Roast chestnuts, not children

I must confess, I am stressed about not having enough goodies to give to my kids for Christmas.  What's that you say? Aren't you on a "journey to minimalism"? yes, yes, I am. But I feel torn between two worlds.  I have accumulated so much stuff that I don't need and yet, I am bringing more into my home.  The whole idea is not to go without, but only have things that A) you are in lovey-dovey with and B) items of quality, none of that junky junk stuff anymore (goodbye Dollar Tree).  While on a mission to discover Christmas without gifts, I discovered this gem...Jesus roasting children in hell for Christmas presents Wow, just wow. I had no idea that Jesus could even pop blood vessels!  In all seriousness, Jesus loves the little children and I cannot see him ever roasting children. ever. This is more along the lines of what I was looking for-  Volunteering, cooking together, playing games that you already own, basically, just spending the time with ones you love doing stuff that you always want time to do, but never have the time to do.  However, if you are like me, and just cannot step completely away from giving trinkets to your little ones and you are looking for quality gifts for your kids, this is a little sneak-peek at some of the toys they will be getting:

• a Microscope  
• books, because you can donate these to a school library later
• items that enhance a passion, for instance, my son loves to cook, so he will be getting a nice set of stainless steel cooking utensils, and a couple of stainless steel pots, these are quality, people.
• My daughter will be getting her own sewing machine in the hopes that she will create a cottage industry business with it.
• A Star Wars lego set (which I realize has a million and one tiny pieces that kill your feet when accidentally stepped on, but, he wants to be an engineer and honestly, have you seen those crazy lego kid designs? they are pretty much amazing and I expect them to end up at MIT or something)
• For your spouse, one of my favorite presents that I have heard of was my cousin's.  She wanted window boxes for the house (and because her middle name is also frugal, she did not want to purchase these) so her husband made her those boxes, practical non-in-the-way present. love it.

So, the whole point would be to ignite passions and cut the clutter, and spend time with your favorite little ones. Happy shopping, y'all!