Y'all know I love The Lazy Genius. And although I've always loved gift formulas for our own family gifts (ie we do these three things for our family birthday gifts), an Instagram post in The Lazy Genius' feed taught me the brilliance that is Deciding Once on other gifts, too. Meaning: I'm going to Decide Once what I give for baby shower gifts or toddler birthdays or teacher gifts. And Future Haley won't have to waste time and energy coming up with a new gift each and every time.
I keep a list in my Google Keep of all my Decide Once gifts. I update it as needed - nothing is ever set in stone! - but I love having this as a reference. Because while I love gift giving, I found that the art of finding the gift was overwhelming for me, usually ending up with me spending too much time (and money!) last minute to get a gift I felt only lukewarm about (or skipping a gift altogether), only to promise myself I'd "do better" next time. So listing out what I like to give for every occasion and every holiday - and referencing it all year long - really serves me well.
Want a few examples? Click here! You’ll see my Decide Once gifts change over time - like I said, nothing is ever set in stone!
It may all sound a bit robotic and impersonal, but I found that I loved the intentionality of Decide Once Gifts. I no longer was overwhelmed by the infinite options - I knew this is what we were going to get (or do) for this occasion, and that was that. With so much mental space not depleted by the gift finding, I now had energy to give personal things I'd always wanted to do - like a heartfelt note from me or a baked good "from KK." And in doing so, I found I loved gift giving again.
However! This method may not work for those that find joy in choosing new, individualistic gifts. That's just not something I enjoy. I love giving gifts, but I don't love finding them. I get overwhelmed. Same goes for gift wrapping: I keep a stash of simplified gift wrap. And I use this gift wrapping formula for any and all occasions. This works really well for me. But, if you enjoy the art of beautiful gift wrapping, this method would not work for you. Whatever works best for you is amazing.
This is just a system that works really, really well for us. A way for me to lessen my mental load of running a household, but also find joy in gift-giving again.
So here’s seven things we keep on hand for preschooler gifts.
And toddler gifts.
And kindergartener gifts.
And one-year old gifts.
And elementary school gifts.
And and and.
Really this gift formula is super flexible for most ages.
several sets of fun sidewalk chalk
Amazon had this big, amazing set (64 different colors!!) on deep sale and I stocked up. Everyone is thrilled to receive this, and I get texts of gratitude for months after. Honestly one of my favorite gifts to give.
I also love this glitter set, this neon set, this tie-dye (!!!) set, and this bold set. In the past I’ve thrown a handful of that basic $3 Sun Squad chalk set at Target in my cart, too.
several sets of smelly markers, too
Another super appreciated gift - who doesn’t love smelly markers? Like these classic smelly markers are always a hit, but I personally love the thinner version, or these Crayola dual-sided ones. Whenever something goes on sale, I grab a few.
a big pack of bubble wands, like this
a stack $5 gift cards to our local ice cream shop
Because we’re in Texas. so even if you have a November birthday, it’s still 75 degrees outside and you’re getting an ice cream gift card.
But! Lots of types of gift cards would be such fun gifts to receive. Next year I may change to grab gift cards from a local hamburger place that has a great playscape and the best milkshakes.
a few beach towels
At the end of the season, I grab a few beach towels on sale. These make great gifts, IMO. And, since I’m at my parents’ house every Tuesday (if you remember from my Morning Outings blogpost), I love to ask my mom to break out her monogramming machine and monogram a beach towel for a birthday gift. And then I smile all summer long seeing our gift at pool dates and backyard hangs, time and time again. Love me a practical gift.
and a whole stash of simplified gift wrap
(and I keep a coupon template on hand, too - but more on that next)
Let me pause there. Just because I keep things on hand for birthdays, does not mean I gift every single thing each time. I mix and match every single time. Sometimes we give an ice cream gift card and markers, sometimes we give a monogrammed towel with bubbles, sometimes we just give chalk. It all depends.
Like, sometimes we get invited by kids we don’t really know. When KK was two years old, she and the rest of her new preschool class were invited by a classmate to a party. Wonderful! Great! But we couldn’t go, and so we attached a box of chalk to a personalized gift tag that said, “Happy birthday! Love, KK,” and tucked it in the birthday girl’s backpack at preschool pick-up. It was perfect.
And sometimes we have birthday invites for beloved, beloved family friends. More on that next.
“But Haaaaaaley! What about kids you gift to multiple years in a row? Or every single year?”
Yes! Excellent question.
For dear friends - like my BFFs’ kids, I give the above things, but change it up. A towel with bubbles and markers one year, an ice cream gift card with chalk the next, etc. Because I can mix and match, the majority of the time what we keep on hand works beautifully for loved ones’ s kids year after year, too.
But for my nephews, I do this wonderful combo. Fun mail + something fun to do together = a great, great gift from their aunt. :) You’ll see I have a coupon template I keep on hand for just this occasion.
“But Haaaaaaley! What about first birthday parties?”
Yes! Another excellent question.
We don’t often get invited to first birthday parties, but when we do, they’re usually for dear, dear friends. So my go-to first birthday gift is this:
a set of our favorite stacking/nesting rainbow buckets
with the tag: “one is buckets of fun! happy birthday!”
these rainbow buckets prove to be one of our go-to toys year after year: for stacking, for nesting, for “smoothie” making, for water play, for bath play, for sand play, for outdoor play, for beach play, for river play, for imaginative play. Basically for all play.
honestly, sometimes I give this for second and third birthdays, too. would be precious with a towel. or bubbles. or a $5 ice cream gift card. or or or.
All that to say these things we keep on hand for kid gifts works really well for us. I no longer waste significant brain power over gifts - I have a limited pool from which to choose, and that’s that.
But wait! There’s more!
See this post on our Split Responsibilities - I'm in charge of gift-giving.
Here’s a few of my other Decide Once gifts. You’ll see that - as I said - nothing is ever set in stone, and that my Decide Once gifts have changed over time.
I also love these resources:
This "Lazy Genius Decide Once Gifts" post - the comments are GOLD.
Here’s the 5 things I keep on hand for easy gift wrap for all occasions, all year long. I thank Past Haley every single time.
You deserve whatever you need to take care of yourself. Like Deciding Once on kid birthday gifts.
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