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A little sister huh? What are you waiting for? ;) The answer to me depends on whether she's old enough to know that her expectations aren't realistic or not. If she is then I'd simply say that those aren't things that Santa is likely to be able to do and she might want to think about other things she might like to put on the list. I'd expect her to think of ...

The simple answer to your question is to only give and allow gifts to be given on special occasions. However, there is a reason we give gifts: it strengthens our relationships (this link is interesting commentary on the subject). There is much pleasure to be gained in the giving, probably more than in the receiving. Why would we want to restrict spreading ...

I think that as with many things, it is always important to explain to your child that different families do things differently and the way we do things is that gifts are for special occasions... It is important to help your child find ways to have intrinsic value for many of the occasions I see parents giving presents for. In the case of things like school ...

A gift certificate to a spa. With three boys, mom'll probably need it. ;) More seriously, though, unless it's consumables (diapers, detergents, etc) or gift cards/certificates to buy what they need, the family probably has everything they need from the first two (assuming the third was planned, or close enough to 2 that they didn't get rid of everything), ...

If it were me receiving the gift, I would find a gift card to WalMart or a grocery store or some place equally ubiquitous the most useful gift. We received several gift cards to Target when my daughter was born and they were so nice to have on hand when I turned out to need lots more newborn clothes than I expected or for diapers or for whatever. Even if ...

Show them how to have fun without gifts/stuff What did I enjoy most when I was a child? Going camping: making fires and climbing trees. At home it was Lego, or those wooden railways. My sister and I would make a layout and then play make believe games with the little people. p.s. I am only 18, so it's not like this harks back to another time, this is ...

You might want to hang on to personalized gifts for a while, in case the gift-giver should notice the item is not around. If it really is unusable by anyone else, a quiet disposal may be the only way to let it go, since you would not want to risk the item ever crossing paths with the gift-giver. If there is a possibility someone could use it, you might give ...

I would keep them for later. A newborn doesn't need a coin bank, for example. Nobody else is going to want a coin bank with your child's name and birthdate. A twelve year old will happily save coins in a jam jar. But a twenty-something, moving out into their own apartment, may be delighted and touched to have a coin bank, engraved with their name and ...

I didn't want anyone to give us clothes, books or any furniture (crib/mattress/bouncer/high chair) for our second baby girl either. However, the things that we did go and purchase: Diapers. They are still going to need diapers for the child. If they are using cloth diapers, you can buy some cloth diaper detergent. Food. Formula if they use it. Otherwise, ...

While we do give gifts on Christmas and birthdays, the other times we give gifts is as a reward, or a thank you or sometimes just to surprise someone. Our activity is picked up by the children, so sometimes they will make a small present to give to a friend, or to one of us, for no apparent reason. We encourage this, and it helps them in understanding that ...