I love reading gift guides during the Christmas season. I rarely buy from any of them, but I get a kick out of seeing the creative ideas, new products, and even the completely overpriced junk. This year, Christmas shopping is much different because we’re 3,600 miles from home and can’t take back too much more than we brought down with us. We never go overboard with gifts anyway, but this trip has brought about its own unique challenges.

On one hand, shopping was much easier this year because we’re only purchasing gifts for our children and our moms. On the other hand, I had to be very selective with what we got the children because there’s only a little bit of free space in one suitcase. I used the same gift pattern that I always use, so technically, we didn’t buy any more or less than usual. However, the children will notice a drastic reduction in gifts because they won’t receive their normal bounty from grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. Normally, what they get from us pales in comparison to the ridiculous onslaught of gifts from our families, but this year our gifts will be it. The kids have been adequately prepped for the change, expectations have been reset, and I’m actually really looking forward to the sweet simplicity.

I could’ve brought gifts down in an extra suitcase, but it didn’t make sense to pay for the extra bag and drag it around multiple cities when there’s Amazon. Shipping takes several weeks, but I don’t even mind. I’m also glad that I waited to order gifts after being here a few weeks because I have a much better idea of what the kids need and can best use while we’re away.

For purchasing gifts, we use the “Something You Want, Something You Need, Something to Wear, and Something to Read”  pattern so each child is receiving 4 gifts from us, give or take, as some of the gifts require 2 parts to enhance their usefulness. Each category below has the gifts listed in birth order (8 year old girl, 6 year old girl, 4 year old boy, 2 year old boy). Here’s where we landed for this year, and these are not affiliate links – just linked to Amazon because that’s where I bought them:

Something You Want.  This category is easy because my kids always want something. I try to pay attention to at least some of their many requests for colorful overpriced plastic, and this is when I give myself permission to indulge those whims.

 

 

 

 

Something You Need.  This category could include practically anything because, let’s face it, the kids don’t technically NEED anything. This year, what they all “need” more than anything is something to DO when we’re not doing schoolwork or out and about in town. I focused on consumables with the hope that they’ll use up some or most of what is purchased while we’re here, and I tried to get things they can share with each other.  Some of these are actually more than one item, but they go together and will be wrapped together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something to Wear.  This is always the easiest category for me to shop and it was especially so this year. I didn’t bring swimsuits on the trip with us because I didn’t think they’d be necessary. As I look back, that was a silly conclusion because the kids have already missed multiple opportunities to swim. Nothing special here – each child will receive a simple one-piece swimsuit to wear on our water excursions.

 

 

 

 

Something to Read.  I considered purchasing Kindle books for each child because of our space/weight constraints, but honestly, it just wouldn’t be special. I use electronic books for homeschooling read alouds, and my oldest reads her Kindle every night in bed, but the format just wouldn’t translate well as a gift. As a result, my carry-on backpack will likely be impossibly heavy on the way home in February. The girls’ books are still related to my theme of something to DO during our down time while traveling, and the boys’ will enhance our home library of books with black characters. So many of the ones we own feature female characters (because the girls are older), and I’m focused on providing my boys with the same volume and quality that the girls have always had.

 

 

 

 

A Little Something Extra.  We normally shop for and pack 4 shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child (one from each of my children). It is something that has become so meaningful to the children that I was willing to shop and +ship them from here, but we’ve met a sweet family in La Paz that needs gifts every bit as much as the recipients of the OCC boxes. Rather than fill boxes, we’re wrapping a single meaningful gift to have under our tree for each of them here. If you’re curious, here’s what we picked based on little things the mom has said about her children since we met her. At least I think I know what she said…hoping my Spanish is not failing me in this situation.