The Truth About Kids and Christmas Presents

Every Christmas parents spend - dare I say waste - hundreds of dollars on new toys for their kids. The kids pull them out of the boxes, play with them for a day or two, then go back to the old toys they've had forever. The reality is, most kids don't care if they have new toys or old ones, or sometimes if they even have toys at all. They might say they want them, but they're kids, they also say things like they want applesauce, Cap'n Crunch and a Yoohoo for dinner and you don't give them that....hopefully.

Exhibit A:
2 weeks ago, my cousin had plenty of new presents under the tree, adding to an already impressive collection of toys and other such playthings. Yesterday, she was over at our house and what did she find to keep herself amused for 2 hours?

That's right, an empty box. Cost: $0. She was back today and the first thing she did was make a bee-line for that tattered ol box.

Parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors, countrymen: Give your child an empty box, let them fill it with their imagination.