FAMILY TOGETHERNESS » Want Need Wear Read Ideas for “4 Gifts for Christmas” Tradition
Want Need Wear Read Ideas for “4 Gifts for Christmas” Tradition
This post contains affiliate links which may earn me commissions should you click through them and take certain actions. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See full disclosure here.
If you want to raise great kids and enjoy a cleaner home, then join more than 15,000 others who receive helpful home and family tips straight to their inbox each week. As a thank you for joining you'll receive several FREE household printables and other great perks too! Sign up here!
If you want to raise great kids and enjoy a cleaner home, then join more than 15,000 others who receive helpful home and family tips straight to their inbox each week. As a thank you for joining you'll receive several FREE household printables and other great perks too! Sign up here!
Looking to do the Want Need Wear Read 4 gifts for Christmas rule this year? Keep reading to discover some 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. The wish list can be fun to make but it’s often full of items that are pretty far out there.
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.
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. When it’s that time of the year, I love to have some shopping fun during the Christmas season as well.
So while I do like to limit Christmas gifts intentionally, I also like to have a framework as to what to buy my children. I also think it’s important to know that it’s not about the number of gifts as well.
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. We all have too much stuff that it’s a great idea if you can get the family members on board. A minimalistic gift is a great way to widdle down their want list and have a four gift rule instead.
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. It’s the start of a new family tradition that I think we can all get behind.
Plus, my kids love awesome new books, new clothes, and of course things they want and need. Fewer gifts means a simple Christmas and that is really awesome.
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 video games or board games, or even something new that they want to try. They can make out a want list to help you with shopping.
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).
It will really depend on your individual child. A water bottle is also a great gift idea for a child that plays a lot of sports.
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.
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! A read gift is so much fun to choose!
I know some people like to do a whole Christmas book advent calendar 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 for this.
There are loads of popular book series and ideas, and it will totally depend on your child, their reading levels, their interest, etc. etc.
You can also gift your child a kids book subscription box too! Some people do add some extra Santa gifts in the mix but that is totally up to you.
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. You can get a Highlights Magazine Subscription here.
The “Something to Wear” Gift
Because we wear a lot of items, this gift parameter offers a lot of freedom.
Another cool idea for the “something to wear gift” is to gift them a clothing subscription box!
I’ve written about several clothing subscription boxes and clothing websites, so take a look at the different options available for the child or adult you are shopping for and gift them a gift card, or just order them a box or two.
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!
Having few gifts doesn’t make you a total scrooge. Instead, if makes you stop putting your focus on lots of gifts and instead getting back to the meaning of Christmas. Christmas shopping is still fun even with just 4 gifts on the list!
Looking for even more gift ideas? Check out my other gift guides for kids:
We are the Fagans and we want to help you rock this home and family thing because we believe nothing is more important! To help you better manage the kiddos and your house, we created several FREE email series to get you started!
Mario says
As a parent, I love a book and if it is a gift book is perfect for all, as it is one of the best friends