The month that Enzo was turning 2, I decided to gift him a little — or sometimes big — basket of goodies on the first of every month… and he thinks it is just the coolest thing. I do think waiting until then was smart because that’s just around the age that kids start to “get it” a little more when it comes to birthdays and holidays.
Previously I would buy holiday pajamas, crafts, stickers, etc. but I didn’t have E wear/use them until the actual holiday arrived… but depending on when the holiday fell in the month, it seemed pretty silly that he only wore holiday themed items for a short period of time. My solution: with a little more planning, I can gift E a basket with whatever holiday (or seasonal) stuff that’s coming up right in the beginning of the month, and then he wears it all month (and seems very with the season!) Okay, to be honest, as a first time mom, for a while I didn’t want him wearing Halloween PJs in January (for instance), but he grows so fast I finally decided that was a little silly and he can wear anything and everything until it doesn’t fit anymore… at least at home haha.
Let me break down the months with the themes we do:
January – MLK Jr. Day- February – Valentine’s Day
- March – St. Patrick’s Day
- April – Easter/Spring
- May – Mother’s Day + Memorial Day
- June – Father’s Day + Juneteenth
- July – July 4th
- August – Summer
- September – Back to School
- October – E’s birthday + Halloween
- November – Thanksgiving
- December – Christmas + New Year’s Eve
This is not an exhaustive list — obviously — of holidays/seasons to prep for, but this is our list thus far. I can always add more fun things AND I even suggest adding in silly little holidays like “National Donut Day” and “National Dog Day” or whatever else is fun and fits your family.
Some ideas for what to include in your themed baskets:
- Pajamas/shirts/sweatshirts
- Crafts
- Stickers
- Window clings
- Books
- Baking supplies
- Pompoms (we save for our Holiday PomPom Bath)
- Glow sticks
- Small toys/bath toys
- Snacks
- Pillow/blanket
- Home decor that they can put up
I went a little over the top on his first basket since it celebrated both his birthday and Halloween!
Remember, the point is just to do something that will resonate with your kid and be a sweet memory when they look back on their childhood. Enzo learned in December after getting a gingerbread house kit, that he really loves decorating with sprinkles so in his Valentine’s Day basket that he will receive on February 1st, I got sprinkles for us to decorate cookies. E loves to color and was due for some new crayons and markers, so I got him a new set of each and we can draw V-Day pictures for people if he wants. While I normally get him at least 2 pairs of pajamas for holidays, I know that his Auntie Blythe is sending him a pair of Valentine’s Day pajamas as well so I only got him one pair because he has a wide PJ selection right now. Do what works for your family and your kid! If we had multiple kids, I would probably just do one basket for everyone and everything would be more family oriented. AND, every month doesn’t even have to look like an entire basket… for January I decided to just get Enzo 2 books about MLK Jr. — one about the man and one about lessons he taught — and a shirt, and that felt like more than enough after the excess of the holiday season.
If your kids are older than 2, you can still start now! They will probably think it is really cool to get a little bundle of goodies — especially if you would already spend the money on themed goodies each month — to start off each month! And if there’s months that you don’t feel the need to celebrate anything, don’t! That’s okay too. Either way, when they get a little gift on the first, they’ll know what’s up ahead to celebrate that month!
Do you already do something like this? Or have any tips to add for themes and/or goodies to include? If so, leave a comment!
