It's November. You Know What That Means!

It means that Christmas is just around the corner! As soon as Halloween is over, I start freaking out about Christmas shopping. It's also when I start getting the inquiries from friends and family, "What do your kids want for Christmas?" Although my younger kids could come up with a wish list longer than War and Peace, I don't generally get them a bunch of smaller, less expensive toys. Why? Because most of those toys get played with for only a couple weeks before they're discarded and abandoned, relegated to the corners of their rooms and closets. I personally prefer getting one nice family gift than a bunch of smaller ones that won't have the same longevity.

My parents love it when I can come up with an idea for a “family gift.” As you can imagine, shopping for six kids can be daunting. This is especially true for grandparents, I think. My parents, understandably, aren’t in touch with what’s hot this season and what the kids like these days. Instead of sending them on a wild goose chase for the must-have, hottest toy of the season for six different kids, I try to give my parents an idea for a great family present. It makes shopping so much easier for them.

Not only does one big family present make shopping easier for the giver, but it makes the recipients happy too. Think of how many toys your kids have begged for over the years. Now think of how many of those toys are still played with regularly. I’d rather have one gift that I know my family will enjoy for years than to be stepping on miscellaneous parts of discarded toys and games scattered on the floors of my kids’ rooms.

Xbox 360 totally fits this bill. Xbox has features my whole family (me, my teenagers, my tweens, and my little kids) love. With Xbox 360 + Kinect, we can play games that get us all up and moving. With Xbox LIVE we can stream movies and listen to music and when we use Xbox + Kinect, all we have to do is say the name of what movie we want to watch and Xbox finds it! It’s a far cry from the days of Pong! It’s like something out of Back to the Future! I know this is something that will keep us thoroughly entertained for the long-term.



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