I am a frugalista, there is no doubt. But for some reason, I'm struggling with my decision to give my son a kitchen set that I bought at a garage sale for Christmas. This, I realize, it the stupidest thing I have ever written.
A) My son doesn't know what Christmas is.
B) My son doesn't know what a garage sale is.
C) My son thinks a Pottery Barn magazine is the best present ever.
D) My son thinks a Duplo block is a phone. ("Hi... hi. HI HI HI.")
I bought the (adorable, wooden, high-dollar) kitchen set from a friend at her garage sale last summer and left it at Kalli's because Johnny was way too young for it then. I have noticed that he likes the kitchen set at daycare, so it's time to bring ours home. VOILA. SANTA. It all makes perfect sense, especially given HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT CHRISTMAS YET.
But, I have a nagging feeling that I am a total a-hole of a parent, for pulling this gift charade over on my unsuspecting baby. Will I have to tell him one day that Santa brought him a used refrigerator for his second Christmas? Will he hate me for it later, and tell his therapist about it?
My son has very few things that have come to him shiny and new. Which is great. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Cheap. Love it all. But, sometimes is something new worth it? If so, when? Or, is it a good message to him? Shall I raise him on garage sale Christmases, so he learns to respect items and money and value?
Or am I just using recycling and "lessons" as an excuse to be myself: namely, the cheapest bitch in town?
He won't know or care Megan! We are doing something similar, hand-me-down, almost new toys from the cousins are going to make up the majority of our kids Christmas. I figure paying the electric bill so the tree lights are on is more important then spending more than we can afford on presents that they will never remember. And when you do tell him about it when he's older he'll hopefully get the message that "stuff" for "stuffs" sake is a really stupid way to live!
ReplyDeleteYou're being far too hard on yourself.
ReplyDeleteYou are being far too hard on yourself. He's not going to care. Think of it this way---you will pass it on to another child when he outgrows it. Do you really think that child is going to care?
ReplyDeletexoxo