Maybe I’m a contrarian but I try hard not to see my twins as twins. Instead I like to think of them as same aged siblings. In my eyes, just because they were born on the same day, doesn’t mean I should group them together or worse yet see them as one. It’s for this reason, I avoid dressing my girls alike. Yes it would be easier to just grab two of the same but I really want to develop their individuality and I think that starts with dressing them individually.
With Christmas around the corner, there will be many parents and family members considering what gifts to get for twins. Should they get two identical presents to avoid squabbling or risk entirely different ones? I’m sure lots of twin parents opt for the first option but I try to fall somewhere between.
Here are my ideas for buying gifts for twins:
Same but different
For the majority of my girl’s gifts, this is what I do. I keep my eyes peeled for toys, clothes and books that come in a variety of colours or styles or characters. These are my go to gifts for my twin girls. Maybe you spot a fuzzy felt set that comes with ocean and farmyard pieces. These are perfect as they are pretty much getting the same thing but with two variations, it’s clear which one belongs to which child. Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol pjs are another example of a gift they’d get that is similar but different. Realistically, they’ll both end up wearing both but they know one is theirs.
Encouraging sharing
Generally, I would disagree with buying twins just one gift to share. You wouldn’t do this with different aged siblings. However, at Christmas when I know there will be quite a number of individual gifts, I will also buy joint gifts. Games are a good sharing gift. Not only are they sharing the physical gift but lots of games teach sharing and turn taking too. These skills are especially important for twins. If you aren’t the parent and considering buying a joint gift, I’d suggest a token gift to go alongside the joint present. This needn’t be expensive. Even pound shop sweets wrapped individually, show you’ve thought of them separately.
Clearly labelled identical items
When identical gifts are bought, we quickly label them. So far we’ve found the best way is to simple write their initial on the wash label. The only identical gifts my girls have had have come from other people. Until now, when they’ve asked for two of the same, they’ve easily been swayed to get different items. They are starting to understand that by getting different toys, they have more options to play with.
I know not all twin parents think like me and find duplicate gifts just easier for everyone. If you’re not sure, just ask. As my girls get older, I’m sure we’ll need to reassess our gift giving but for now this works. As an added bonus, they get double the fun as they’ll be able to play with both sets of presents.
What are your thought on buying for twins? Maybe you have twins or are a twin. I’d love to hear your perspective.
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Yes to seeing twins as ‘same aged siblings’! My girls are coming up 3 and I tend to go with the ‘same but different approach.’ Really useful post xx #familyfunlinky xx
We’ll see how long it last but for now it’s working
It must be so hard to figure it all out for twins, the same but in a different style seems like a great plan though. #BloggerClubUK
It seems to be working for now but who knows in the future.
I can’t imagine buying twins the same gift just because they are twins! I agree with you in that buying similar things or things that they enjoy as individuals. Those fuzzy felts looks awesome; I used to love these when mine were younger. Thank you for linking to #thechristmaslinky
It’s great that you refuse to buy them the same thing and encourage their individual personalities to grow. #FamilyFunLinky
Great ideas, I’ve never had to buy for twins but I think I would always go down the similar but different route.
Thank you for joining #FamilyFunLinky x
We have to do a lot of the same but a little different too, there’s very little between my two so arguments can get fierce! Thanks so much for sharing with #Blogstravaganza xx
Great ideas here, it must be tough with twins but I think you’re so right about encouraging individuality x #blogstravaganza