The Holidays are a confusing time

So with black friday over and done and Christmas looming comercialism is staring me in the face daring me to a game of chicken. On the one hand I think that getting presents for my daughters is a good thing. In the days when I was growing up it was ok to let your children roam the neighborhood going from house to house looking for a playmate, but today things are different. They need to play closer to home and we need to keep close tabs on them to keep them safe. This new model of parenting presents a real conundrum, how many toys does a child need?

While I was growing up I had a few toys that I shared with all six of my brothers and sisters. Mostly what I played with was boxes to make houses or cars for the toys. Or I would go outside and build things with sticks and mud and random things from nature. It helped that outside my front door was the wonderous world of the Canadian rockies in breathtaking British Columbia. My problem, and I'm sure many mothers face the same one, is that I want my child to have a wonderland to play in at home. Basically still a child myself I get about as excited as my daughter when we visit the toy aisle. It takes all the restraint I have, and the knowlege of my meager bank balance, to keep me in check when we visit the store. But the problem gets ever so much worse around Christmas. This is the time to get presents to keep her busy during the next year. At least on her birthday I can get her toys to play with outside. At Christmas the weather is not very conducive to outdoor play, at least not for long periods of time. Also I figure that the more toys she has to play with the less time she spends watching television (which as a goal I only want her to watch 1 hour per day).

So here is where I stand today, desperate not to spoil my little girl, and yet desperate to give her the tools to entertain herself and enrich her mind with imaginative play. What to do...What to do? So far I think I've stopped short of spoiling her but the problem is I have to stop and with 8 days left to Christmas, can I make it?