a “normal” after only three?) asked what to get Samuel for his birthday this year – perhaps they all asked Olyvia and she didn’t mention it, or perhaps people know him better, or perhaps it’s just easier to buy for a three-year-old.  My stock response (which I tried, fairly successfully, to get Olyvia to use as well) was as follows (this didn’t apply to parents or grandparents):

Sam has so many toys that he just doesn’t have time to play with everything.  He has toys in his toy box that he hasn’t even played with yet.  He really doesn’t need any more at the moment.  He also has heaps of books and clothes.  If you want to buy him a present, then you are, of course, welcome to do so.  In that case, our suggestions are:

* Make him something.  He’s a bit of a fussy eater these days, unfortunately, so food might not be a good choice.  If you can think of something else to make, then that would fine.
* Something to do.  e.g. an IOU for a trip with you to somewhere. This could be as simple as a picnic at a park somewhere – he loves being outside.
* A donation to a charity and a card (he likes opening mail) saying what you did.  He’s not going to understand it now, but when he’s older, he’ll hopefully think that was really cool, and right now he already has so much stuff.

My hope was really for the latter – we actually do quite a few things already, so there isn’t a pressing need for the middle choice.  Making him something is great, but it seemed unlikely to appeal to many givers.  We did actually try this once before – suggesting a donation to a charity (Starship, I think) as a Christening present.  If I recall correctly, we didn’t get a single bite that time. Continue reading “Forced Materialism” →