Last updated on November 25th, 2023 at 11:27 am
The day after Christmas is almost always spent cleaning up! Some folks feel that they need a 12 step program to detox their kids from all the candy canes and gingerbread, while others feel they just need a break from family. Family clean up is just the thing to fix it up! After a whirlwind 24 hours of Santa, caroling, cooking, playing games, opening gifts and having fun, most of us look at our homes and think “WHAT JUST HAPPENED”.
Today the Diaz Duo and I are taking part in our day after Christmas tradition. It’s called “New Toy Day”. Now, before you think that they are getting to open any more gifts, this is quite the opposite. Today we take a look at the hordes of gifts they got and we sort them out.
We Make Three Piles
1st Pile
Open TODAY! These are usually the games and toys that were #1 on their list. This of course applies to all the gifts they didn’t open yesterday.
2nd Pile
We are going to open them and put them in their new home. Example of this is clothing, Legos, cars, trucks, Polly Pockets, and any other small items that already take up way to much real estate in my home.
3rd Pile
This one is my favorite! We take about 3/4’s of the gifts and store them away up the closet, down the basement, on a high shelf in the garage, wherever there is room. These are reserved for “New Toy Day”.
Throughout the year when the twinnies are sick or we have a day off from school with no plans, we have “New Toy Day”. Each monkey gets to pick a “new” toy from their pile of reserved gifts and play with it all day long. This is also OUTSTANDING for days that are too cold to play outside or when YOU are feeling under the weather and feel bad letting them watch a cartoon marathon.
We’ve been taking part in “New Toy Day” for the past three years. The kids know the drill. This year they put MORE than 3/4’s of their new stuff away. They love “New Toy Day” as much as I do.
For me, it clears up the mess AND gives my kids a chance to appreciate they gifts they received. With the chaos of the holiday and the manic ripping of gifts open, lots of stuff gets lost and/or they just don’t appreciate it to the fullest extent.
In 2011 we STILL had new toys left up the closet from last Christmas believe it or not. The twinnies decided to donate them to Toys For Tots at our local fire station. It’s a win/win situation in my book. They gave the toys they didn’t seem to fall in love with to another kid who might have otherwise had nothing. Having my children understand the gift of giving is one of the best ones they have ever received.
So what are you waiting for, go tell your kiddies it’s “New Toy Day” and see what they say. Pitch the idea to them and see if they bite. I promise you, on a July afternoon when the summer is starting to get boring, going up the closet for a new truck or barbie will fix the day right up!
-Nat
Natalie Diaz is the Pied Piper of twin families around the globe. Founding Twiniversity — the world’s leading support network for multiple birth families — in 2009, she’s become a global influencer for this small niche community. Reaching over a half a million families a week through Twiniversity’s Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube channels, she takes her Women In Toys Wonder Woman Award Nomination for Social Media Influencer very seriously. Moms and dads of twins flock to Twiniversity’s social media channels to find resources, ask questions, explore new products, and find community and support from other twin parents. Natalie is a true connector, bringing parents from all walks of life together, breaking past cultural differences, to share in the highs and lows of parenting twins.
