This year, for Christmas, we tried something completely different: Santa brought just one gift for our kids. I know, it sounds a bit Grinchy, and honestly, it wasn’t an easy decision to make.

For years, we went all out trying to create the perfect Christmas – a beautifully decorated tree, festive meals, mountains of presents, and big smiles everywhere. But every single time, things would somehow fall apart. The kids ended up overwhelmed, overstimulated, frustrated, disappointed and almost always someone would have a meltdown. No matter how much we tried, it felt like we were missing the Christmas magic and peace that everybody was talking about.

Then it hit me: each gift brought them a little spark of happiness, but when there were too many, that spark disappeared. I knew that when kids open presents, their brains release dopamine – the “feel-good” chemical. But the more gifts they get, the faster that feeling fades, leaving behind an emptiness that craves for more.

I also remembered how they’d open one gift, barely look at it, and then toss it aside to rip open the next. There wasn’t much joy, and even less gratitude.

So, we decided to shake things up.

Instead of drowning them in a pile of toys that would end up forgotten, we wanted to give them one thoughtful, meaningful gift. A single gift that would actually matter.

They weren’t thrilled when we told them, of course. But we stood our ground. We did make a deal, though: the gift would be a toy – not clothes or books, because they know I’d buy those anyway.

And guess what? On Christmas morning, they were up at 4 AM, eyes sparkling with excitement. They were curious, surprised, and, most importantly, genuinely happy with what they got.

The rest of the day was spent with family and a few close friends. For the first time, there were no tantrums, no disappointments buried under mountains of wrapping paper, and no overstimulated chaos.

That evening, as I tucked them into bed, one of them said something that stopped me in my tracks:

“This was the best Christmas we’ve ever had.” ️

Maybe it’s just a coincidence. Or maybe… less really is more.