MFP 359: How to Choose Toys for Christmas

Messy Family Podcast : Catholic Conversations on Marriage and Family

Mike and Alicia Hernon : Catholic Marriage Parent and Family

Parenting, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, Kids & Family

4.9 • 841 Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"Baby Jesus was an amazing surprise to the world on Christmas morning, and gifts under the tree remind us of that wondrous gift each year." - Regina Doman

Summary

Mothers create the environment of the home by what we allow in our house, how we arrange our home, and where things are kept. We are teaching our children all the time, not just by what we say and do, but the home that we create for our families. We communicate what we value and what we want our children to learn by the "stuff" in our home. Moms have to be thoughtful and intentional about this. Listen into this conversation that Alicia has with her sister Regina Doman, author and speaker, about the questions she asks herself before buying items for her family for Christmas. You can hear more from Regina by following her at reginadoman.substack.com

Key Takeaways

Questions to ask yourself before bringing something into your home…..

Is it beautiful? Everyone sees beauty differently!
Is this toy annoying? If you enjoy a toy, your child may too!
Does it teach the child how the world works? Children learn to trust their senses through natural materials.
How long will it last? Is it durable and how long will the child play with it?
Can this child care for this toy? Make sure it is developmentally appropriate
What are the limitations of our home? Make sure it fits your lifestyle and the space you have in your home.

Couple Discussion Questions

Are we intentional about the toys and items that we have in our home for the kids?
Which of the above questions do I feel strongly about? Let's discuss this.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Family, all in this together.
0:08.2	Family, we're taking a chance.
0:10.8	Family, like birds of a feather.
0:13.3	Family, we got my shoes and dance.
0:15.4	Hey, we are Mike and Alicia Hernin.
0:17.4	We have 10 kids and grandkids too, and we are here for every parent. Because we are on a
0:22.2	mission to empower moms and dads to embrace their sacred calling. So join the conversation.
0:28.0	Hello and welcome to the podcast. So you may be wondering, what the heck? This isn't the right place to be.
0:41.0	This isn't the right podcast I'm listening to. Well, yes, this is, you're in the right place.
0:45.9	But you know what? Podcast hosts get sick to sometimes. So we had on our schedule a podcast
0:52.5	to put out there. And Mike, unfortunately, was not feeling well.
0:56.3	So we just decided to call an audible and go ahead and just do it ourselves.
1:00.5	So ourselves, meaning myself, and I invited my sister Regina to come on with us.
1:07.0	And so we're going to be doing the podcast together talking about one of the things we
1:11.2	just love to talk about, which is home and environment and setting up your home. And that includes
1:18.1	the toys that your family is going to be getting this Christmas. So looking back, we've
1:23.8	talked with her before. And we decided to this time give you six different questions
1:30.8	that you can be asking yourself when you buy toys for your family. So we're getting those
1:37.3	questions, you're going to hear them in the podcast and they are in the takeaways at the bottom
1:42.3	of our podcast posting here.
1:46.2	So, but before we get into the interview, I just wanted to remind you that we are going to be
1:50.5	starting into our end of year appeal.
	...

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