In anticipation of the great New Year holidays, parents are most concerned about how to make these days the most enjoyable for all family members. Particular time is devoted to the question of what gifts their children should find under the Christmas tree and what to prepare for a festive meal. In this article we will not touch on the topic of the feast. We will talk about how best to congratulate the smallest family members on New Year.
From the history of the tradition of New Year's gifts
What is the best way to present a gift? In Russia, as in most European countries, on New Year's Eve, fathers and mothers put gifts under the Christmas tree. In the morning, the children discover them and rejoice that Santa Claus came to their home. Parents diligently support their naive belief in a miracle until the very end.
Previously, gifts for children on New Year's were stacked in stockings, which were hung over the fireplace. The children waited with awe in the morning, afraid to find a twig in their stocking. This meant that the baby behaved badly and did not deserve sweets and toys. What were children's Christmas gifts at the time? Most often they were sweets, because you can’t put a big thing in a stocking.
Holidays and traditions are constantly changing. Prior to the change of calendar from Julian to Gregorian, the concept of “New Year's gift” did not exist. The coming of the next year was rather modest. The main holiday was Christmas, so they did not give gifts to children for the New Year. Only at Christmas did the children receive stockings with sweets or, if no luck, with a twig.
Packaging is a very important issue
Today, the best New Year gift for a child is a large, beautifully designed box with a toy. For girls, the color of the wrapping paper and bow or ribbon should be pink or red, for boys blue or blue.
Packaging for New Year's gifts is an important issue. If on the eve of the holiday it was not possible to find paper or ribbons of the desired color, it is permissible to use gold, silver, green or other paper, but the bow should still match the gender of the child. This is not mandatory, but children, especially of school age, take such things very seriously. Therefore, in order not to upset your children, try to arrange children's New Year's gifts, observing this simple rule.
The need to comply with the ritual is not simple, but obligatory
Do I need to ask the child what to give him? It all depends on his age and financial situation of his parents. Preschoolers, as a rule, do not require specific things. They want either the same toys as their friends or those that caught their eye in the toy store. Designers, books, Christmas tree tickets, and novelties in the children's toy industry are most often incomprehensible to them. They ask for cars, dolls, small and large soft toys. It’s good if you can give your child what he himself asked for and some kind of developmental game. And do not try to ignore the ritual of folding gifts under the tree, explaining this by the fact that the kids will still oversleep the chimes and the midnight feast. Children are told about New Year in preschool institutions. A lot of books have been written about the holiday, well-known and very popular feature and animated films have been shot.
What to present to the boy?
The best gift for the New Year for a boy is a toy technique. A machine made of plastic or metal, depending on the age of the child, is something that will always be in place. A weapon like the favorite character of a popular movie is also a great gift. The boy will be very pleased with the masculine doll from the same favorite movie or book. Table hockey or football is a great choice, however, such a gift will be cumbersome, therefore, the Christmas tree should be large. The Children's Railway is the dream of every child familiar with the book about Malysh and Carlson. What to give the boy on New Year's Eve , his dad knows best. He remembers what he dreamed about and what he rejoiced most of all.
What to give a girl?
New Year is a holiday that allows parents to realize their childhood dreams that have not come true at the time. If mother dreamed of a doll that can be hairstyled, then she does not need to worry too long about the question of what to give her daughter for the New Year. A beautiful doll with long hair is something that her girl will definitely enjoy. Mom, during a long holiday weekend with her daughter will play with this thing, dressing, combing it, laying it to sleep, etc. For both, this will remain a wonderful memory for life.
Big plush toys
If you do not know what to give your child for the New Year, then you will find big soft toys at your service. Children are always very happy with them. The stores sell a great variety of a variety of funny fur animals. If you are going to visit friends who have children, buy such a toy. It can be a cat, a dog, a monkey or a cow - anyone. They are sometimes equipped with mechanisms, and then the toys speak funny phrases or sing songs. Even if you don’t know the child or forgot how old he is, a soft toy - a symbol of the coming year - will always be welcome. Giving a funny dog or bear, you will not offend either a boy or a girl. Such a toy does not need packaging. For New Year's gifts, they usually choose a small animal corresponding to the coming year. It is considered bad form only to give an animal - a symbol of the outgoing year. All other options are acceptable.
Table games
Some parents believe that the best New Year present is one that comes in handy from a practical point of view. Such an opinion is not without meaning. However, when giving a baby this kind of thing, pay attention to its labeling. If the age indicated on the box does not correspond to the age of the child, then you risk upsetting your child. Games such as chess, "Monopoly" or "Scrabble" are suitable for middle-aged and older students. The kid will either tear the cards, or lose, or break, and the second time you won’t buy such an interesting game. When giving a child a developmental game, remember that at first you will have to play along with it. You will need to study the instructions and remember the rules. Board game - a wonderful gift that all family members can play together. This is very unifying. When buying such a game, ask the seller how many people can play it at the same time. If it is written: from four to six people, and there are only three of you in your family, then the game will not be useful to you, and not only the child will be upset, but you yourself.
Items for the development of artistic taste
Parents seeking to develop the artistic taste of their children deserve praise. Good paints, modeling materials, pencils, brushes and paper are not cheap, and the joy of receiving such a gift is always less than that of a plush toy. This, of course, is unfair, but it is naive to demand understanding and gratitude from a small child. The best thing is to give a fur toy, a doll or a toy car, plus something for the development of motor skills and imagination.
Constructors
Each child must have a constructor. A lesson with connecting modules calms the nervous system, develops perseverance, and teaches to concentrate. There are many such designers, such as "Lego", which are suitable for children of different ages. All of them vary in complexity and number of elements. The best part about them is that different models fit together. Having assembled the model drawn in the picture, you can disassemble it and assemble a completely different one, or you can use the details from the old designer of the same brand and come up with an even more complex design. Even if the child himself is not able to cope with the task, he will watch with great interest how mom or dad does it. So he will learn how to construct and over time will become with great pleasure to play without the help of adults.
Puzzles
Puzzles, or mosaics, are also a wonderful gift, but the child, having collected the picture, will not do this a second time, at least in the near future. In this sense, the constructor is more interesting. If a mosaic consists of a thousand or more elements, then a small child will not cope with it. Therefore, when choosing a picture, do not forget to specify for what age it is intended. Another danger lies in wait for the parents who presented the child with a mosaic: very often dad or mother, having started collecting a complex picture, are so addicted that they forget about time, and about the fact that the baby has been bored and offended for a long time. Is it a joke - because of his gift they forgot about him himself!
Books
In Soviet times, the USSR said that the best gift for the New Year and any other holiday is a book. This statement was explained as follows. It was believed that our country is the most reading country in the world. Now this myth is debunked, but the opinion that the book is the best gift remains. We will not argue with this, however, the choice of this kind of gift should be approached with particular care. Unfortunately, not all book publishers are equally conscientious about the production of their products. Typos can be found in books, poor-quality printing ink often leaves fingerprints, pictures are poorly printed, and children's tales are so shortened that it is sometimes difficult to recognize. However, if you take our recommendations seriously, you will do a wonderful and useful job for your child.
Books for the smallest are equipped with electronic devices that read the written text aloud, asking questions in the text (like a quiz). The kid, after listening or reading a fairy tale, must click on the desired button with the appropriate answer. This greatly facilitates learning to read.
A child who is used to reading or browsing book pages from childhood is more likely to grow up as an educated person and be able to get a good profession. He will not say: "I do not want to read this or that document, because it was composed by a competent specialist." We all know the unpleasant consequences of the signature placed under an unread document.
In our review of New Year's gifts, we do not want to upset young dads and mothers and set them up for bad things. On the contrary, thoughtfully approaching the choice of gifts for their children, young parents, who have not yet encountered great everyday difficulties, help their daughters and sons grow up well prepared for adulthood. Poor social adaptation is a real disease of modern society, consisting of individuals who spent all their free time in childhood watching cartoons on TV or playing on a computer.
Do I give gadgets?
From the previous paragraph, the conclusion suggests itself that gadgets are not the kind of gift that should be put under the New Year tree. Nevertheless, I want to say a word in defense of electronic toys with plasma screens. In the age of high technology, it is impermissible to not be able to handle complex means of communication. Give children new phones, tablets and other high-tech toys. Let your sons and daughters learn to easily understand the intricacies of various interfaces and computer programs. This will come in handy. Just do not forget about traditional children's and simple-hearted joys. It’s so nice to find gifts under the tree! Let magic, goodness and a fairy tale at least for the New Year decorate their life.
Ded Moroz and Snegurochka
What could be more wonderful than coming to visit the most important characters of the holiday ?! Such a gift is not too expensive, but it will remain in memory for a lifetime. The kid will be happy if on January 1, Grandfather Frost himself and his granddaughter Snow Maiden come to his house to wish him a Happy New Year. When choosing an agency that provides this service, collect as much information as possible about it. Choose the one that has been organizing such events for a long time - on the eve of big holidays, all sorts of scammers will be activated. Make sure that by the time the artists arrive, one of the adults is also in the apartment with the child. If you have planned everything correctly, then do not forget to learn a good poem together with your baby in advance. Let him tell him Santa Claus.
If for some reason you could not book fabulous guests, rent out costumes and dress up yourself.
It should be noted that most young children do not understand the point in coming to their homes of unfamiliar adults, even dressed up as in the New Year picture. Therefore, the day before, talk with the baby and prepare him for the upcoming event.