36 Comments
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April Abrams's avatar

I loved this - great little tidbit!! We really need to get on board with the 4 gifts idea, it's so good!

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Tidy Dad's avatar

It’s been so helpful!!

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Jordan Lovgren's avatar

I love the Four Gift idea! We live in a small space so that would work well for us. Do you encourage extended family/others to stick to it too? (For us, the grandparents can go extra sometimes, especially on Christmas.)

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Tidy Dad's avatar

For extend family and grandparents we encourage them to focus on the “consumables” category. New play dough, refresh markers, coloring paper, crayons, etc. Those new items bring out girls so much joy and while they might not be “flashy,” the girls are always so grateful!

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Michelle's avatar

I love the cake being the hero of the day .

The four gift idea also.

We are after all celebrating the joy of being born and growing into our lives

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Tidy Dad's avatar

“Growing into our lives,” that’s so incredibly powerful. For a long time I looked at birthdays with a feeling of dread or nervousness, but life is truly such a gift. 💛

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Jennifer Coppins's avatar

As you may remember, probably not, my birthday is the same as Margaret’s. We are 70 years apart. Happy birthday to your sweet girl.

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Tidy Dad's avatar

What a great day for a birthday!! Happy Birthday to you too!

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Megan's avatar

Four gift idea is great! I will be using this.

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Tidy Dad's avatar

It’s simple and predictable. Which allows the birthday joy to shine. 💛

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Caitlin's avatar

I follow someone on IG that does the 4 gifts idea for Christmas! Such a great idea

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Tidy Dad's avatar

I can be so helpful. And reduces some of the mental headache. 🤕

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Emily Jones's avatar

This was my first episode - excellent! I love your humor!

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Tidy Dad's avatar

I’m really loving the audio format. It’s a new way to explore my writing - and humor. I did try my hand at stand up comedy after all. 🤣🤣

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Mina's avatar

The 4 gifts idea, is that something you can apply to parties? We have always tried to be intentional with what we bring in our home but it's hard to ask others to follow this rule. I can do it with family members but other invitees are a different story

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Tidy Dad's avatar

I think this idea could also apply to parties. Even guiding guests toward specific categories of gifts—like consumables, art supplies, or Legos—can be helpful. Shifting the mindset around gifting gradually is so important.

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Deborah Yellowhorse's avatar

The important thing is was the cake delicious?

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Tidy Dad's avatar

It was! 5 layers plus a lot of icing. At this point I could make cake pops out of the gooey leftovers. 🤣🤣

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Kori Diehl's avatar

I've always enjoyed watching the girls draw their cakes and then seeing them come alive.

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Tidy Dad's avatar

They’re always creative!

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Amanda's avatar

I miss baking the cakes for my now adult children! But last year my daughter surprised me by baking me a cake for my birthday. Embrace the season of life you are in.

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Tidy Dad's avatar

How sweet to see the tradition shifting and evolving. You have a sweet daughter! 💛

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Janice Davis's avatar

I don't have kids at home, or grandkids either, but I still enjoy your writing and ideas.

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Tidy Dad's avatar

I feel like this gift giving idea can even work for adults! There’s a nice simplicity to it.

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Janis's avatar

We do the four gifts at Christmas, but somehow I never even thought to apply it to birthdays! Thanks for the seemingly obvious reminder! I also love to bake my kids' cakes. I can't wait for the legendary cake/swim brief photo. 😆

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Tidy Dad's avatar

Yes, birthdays too! 🎂

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Kathleen Sauer's avatar

Love the 4 gift idea! Emily is a genius! And may I say I think this podcast deserves a place onstage! Its a great stand up bit! I laughed multiple times.

Comment #8 👏 lets GO people!

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Tidy Dad's avatar

We’re getting there on the comments! And it’s been really fun to explore storytelling with the audio component. It does remind me a bit of the stand up stage. 🤣

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Martha's avatar

I love that your daughters have the freedom in designing their cakes! Can't wait to see Margaret's!

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Tidy Dad's avatar

It's always so interesting to see what they come up with!

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Jenna Yip's avatar

Show us those cake briefs! 😁

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Tidy Dad's avatar

They’re something to see! 🤣🤣🤣

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