rivka

For all practical purposes, this was Alex's first Christmas - the first one where she was old enough to understand a little of what was going on. And she loved it. She loved our Christmas tree. First thing every morning, she'd ask for "Christmas tree lights." We decorated it with unbreakable ornaments so that Alex could touch them freely, and she quickly learned to observe our rule that ornaments stay on the tree. She'd walk around and around the tree checking in with each of her favorites: "Hi doggy. Hi star. Teddy bear, okay?"

She quickly learned to identify Santa Claus (sounded more like "Sticker Claus," though) and snowmen when she saw them on cards or decorations. I'm quite sure she has no idea what either one actually is, but she enjoys them both all the same. She loves looking at Christmas cards. Michael's father had a basket of them set down low, and Alex spent a lot of time taking them out and studying each one.

We spread her Christmas over several days, which worked beautifully. She got to play with and appreciate all of her toys individually, and never got so overwhelmed that she was just ripping things open without looking at them - which I often saw in my nieces and nephew, when they were younger, and was determined to avoid.

She was given:
Tuesday the 19th (at home): Set of nine dinosaur figurines from

wcg.
Stuffed llama from Lydia (my boss), who raises llamas.
Saturday the 23rd (in Memphis): Two sleepers from Poppy and Nana (Michael's father and stepmother) - one very cute, one unspeakable.
A toy dishwashing set from Poppy and Nana - small plastic dish drainer, dishes, dish soap bottle, and several different kinds of scrubbers. We had suggested that she might like a set of dishes, and this is what they found. On the one hand, what a bizarre idea for a toy. On the other hand, toddlers love to imitate grownup activities, including dishwashing, so it's all good. She played with it a fair amount.
Sunday the 24th: Three wooden peg puzzles from Mama and Papa. She likes these a lot, but they're easy enough for her that I'm not sure they'll have enduring play value. We'll see.
Wee Sing Children's Songs and Fingerplays CD and book from Mama and Papa. She loves it.
Plastic baby doll from Poppy and Nana. She's played with it some, but she's still not that interested in dolls.
Two books: a Richard Scarry lift-the-flap book from Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) which is actually kind of lame, and Harold and the Purple Crayon from Aunt Juanita.
Monday the 25th: Stocking from Santa Claus: four small poseable safari animals (elephant, giraffe, cheetah, hippopotamus), a small analog clock (she loves clocks), and a mini board book version of A Visit from St. Nicholas.
The book Papa's Song from Papa and Mama. All three of us love this book. Yay.
The book Corduroy from Grandma and Grandpa, one of my all-time favorites and favorite of Alex's as well.
A very simple wooden train set from Santa Claus. She just loves it. "Alex's train track! Alex's train track!" We played trains all Christmas day.
A pair of Guatemalan slippers from Aunt Debbie.
A small neon-colored pillow, a Nursery Rhymes "CD Player", and some Color Wonders markers with a coloring book from Betty's daughters-in-law. I think everything but the pillow will probably "disappear."
Wednesday the 27th (at home again): An absolutely gorgeous set of unit blocks from Grandma and Grandpa. Best toy of Christmas. Beautifully finished natural hardwood blocks, the kind of thing I can imagine our grandchildren (should we have any) playing with.
A plastic barn from Grandma and Grandpa, which opens to reveal farm animals, a tractor, a farmer, and some fencing. Alex loves it.
Two "Don't Let the Pigeon..." books by Mo Willems, from Aunt Judy. A little old for her right now, but I anticipate that these will be future favorites.
Two tie-dyed sundresses and a dalmatian-print hat from Gran (Michael's birthmother). Very very cute.
Still to come, whenever we finish painting it: a child-sized wooden table and chairs from Papa and Mama.

This is a massive amount of stuff, obviously, and at times I worry that it's too much. We don't want Christmas to be a huge material extravaganza - and honestly, we don't have a lot of space to put toys. Add in the stuff she'll probably get for her birthday in just four months, and seems a bit overwhelming.

But most of the things she got are enduring toys that will see her out of babyhood and into the preschool years and beyond. Small animal figures, blocks, a doll, furniture, a train set that can be expanded as she gets older... these are toys with multiple uses, and their play value will grow as she gets older and is capable of more complex imaginative play. She didn't have a lot of things like that already, so it's not really that inappropriate to give her a lot of them now. Right?

I guess part of it is that I'm coming at this from the perspective of having been the fourth child in my family. By the time I came along, we already had enough toys to outfit a medium-sized nursery school. Blocks, legos, dolls, stuffed animals, a toy kitchen, push- and pull-toys, riding toys, pretty much the entire Fisher Price Little People empire, a whole cabinet overflowing with art supplies and coloring books... in that environment, yeah, I didn't need a lot of new toys. Alex's environment is different. She's an only child, so we're starting from scratch.