Want Need Wear Read Ideas for "4 Gifts for Christmas" Tradition

Looking to do the 4 Gifts for Christmas gifting rule this year? Here are some great Want Need Wear Read ideas!
This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx and the brands reviewed below.

Some years your kids want everything for Christmas. Other years they don’t seem to really want anything.

Or at least that is our problem this year.

One of our daughters has on multiple occasions said that she’ll be happy with whatever she gets because she already has the best gift – her family. No joke, this is what she said to Santa Claus when she sat on his lap during our SeaWorld Christmas Celebration trip.

My son has only said he wants a big blue ball. You know, those ones that you find in those giant cages in the middle of the aisle of large department stores? Yeah. He wants that.

I like to think we’re doing okay if my kids are happy with a giant $4 ball and whatever else they may end up receiving.

But, I also want to gift my children presents…. and to splurge on them just a little bit as I don’t much during the year. I still want their Christmas mornings to be magical and pick gifts that really matter.

So while I do like to limit Christmas gifts intentionally, I also like to have a framework as to what to buy my children.

4 Gifts for Christmas Rule

There is a very popular four gift Christmas trend going on these days, where you limit gift giving (at least to your immediate family) to four gifts, where each gift fulfills a specific gift parameter. These parameters are to give:

Something they want
Something they need
Something to wear
Something to read

This is sometimes popular with people who aren’t overly religious (as opposed to the 3 gift Christmas rule of gold frankincense and myrrh gifts) or simply like the parameters most often associated with the four Christmas gift ideas. Maybe you also just like the idea of living with less stuff and decluttering.

Want Need Wear Read

As my oldest kids are growing like weeds and can now read much more confidently, I really do like the idea of this four gift tradition as it covers a lot of items. Plus, my kids love awesome new books, new clothes, and of our course things they want and need.

I thought it would be helpful though to give a few suggestions as to what some good want need wear read gifts look like. So, here we go!

The “Something They Want” Gift

The “something they want” gift is the “big item”, the Santa present, the expensive (or not so expensive) thing your child really wants. This is often some sort of toy or plaything.

This could include things like outdoor play equipment for kids, classic kids toys that kids actually play with for years, or even some sort of adventure experience gift.

Maybe it’s an arts and crafts subscription box or one of many great gifts for 8-year-olds girls ideas!

The “Something They Need” Gift

While a lot of people have different views and opinions on what a “need” gift is, this item is something your child needs (however you choose to define need).

Maybe they need it for a sports team they’re on (baseball glove, hockey sticks, basketball), for your upcoming camping trip (camping chair, sleeping bag), for your planned vacation (like a swimsuit, beach towel, or Viv + Lou duffle bag), or for school (notebook, backpack, pens).

If you homeschool, maybe the “need gift” is some school curriculum (I love the Good and the Beautiful curriculum for Language Arts!), monthly science kits, scientific board games or other educational board games, or other educational subscription boxes.

Maybe your child needs a new night light, toddler bed, bunk bed or bedding set. Or they need a new car seat, booster seat, or high chair.

It will really depend on your individual child.

If you have babies, a fun way to get some things you need regularly is through things like a baby subscription box which often deliver things like books, developmental toys, clothes, or eating supplies to you regularly. The same is true for many monthly subscription boxes for toddlers too.

The “Something to Read” Gift

Because parents like to encourage literacy and a love of reading (and as homeschoolers this is even truer), gifting a book can be fun and rewarding in many ways (though one of my friends said she didn’t like this idea, as she much prefers using the public library).

Finding the perfect book that your son or daughter will truly love to receive on Christmas morning is the real challenge here, however!

I know some people like to do a whole Christmas book advent where their children receive a brand new book over the course of the 24 days leading up to Christmas. Many like to gift children’s Christmas books.

There are loads of popular book series and ideas, and it will totally depend on your child, their reading levels, their interest, etc. etc.

And if you don’t like physical books, you can consider something on my list of audiobooks for family road trips for a ton of great listening books (and they’d be good reads too, obviously).

Another fun option for a something to read gift is a Highlights Magazine Subscription!

In every 40-page issue, kids explore new topics, investigate fascinating subjects and find out about the world. A Highlights magazine subscription for kids will bring them 12 months filled with stories, games, puzzles, riddles, science experiments, craft projects and activities that are as entertaining as they are educational.

Plus, Highlights never includes third-party advertising, so you can rely on it to be a commercial-free zone where your young reader can play, learn and just be a kid.

Right now they are running a Thanksgiving Sale where you can get 50% off Highlights Magazines and a FREE Hidden Pictures activity book and 2019 Calendar.

Give the gift of reading this holiday season! Get 15% off Bookroo today!

Or, you can look into a monthly book box subscription like Bookroo! Bookroo is a monthly book box subscription and they offer board books, picture books, and chapter books!

For kids ages 0-3, you’ll get 3 new board books in every box, for kids ages 2-6 you get 2 hardcover picture books. Bookroo’s Chapter Book Box is designed for children ages 7-10 years old and contains 2 age-appropriate chapter books, each individually wrapped: one is a hidden game and one more classic admired favorite. If you have kids of different ages, you can choose to alternate between types of books, where one month you’ll get board books, and the next month chapter books!

This is a great way to build up your child’s library and get them reading, which is my daughters’ favorite things to do. A subscription service just makes it more fun and lets you sample lots of new and classic literature. Take 15% off your order with code BOOKS2LOVE!

The “Something to Wear” Gift

Because we wear a lot of items, this gift parameter offers a lot of freedom.

A wearable gift could be:

Another cool idea for the “something to wear gift” is to gift them a clothing subscription box! There are actually quite a few kids clothing subscription boxes like Kidbox and Stitch Fix Kids (see my Kidbox review and Baby by Kidbox review and my Stitch Fix Kids post for more details on some options), men’s clothing subscription boxes, women’s clothing boxes like Stitch Fix, and even maternity subscription boxes!

I hope you’ll find great want, need, wear, read gifts for the kids in your life this year! It’s a fun and simplified gifting tradition!

Looking for even more gift ideas? Check out my other gift guides for kids:

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Want Need Wear Read Ideas for “4 Gifts for Christmas” Tradition