This year, we tried to scale back on gifts a little. Our kids have a lot. A lot of toys, a lot of books, way too many clothes (thanks, mommy!). So we tried to go for simple. We were mildly successful. After 4 present-opening bashes at 3 houses, even "scaling back" seems like overkill!
Our kids' birth families, as usual, sent a ton of gifts. It was a little like Tagg's birthday where both families sent gifts for both kids. Tagg's birth mom's family sent a bunch of gifts for Tagg and a baby present for Sloane that we received on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Sloane's family sent a bunch of baby gifts for Sloane and some gifts for Tagg. The next day, we got a package from Tagg's baby daddy's family with more presents - and a gift for Sloane. Like how cool is that? Both of their families love these babies, and us, and embrace them with all of this love. It's like having a whole other set of grandparents and aunts and uncles. Very, very cool. So at Christmas, his birth fam sent gifts for him - books, clothes and games - and sent some gifts for Sloane. Sloane's birth fam sent her a pair of little bitty Ugg boots and toys for him.
The notable exception was Tagg's baby family. Paulie had said they were sending some gifts and when we didn't get anything, I didn't know whether to check in and see if it got lost or what. But then we got some text messages from him saying he wanted to get this fabulous (and expensive) Cars car, like the kind you can ride in. Turns out, Paulie is changing colleges, wrecked his car and seems to be generally a little stressed right now. And of all the things going on in his life, he's worried about sending Tagg presents.
I love that he wants Tagg to know that he's thinking about him, and that he loves him no matter what but I think the best gift for Tagg will be knowing that his baby daddy was being successful at school and his career, that he's making the most of the sacrifice he made. And I think that the texts (which I save) and the emails describing the care, and thoughtfulness, and generosity are a gift in and of themselves. They are the gift of love. And they don't need a bow.
