Gift Guide: Buying for Two

Katie Katie Parsons is the creator of Mumbling Mommy and is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist. She works from her home office on the east coast of Florida. Most often she writes about life in a combined family of five children and what it's like being a full time work-from-home parent. Feel free to pitch guest post ideas or just drop her a line at katie@mumblingmommy.com.

As the holidays quickly approach, here are a few tips on gift buying for multiples (twins, triplets, etc.) or even two children close in age. In general, you need to remember, especially when it comes to buying gifts for multiples, is that they are not a packaged set. They are two (or more) different people and deserve to be treated as such.

1. Matching outfits are adorable. I have identical twins. I love
dressing them alike. I love when they match. I love when they are wearing the exact same thing. But that is just me. Before buying two of the same outfits for a set of twins, make sure that’s what the parents like.

2. Buying a sharable gift is okay as long as it is in fact sharable. This Leap Frog activity table is a great example of a good gift idea. It’s a little more expensive than what you would spend on just one child but a perfect cost for two children. It has multiple sides so the kids can play at the table at the same time. A collection of books is another great idea. We wrapped up 12 Indestructibles books for both girls to share. They can play independently from each other with lots of options or they can read them together.

3. Avoid gifts that need to be shared for individual gifts. The best example I have would be accessories for a baby doll. If you give one twin a pretend baby bed and the other twin a pretend baby stroller, it may cause arguments. These types of gifts are meant to be shared so if you choose them as gifts, make sure you don’t tag them as one for Girl A and one for Girl B but instead both for Girl A and B. Trust me, it may seem like a technicality but if you want to make them feel like individuals, make sure you really are giving them individual gifts.

4. Certain gifts can be duplicated like teething rings, rattles or small bath toys. In general though, parents don’t need two of the same gift. If you want to get both babes a book or doll or musical instrument or whatever, find coordinating ones that have similar functions and prices but get two different ones. This way, the kids will know who’s belongs to who. Will they still share them? Absolutely. But when they want to just be alone with their toy, you know which one goes where.

5. Keep money or gift cards fair. If you are giving gift cards to your three nieces and two of them are twins, it is not acceptable to give the single child a $20 gift card for herself and the twins a $20 gift card to share. This is not about greed or being ungrateful for gifts. If you are budgeted for $40, split it 3 ways.

6. Feel free to buy completely different individual gifts. Just because you are buying for a twin does not mean you need to match their gifts, especially once they are older and have their own interests. Twins or not, every child is going to have his or her own taste. If one likes Hello Kitty and one likes Dora go with the differences.

In general, there aren’t really “rules” when it comes to buying for two. Sure, I’ve shared lots of tips but gift giving is supposed to be enjoyable. It’s not about giving the biggest or best gift. It’s not about spending a lot of money to make you the favorite.

It’s about showing the receiver how much you care about them and celebrating a joyous occasion or time of the year. Do not stress about it. Use these tips as a guide if you are stumped but definitely not as the ultimate only way to share your love. Happy Holidays!

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