by Sara McGinnis posted in Celebrities

My 10-year-old son started writing his Christmas wish list last night. It's currently two pages long and he's not done yet.
"You know it's a wish list, right"" I asked him. "There's no chance you're getting every single thing you write down."
"I know," he replied, not the least bit dismayed by the reality check I'd just tried to dole out. "It's important to have options."
That kid kills me sometimes.
More than likely I'll decide to buy just a few of the items on his list, and then at the last minute get worried he'll be disappointed and rush out for a few more. I've done this for years despite hating it every time. Perhaps it would be easier if there were a set amount of presents my kids knew to expect" Turns out I could just borrow a page from Kristen Bell's parenting book. Though she's a Christmas enthusiast, she's working hard to put the emphasis on giving.

"Just before Halloween, [I] start thinking about Christmas," the actress, who is mom to 3-year-old Lincoln and 1-year-old Delta, recently told ET. "It just makes you feel so good. My family was always really into Christmas and my husband and I decorate like crazy."
Opening up about their approach to the holiday, Kristen Bell continued: "We focus more on, What do you want to get other people"' And wrapping other gifts and saying, ?This is a time to spoil everyone else.? We try to take them volunteeri...