Dads driving more buying decisions — including Christmas presents!

I was going to write a post for today about how we have decided that Michael is going to be in charge of buying the kids Christmas presents this year, and apparently we have stumbled into a nationwide trend of dad doing more of the shopping.

From The New York Times:

“Consumer surveys show that men are increasingly making the buying decisions for families, reflecting the growth in two-income households and those in which the women work and the men stay home. One-fifth of fathers with preschool-age children and working wives said they were the primary caretaker in 2010, according to the latest Census Bureau data. And 37.6 percent of working wives earned more than their husbands in 2011, up from 30.7 percent 10 years earlier. “

“ ‘Kids are going to grow up with dads that give them baths and drive them to soccer and are cutting up oranges for team snacks,’ said Liz Ross, president for North America of BPN, part of the IPG Mediabrands holding company, which recently completed a study on male consumers. ‘What will go away, albeit slowly, is the image or the perception of the befuddled dad.’ ”

“The change is having consequences beyond toys. Consumer products have traditionally been marketed to appeal to women, and stores have been designed for women’s sensibilities. Now, some brands and stores are catering directly to male decision-makers. Sears is reorganizing stores to put tools next to work wear, for instance, based on men’s preferences. Procter & Gamble is working on men’s grooming aisles at top retailers, a nod to the fact that women are no longer choosing shampoos or shaving creams for their husbands. With the selling point that it helps girls develop spatial reasoning, the Barbie set, a joint effort of Mattel and the toy company Mega Bloks, is also meant to pique fathers’ interest.”

The article talks about how toy makers and other businesses are creating products to appeal to these men who are shopping.

Michael was worried about me spending too much money at Christmas so I asked him if he would like to be in charge of buying the kids’ presents ensuring that I couldn’t overspend.  He said he would like that. (In years past he would pick out a special toy or two for each child but mostly I would do the bulk of the shopping.)

It was interesting to watch how he went about it though. He took the kids’ paper wish lists and found everything online on his iPad and then put it all into one electronic wish list, with prices and availability all right there.

I probably would have looked some online but I would have wandered around stores and looked in fliers too. He was definitely more efficient.

I am finding though that it is making me a little sad not shopping for the kids. I think he may have to let me buy some. It doesn’t feel like Christmas without shopping for the kids.

Is your husband (or are you if you are the husband) doing more shopping? How do your buying habits differ from the your wife?

Are you in charge of buying toys for Christmas? Do you choose different toys than your wife?