I watched my grandaughter open about 30 presents last christmas all brought by Santa. She got tired of opening them. She has been given so much that when you meet her the first questions she asks is do you have a present for me. Also she needs to know the meaning of the word NO. She will scream if she is denied anything.It is not fun to have everything.

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The Newspaper in our town has newsprint for sale on rolls for a small fee. At 2 yrs.  My kids loved a 9 piece plastic train set that went in a small case that they could carry around.  My guys liked larger toy  trucks, & bulldozers  that they could play with in the dirt.  Also they liked a set of containers that they could pour water in the swimming pool or bath. We had some soap that you could draw with in the bathtub.  They liked that.  My husband got a bunch of cardboard boxes and we built a fort with different rooms.  They loved that--just boxes.  They loved a rubber swimming pool in the back yard.  We paired it with a sturdy plastic yardsale slide.  They loved to slide down the slide and splash in the little pool.  Also they liked to roll their rubber balls down the slide. The expensive toy they loved was the wooden train set with magnets.     You can find wonderful toys, clothes and books at yardsales for a young child. Kids like crafts too-gluing things and easy stiching with yard and a big plastic needle. You can ask the seller what their children actually played with.  Those duplos are good.  Other kids are fun to play with.  Keep them away from video games/TV/computers as long as possible.  Little kids need hands on.  Avoid computer, TV, video games as long as possible.  When you are forced, monitor everything from the beginning and set time limits.   Kids like to play with their parents and other kids.  Get on the floor & get out some Fisher Price barn & Little People.  They learn language when you play with them and talk which is helpful in reading and school.

While your idea about used books isn't a bad one, I ended up getting a boat load of them for $10 a a garage sale - obviously a great deal.  But...they drove me crazy because they would all be pulled out of the bookshelf and all over the floor, and not being the worlds greatest housekeeper it was just always a mess.  So we have donated some books and have since gotten a library membership.  The library isn't what it used to be!  You can also get some music and videos now.  The kids enjoy the trip to the library, and my husband and I get a book to read as well.  It's soooo cheap to join, and you have a constant rotation of thousands of books to choose from.

You guys are very frugal and sensible, but you are forgetting that grandparents are so madly in love with their grandkids that they just can't help it! It might come as a surprise to you, but your parents probably complained that their parents bought you a lot of useless junk! Can't you let them spoil the grandkids? That's what grandparents are for- and you had better hope you live long enough- and have enough money- to spoil your own grandkids one day.

woah i totally agree

My grandchildren's ages are 5 years old and 16 months old, respectively.  At this time I'm considering buying some Disneyworld stocks for them to have in the future.

How do I go about doing this?  Where do I go?  Can someone recommend a way to do this to a novice.

My grandchildren's ages are 5 years old and 16 months old, respectively.  At this time I'm considering buying some Disneyworld stocks for them to have in the future.

How do I go about doing this?  Where do I go?  Can someone recommend a way to do this to a novice.

For Teenagers who ask for expensive items you can't afford: Chances are they can't either but if you offer to pay half if they pay the other half, you'll find they will begin to ask for more reasonable items.

Before Christmas or birthdays my kids and my daycare kids were allowed to start a wish list as long as they wanted....some were 6 or 8 feet long! We would take them to the local toy store and write down everything they could possibly wish for. Then come home and write it out to hang on the wall. They could add to it daily. Once there friends and family could "see" what they wanted. We mothers could direct people to the acceptable items. Once Christmas or the birthday was over each kid could mark off all that they did receive. This taught them to be careful of what you wish for and that you can't have everything you want either. The wish list got considerably shorter once they had learned the lesson.

As for parties, my "kids" are 21 and 16 now but the most memorable parties they had, that are also remembered by friends, included toilet paper, chocolate milk, and flavoured ice cream! The toilet paper was to play Mummy Wrap in pairs and then when that was exhausted they had "snowball" fights and buried each other in it. It was always the last hour or so of any party and yes every parent who saw it for the first time thought I was crazy.

I never served pop but instead made a jug of chocolate milk, always a hit with the kids. I used frozen/fresh fruits to make vanilla ice cream into a variety of flavours and colours which was not only delicious but healthy too. My 21 year old's friends still say they had the most fun at our parties.

As for gifts, my older one decided he didn't really need a party after he turned 10 but would instead organize group of friends to go skating or swimming or bowling and not mention it was anywhere near his birthday.

My younger one loved the parties, still does but she has asked her friends to instead bring a gift for her to add to her collection for the kids she sponsors at Christmas. She shops all year long with her own money to buy gifts for the kids she sponsors so it really helps her collection to grow with her fall birthday donations.

Both my kids have learned the value of the dollar by first "working" at home for their allowance. One month they worked piece work.....no work no pay! Another month they worked hourly...again no work no pay. Yet another month they worked Salary with assigned tasks they alone were responsible for. Then they started a large paper route that they shared for 8 years, and the younger one still does 11 years after starting. They always got paid for the actual amount of work they did. They have both purchased the big ticket items they've wanted over the years and take good care of what they have.