From Ho Ho Ho to No No No!

Photo by MyrKu/iStock / Getty Images

Oh no! That gang of grinches who always secretly hated toys are getting their way: The No Toy Christmas!

First it was the no gift birthday party! Now it’s the No Toy Christmas!

What’s going on?

Well to hear these No Toy Christmas advocates talk about it, the No Toy Christmas has everything to do with the idea that kids have a gazillion too many toys as it is. Toys are everywhere, cluttering every room in ever-shrinking living spaces. They are (mostly) cheaply made and break easily. They get played with once and are quickly forgotten about. Some are sitting in closets having never even been opened. Kids don’t take care of their toys. Parts and pieces mysteriously go missing. Toys are too expensive. They’re hard to get out of their packaging. They require assembly. They make parents participate in play! Oh no!

Thankfully, it looks like the No Toy Christmas crowd is still relatively small—but it is true that parents, especially Millennials, want fewer toys and more activity or experience gifts—like museum passes, tickets to the movies, bowling outings, magazine subscriptions, or trumpet lessons.

Millennial parents reflect the Millennial generation’s overall propensity to value experiences over things. The National Retail Federation found that while about a third of consumers have given an experience gift in the past year, that number rises among Millennials to nearly half. And among this generational cohort, nearly 75 percent are giving more experience gifts now than a year ago.

Also gaining traction is the 4-gift Christmas rule: something kids want, something kids need, some place for kids to go, and something for them to read.

Whatever Christmas is like in your house for your kids, the thing we hear that matters most to kids themselves is having less stressed out parents.

Happy holidays from MLN Research!