It wouldn’t be Christmas if your house didn’t look like a tornado blew through it. Bits of wrapping paper, discarded boxes, toys and kids and chaos — it’s all so messy and fun! The only problem? Sometimes our kids get so carried away with presents, presents, presents, they forget to be grateful for what they got (and what they already have). Kristen Bell is trying to combat that problem with her kids Lincoln, 10, and Delta, who turns 9 next week. She opened up her Christmas morning strategy, and we are definitely taking notes.
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The Good Place alum shared a video on Instagram of her wrapping presents and reflecting on the upcoming holiday season. “During the month of December, I’m usually preoccupied as to how to make it not so much of a frenzy when the kids are opening presents,” she says.
She mentioned that her and husband Dax Shepherd “require” their kids “to thank whoever got them the present directly.” This means after they open a gift, they walk over to their auntie Tammy (or whoever it was from), and tell that person, “thank you so much for” whatever the gift is. I like it! Plus, it takes them away from just looking for the next present so they can stop and appreciate what they just opened.
“It’s this nice little break in between, like, tear, tear, tear, tear, rip, rip, rip, rip, I got things,” she adds.
Gifts With a Note
This year, Bell is trying something new. “I’m gonna put a little note on some of the presents,” she explains. “Like these are journals, so this one would say, ‘I hope you enjoy writing down your thoughts as much as I love hearing them.’ To kind of ground them in between ripping open packages to have a little sentiment to pay attention to.”
“And, I don’t know if it’ll work …” she adds. But hey, you gotta try something, right?
Personally, I think it’s a great idea — as long as it’s not on every single present. But writing something sentimental, even inside the journal or a book, could make the gift even more meaningful and give you a chance to chat about why you got them something.
Gift-Opening Traditions
The Veronica Bell alum captioned the video, “Anyone in??” Many people commented their praise for these simple ideas, and others shared what they do to help their kids learn more thankfulness.
“Love this plan!!! We go around one at a time opening gifts so every gift has a special moment & the gift giver can be sure not to miss the present being opened,” one person commented. “It creates a natural break with every present and gives my 3 kids time to see what everyone got, try things out, and see how beautiful gift giving & receiving can be.”
“We always just go one at a time around the room,” another wrote. “Usually youngest to oldest person. Slows it down enough to get everyone engaged in not just their own gifts, but ensuring that you’re paying attention when the gifts you’ve given are being received.”
One person really stretches the gift opening to last all day. “Our kids are teenagers so it’s a little bit different but a couple of years ago we implemented opening one present per hour and doing things like playing games in between for making breakfast for making cookies,” they wrote. “We don’t over buy for the kids either so this stretches it out for about six or seven hours. Their anticipations bills and it is so fun to watch them. Try to pick what they think is the best present. And sometimes it might just be a heating pad wrapped in a big box 🤣 (Sidenote, we do start with stockings first).”
Someone else shared how their traditions have changed since their kids got older. “Love this. I used to leave notes in the cards and it’s a cute hint too,” one person said. “Our kids are 18 and 20 and we are struggling to find some magic and surprises and new traditions with a tight budget as they are both in post-secondary. One thing we now do is have them buy for our stockings. It is special to see them enjoy giving and planning for us like we have for them over the years. (We give a budget of course 😉 )”
Others just buy fewer presents. “Something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read. Plus a stocking. It keeps the day calm-ish, allows gifts to actually be acknowledged and used and explored. Makes Christmas more fun and less of a headache for everyone,” they wrote.
Christmas Traditions
In December 2021, The People You Meet at the Wedding star told TODAY about more of her and Shepard’s holiday tradition. These include singing songs, watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and wearing matching PJs. They also teach their daughters to “reject the stress of the holidays.”
“We are attempting to model the behavior for our kids to not get too uppity or too intent on things being perfect,” she told the outlet.
At the time, they were following Shepard’s family’s gift-opening tradition, where the youngest person opens all their gifts first, then it follows in age order. “Basically grandma’s definitely asleep at the end,” Bell joked. “The older you are, chances are you have more patience. So it works for us.”
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