They're gettin' nothing for Christmas

At least no toys.

Yep, my husband and I have banded together as one big collective Grinch and have decided our four little darlings won't be getting any toys this year. (Okay, the toddler is getting one toy, but he's the exception because he's the baby.)

Oh, they'll still get stuff -- some candy and fruit in their stockings, a few books, some art supplies -- just nothing that will require assembly, a battery or excessive shipping charges. Nothing that will become something cumbersome to step over or move around the play area as the new year rolls in.

They have everything they need now. Why pile on?

I've already talked about this with the three oldest and they were surprisingly willing to go along with it. "As long as we get something, we don't need any more toys," my 7 year-old said.

So here's what's on tap for Christmas 2009:

The toddler gets a toy -- a new toy telephone because we have only one and he never gets to use it since his three older siblings usually have it employed in their pretend play.

Other than that, it's stocking stuffers of the consumable kind;
Sticker books (good for car trips or waiting at the dentist's office)
Home-made coupon books good for things like a trip to the zoo or the natural science museum.
Art supplies like sketch pads, new crayons, colored pencils
The opportunity to pick out "gifts" in the form of charitable contributions to charities like World Vision, the local animal shelter or an ocean conservation society.
A shopping trip to buy toys for the annual charitable toy drive for poor kids

That's right. This year we're buying toys for OTHER kids, kids whose families have lost jobs, health insurance, homes, cars -- and there are a lot of them out there. Some of them I know personally.

And when I look at the ridiculously small amounts of money it takes to support a World Vision project for kids not only in foreign countries but right here in the United States, I cannot help but think that my kids are already heavily blessed and that now is the time to teach them what our faith teaches us about sharing what we have.