Christmas wish list for kids: a free printable, and how to save for one big wish
A wish list teaches the most when a child has to choose. A free printable for US Letter and A4, what research found in letters to Father Christmas, and a jar for one big wish.
A Christmas wish list is a child's written or drawn list of the gifts they hope for, often sent to Santa or shared with family.
Sometime in November, a list goes up on the fridge. It starts with one toy, and by the weekend it fills the page. That is normal: a Christmas wish list is how a child practices wanting things out loud.
Researchers have read those lists. Karen Pine and Avril Nash (2002) studied letters to Father Christmas from 83 English children aged about 5 and 6. Those who watched more commercial TV asked for more gifts. A small group of 19 six-year-olds in Sweden, where TV advertising aimed at children is banned, asked for significantly fewer. So how do you help a long list become a good one?
What should a Christmas wish list for kids include?
Many families use four prompts: something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read. We found no study behind the rule, so read it as a family habit. It works because it asks the child to choose, not just collect.
Choosing matters for another reason. In three survey studies of adults, Marsha Richins and Lan Nguyen Chaplin (2015) asked about the gifts people got as children. Those whose parents used gifts as rewards or to show love grew up valuing possessions more. Surveys of memories show a link, not a cause, but they point one way: a gift works best as a gift, not as pay.
A free printable Christmas wish list
The sheet has the four prompts, lines for a name and age, and one box for the big wish. A child who can't write yet can draw the wish in the box instead.
How can a child save for one big wish?
At the bottom of the sheet is a jar with ten coins to color, one for each time they put money toward the big wish. Ten coins fit on one page, and a jar filling up on the fridge shows how far they have come.
Picturing the reward helps too. In a US experiment with 115 four-year-olds, Jinyi Zhang, Kathleen Vohs and Stephanie Carlson (2024) showed each child a short story before a marble game. Those who saw a story about the future saved more marbles than those who saw an ordinary day. A story about the good that saving brings worked better than one about the cost of not saving.
Three things to try at home
- Ask for one of each. One want, one need, one to wear and one to read, so the list stops at four lines.
- Pick the big wish together. Circle one item, write its price on the sheet and agree how much goes in the jar each week.
- Talk about the day it arrives. Before a coin gets colored, ask what they will do with the wish first.
In JarSave, a parent can also make a wish a Christmas or birthday gift, so the points a child saved stay in the jar. Either way, the list teaches the most when the child has to choose.
