Last year right before the holidays I was scrolling on social media and in a mom group saw a mom mention the 8 gift rule for their kids. I was curious because after having my third kid I wanted to be intentional with what my kids received. We didn’t need many toys we didn’t have the space for and that they may or may not play with. I loved this idea of a simple Christmas list for kids.

Our family now uses this format each year when making our Christmas lists. It also helps to be intentional about what is on their lists. Of course, we do get a few things outside of this list, but we truly try to stick within the categories to avoid going overboard.

Something they want

For our family, this is something that our kids have specifically asked for. When we are out at the store and our kids want everything they see in sight we have them stand with it, take a picture, and add it to an album on our phone so that we can save it and remember it for Christmas or their birthdays it also helps with tantrums, most of the time. We explain what we are doing and our toddlers have been on board with the idea and really like it. This is something from that album or from something they ask us for.

Something they need

This can be anything that they need, something for an extracurricular activity or school. One year we did blankets because our kids needed new blankets for their rooms as it got colder. This year it will be new bedding since they are all getting new bed frames for Christmas. If they needed any clothes or shoes we would put them in this category as well.

Something to wear

This one and something they need may go together sometimes and that’s okay. This could be clothes that they need, some fun new pajamas, or a costume of their favorite character for dressing up. One year after Halloween I scored some costumes that were 75% off and kept those to add to a dress-up bin for my kids. For my daughter this year I am thinking of getting her some new earrings and some hair bows since she is really into bows and needs some new earrings. It can be anything that they wear.

Something to read

We love to gift our kids books because they love them so much! This year though since we have plenty of books, our kids are getting the Yoto mini-players so we are going to add some Yoto cards as our something to read. We are planning to get each kid a few cards to start with one or two of the characters or shows they like and then a few educational books and stories that we may not have in book form.

A favorite toy that also falls under the reading category is the Little Tikes Dream Machine which my kids got for Christmas last year and are big fans of. They like that they can pick different books and it plays it for them. Sometimes we will put it on right before bed to get them relaxed and ready for sleep. There isn’t an extensive book list like the Yoto or even the Tonies Toniebox but still a fun toy for littles.

Something to play with

Now this may be the easiest category since it is something to play with and most of the things we get our kids are things to play with. Being intentional with what that something to play with is the key. For our family, we will be referring to that fun album on our phone of what fits into this category that our kids want. That could be a new car track, a doll, or a set of dinosaurs if we are talking specifically to my kids.

Something to do

In my opinion, a few different things could fit in this category, it could be some sort of craft/ building toy or it could be an outing. A lot of families like to gift passes to a zoo or aquarium and this could fit in this category, or if you’re purchasing tickets for a specific event as well. If your kids are into crafts to building things a toy like that could fit into this category. Like all of these categories, anything goes and you can do what works best for your family.

Something for family

The something to do and this category can go hand in hand because this could be where you categorize a family pass somewhere, event tickets, or even a vacation. For our family this year we purchased previously a pass to a local botanical garden that is good for a year but that could be something we categorized here. This year we might get a monthly pass to a children’s play place in our area.

You could even go totally outside of the box on this one and do a joint present for all of your kids or maybe even matching pajamas as your something for family. It really can be anything you want it to be! We are keeping it easy with our simple Christmas list for our kids so it’s all fair game.

Something just for you

This is sometimes a special gift that is just for your kid, something that is all theirs. For our family that may look like a frozen doll for my daughter or a Mario Kart toy for my son since those are the things that they are really into and their little brother isn’t quite old enough for yet. Our kids also normally all share their things but there are a few toys and things that are just theirs. This can be anything special to each kid and can also be something that they specifically asked for.

Again these are all just suggestions on putting together a simple Christmas list for kids and what works for our family. You can categorize however works for you! We have found that this is the best way to put together Christmas lists especially when sharing with family, when asked what our kids might want for Christmas.