This horrible, debilitating disease can transform even the kindest, sweetest children into horrible thoughtless monsters!

Has this ever happened to you?

• You walk into the grocery store with your little angel by your side. She asks if she may please have a box of Starry Fish Gummy Fruit Snacks, and when you say, “Not today honey,” your princess transforms into a screaming, raging beast, stomping her foot, shrieking loudly, accompanied by fake sobs. Spectators look on, wondering how you could be so cruel.
• You take your children to visit their 97 year old Great Aunt Thelma. She is bedridden in a nursing home, and just as soon as she appropriately pinches both their cheeks, they simultaneously chime “What’d ya get us?”
• Your teenage daughter has three dressers in her room. Her closet is overflowing and she has overtaken the closet in the guest bedroom. It’s time for school. You ask what is taking so long for her to get ready. She replies “It’s just not fair. I don’t have any clothes.”
• You scour the stores at Christmas looking for a Go-Go Rabbit Power Hero – the toy of the year – for your seven year old son. After waiting in line for eight hours, you are pushed out of the way by a throng of desperate parents. Finally exhausting all other options, you pay $200 for one on eBay. On Christmas morning, your son opens his package and promptly tosses it aside. “I wanted to red one,” he complains.
• Your children have boxes and boxes of toys laying about their room that they don’t play with. Yet every time they find themselves in a store, they whine and moan about how they “Never get anything” and how “We don’t have anything nice to play with”.

Does any of this sound familiar? Your children may be suffering from a common affliction know as: The Gimmes. This disorder is brought on by having Too Much. It rears its ugly head at the most inopportune times, usually in front of family members or the general public, causing a second-hand effect of acute embarrassment for the parent.

Never fear! There is a cure!
The only cure for The Gimmes is Less. Yes, that’s right; in this case, Less is More. Get rid of 75-90% of their toys and clothes. In addition for providing relief to The Gimmes, you will notice a remarkable difference in the cleanliness of said room and your children will experience an increased desire to play with the remaining toys. All this, because they can finally find them!

Don’t Buy Off-Season
Stop purchasing little toys and trinkets for your children between holidays. Give your children a small allowance instead, and make it clear that they are responsible for buying these items. The Gimmes clear up quickly when a child needs to spend his own money!

Purchase Less on Holidays
Keep your holiday gift giving simple. Only purchase 1-3 items per child for each gift giving occasion. Children become over-stimulated when presented with too many options, and receiving gifts is no exception. Between the gifts you give and the ones friends and family members give your child, it is easy for a child to confuse the gift itself with the thrill of getting. This is the root cause of The Gimmes.

Your family can overcome this. Your child can become a respectable, caring individual who doesn’t place his needs above everyone else’s. You can beat this disease. We’re all rooting for you!

About the Author
Rayven Perkins is an expert at saving money at home. She has spent 7 years finding and implementing unique cost-cutting tips that allow her family to live comfortably as a one-income family. Her site http://www.stay-a-stay-at-home-mom.com examines resources and tips on Reducing Expenses, Stretching Your Dollar, and Supplementing Income in order to stay a SAHM

Pictures Photographs of your child, your children, or your whole family are great gifts for family and friends. Many members of the family, like grandparents, will be happy with ONLY receiving a picture of their grandkids. You can buy inexpensive picture packages at places like Sears and Target, or take your own pictures and go to Clark Photos to print out the quantity and sizes that you want.

Mugs, Calendars and More! Expanding a bit on the “photography” theme you can have items made to give as gifts with your favorite picture on them. Family members will love a calendar that has a new picture of their grandchild, niece or nephew on it every time they turn the page. A mouse pad would be a great gift for the family computer guru or for dad to take to the office with him. These items can all be bought online and shipped to your house, sometimes already gift wrapped making your job that much easier.

Gift Cards Pictures aren’t the only great holiday gift! Who doesn’t like a gift card allowing them to eat out, or go to their favorite store and buy whatever they want. If you have a set amount you are going to spend on each family member, or household, you can go down to the mall, stop in one store and buy gift cards for everyone from that store. Or you can go to a nearby restaurant and buy a gift card from there, treating your family to a night out, and the wives to a night off at the same time.

Lottery Tickets One thing that few people think of, but that is really a good idea and can be a lot of fun is scratch off lottery tickets given as gifts. My uncle used to buy everyone 5-10 scratch off lottery tickets for Christmas. If you won on your ticket you could either give it back to him and he would give you another one, or you could keep it and cash it in. As kids it was fun to scratch these off, even if you seldom won. However, occasionally someone would win $1 on a ticket, “sell” it back to my uncle for another ticket, where they would scratch and win as much as $100. Even though we knew what we were getting for Christmas from him, the element of surprise and excitement was always there.

Home Baked Goods Who doesn’t like homemade cookies and pies? Homemade fudge, with and without nuts is always a big hit as well! For those that are low on money, or don’t have the time to run around outside of the house picking up presents, a good shopping list, successful grocery store run, and good time management skills can come in handy when it comes time to give someone a gift. Homemade goodies can be made throughout the day at your leisure, during nap times and after your baby goes to bed at night. Many items, like cookies, can be made weeks in advance and frozen till the big day, giving you a lot of time to get ready for the holidays.

Just because you have a new baby doesn’t mean that you have to forget about the holidays or not give gifts because of lack of time. With all the internet, pictures, gift cards and one stop shops that are available to consumers today, you can still have a great and successful holiday season and impress your loved ones with your gift ideas. Most families are more concerned with the quality and meaning behind a gift than they are the cost of a gift, making even the inexpensive choices some of the best ideas and most loved gifts of the year.