I always think the same thing. The only personalized gifts I like are the quilts that my grandmother makes, she puts a tag with their name & who the quilt was from.

Exactly, Rebecca - what your grandmother does is the kind of personalization that makes sense!

There is also a safety concern to consider. Do you really want to announce your child's name to every stranger that sees their backpack or lunch box?

[…] Jeri Dansky placed an interesting blog post on Hacking the Holidays: Put the Name on the Gift Tag, Not the Gift.Here's a brief overview:Wouldn't your child love to have his or her name on that sleeping bag, bathrobe, or backpack? Here's a suggestion: don't do it! (more…) Tags: Jeri Dansky, Clutter Control Freak Blog, Christmas gifts, stacks blog, stacksandstacks.com … […]

VERY good point, Louise! Makes me shudder just thinking about that.

I never thought about it that way. Then again, I usually personalize things like ID bracelets and other jewelry. I remember back in school, when I was young, they showed a video on how a stranger would try to kidnap someone by acting like they knew them. They would call their name, which was embroidered on a backpack or something, and say that their mom asked them to pick him/her up. Another reason why we shouldn't personalize items.

Shouldn't your kids know not to go with strangers?

It is a horrible thought (and very real for you guys) I am so thankful to live in the bush in Australia, where we don't have that problem.