S/O: How many gifts do your kids get for Christmas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really hate the idea that grandparents are buying so many toys that parents are doing one gift from Santa and 2 from themselves. The grandparents already had their turn to load the tree with toys. My kids get to wake up to the magic of a bunch of presents under the tree. I don't care what anyone else gets them.

Kids do Christmas at grandparents’ homes, so that’s where the magic happens.

Well that stinks.

Why?
1. They won’t be around forever, and we’d like to maximize the time spent with family.
2. Their houses are much larger, with more storage space for Christmas decorations
3. more adults means more eyes to watch the baby, and keep him away from the tree, etc.
4. We’re there, too. We give them(the kids) presents, but not too many.
5. We actually like our parents.

[Anonymous]

What bothers me about want, need, wear, read is sticking gifts into arbitrary categories. I always asked for books as a child. And what if your child needs new boots and also wants boots? SO the boots go in want, the books go in read, and you get a her a new robe for wear. Or what if you put the books in want, the boots in wear, then you can't get the robe. So shift the boots to need and you can still do the robe for wear unless she wants an expensive robe then it's a want and you have to shift the books to read.

If you only want to buy a few gifts, then do that. People always chirp that they do the want, need, wear, read and how it works so well for them keeping gift giving so simple. Just a buy a few gifts. You don't need the stupid rhyme.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really hate the idea that grandparents are buying so many toys that parents are doing one gift from Santa and 2 from themselves. The grandparents already had their turn to load the tree with toys. My kids get to wake up to the magic of a bunch of presents under the tree. I don't care what anyone else gets them.

Kids do Christmas at grandparents’ homes, so that’s where the magic happens.

Well that stinks.

Why?
1. They won’t be around forever, and we’d like to maximize the time spent with family.
2. Their houses are much larger, with more storage space for Christmas decorations
3. more adults means more eyes to watch the baby, and keep him away from the tree, etc.
4. We’re there, too. We give them(the kids) presents, but not too many.
5. We actually like our parents.

I like my family, but they had their turn to do christmas morning at home when I was a child. I have a family and now it's my turn to enjoy christmas morning in my own home. We go their later on christmas day and the kids spend plenty of time with them on winter break. And nobody will be around forever. I'm not giving up christmas mornings in my own because dying is a part of the life cycle. Kids growing up is a part of the life cycle too and I only have so many years to watch them believing in santa. The grandparents had their turn to play santa already. That's silly.

[Anonymous]

oops *there...before i get jumped on lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Want, need, wear, read is so depressing. If you don't want to purchase a lot of gifts, then don't. But why stick to something so strict? Just buy a few fun gifts and some clothes if needed. If you have a child that's going through a phase where they have slowed down on reading for fun and don't enjoy clothes, do you think they're going to enjoy christmas morning? Stop being scrooges. Or get your kid some socks, a book & a toothbrush, I guess.

I hate the want/need/wear thing too! And year after year?!! What a bummer.

+2 Seriously. And a majority of the people doing it are so proud they stick to the specific 4 gifts. The whole idea probably started off innocently, but then the mommy martyrs took over. I hope their kids enjoy their winter boots, pillowcases and book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One toy or "most-wanted" item, one book, one "most-wanted" item of clothing, a stocking.

They get plenty of other gifts from family, friends, teachers, etc.

I love that my kids actually appreciate what they get and what they have. I've seen kids with a mountain of presents just tear through and even ask to stop so they can take a break and go do something else. It gets absurd.

If only there was some middle ground ground between 3 gifts (a shirt, a book & a toy?) and mountains of junk under the tree. It's too bad we were all only taught how to count to 3 then jump straight to 100. If only there was a number invented like 12 or 15. Oh well.

[Anonymous]

My family was very much the “one big thing, three or so smaller things” model when I was a kid. My husband’s mom was the “giant pile of random stuff under the tree” camp. Since I do most of the shopping we tend to follow the way my family does it, but my MIL usually drops in with a pile of stuff. We’re Orthodox so we use the Julian calendar and do stockings, presents from grandparents/aunts and uncles/etc on Dec 25th, then do immediate family gifts after church on Jan. 7th b

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really hate the idea that grandparents are buying so many toys that parents are doing one gift from Santa and 2 from themselves. The grandparents already had their turn to load the tree with toys. My kids get to wake up to the magic of a bunch of presents under the tree. I don't care what anyone else gets them.

Must be nice to have grandparents like that. Mine don't get mine anything and tell me what great grandparents they are. They've got plenty of money.

If they're leaving you a sizeable inheritence that can be left to pay for your kids' college, etc., they are great grandparents indeed. Don't your kids have and get enough STUFF? Mine do. We don't need or want more.

[Anonymous]

I am the one who said my kids get 20 gifts, and I think some of the difference is how people describe it. I could also say “My kids get one big gift, pj’s, a stocking, and somethings from their other relatives” and that would be true too.

Because I see it as a lot, I describe it as a lot, but I see lots of people here getting a stocking, a gift from parents, and then things from relatives.

[Anonymous]

My kids get a lot. Probably 25+ toys each when all is said and done (from us, grandparents, aunts/uncles). Plus clothes, books, and necessities too. They have summer birthdays, and we don’t buy too many toys outside of Christmas and birthdays, so the gift-receiving is spaced out pretty evenly throughout the year.

[Anonymous]

My inlaws fill up on toys and clothing (so not the kids tastes) and I hate it.
MIL asks every year what do the kids want and i always send a few things they really truly want. She NEVER gets anything on the list. She always goes rougue and it is never in a good way. Then the last few years I spent time scrambling to get a couple things from the that they really wanted (thanks amazon prime).
This year i am not telling her anything and just getting what they want myself (from santa) becuase my kids are still young.

We don't put a limit on it, we just see what they want, price stuff out and go from there.

[Anonymous]

A few small things in stockings. A book, some clothes, at least one cool toy from us. Then Santa brings another cool toy. I only like to give him credit for one big gift though, and the stockings, which seems to keep my little ones happy.

They get plenty of stuff from family we see too (at least 5-8 more gifts) which for little kids is a LOT OF STUFF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Something they want
Something they need
Something to wear
Something to read

+stocking

. Yup, that has been my mantra since I was a child. My mother was a big fan of it.

My kids are now in college, so we get them different things- not many toys anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What bothers me about want, need, wear, read is sticking gifts into arbitrary categories. I always asked for books as a child. And what if your child needs new boots and also wants boots? SO the boots go in want, the books go in read, and you get a her a new robe for wear. Or what if you put the books in want, the boots in wear, then you can't get the robe. So shift the boots to need and you can still do the robe for wear unless she wants an expensive robe then it's a want and you have to shift the books to read.

If you only want to buy a few gifts, then do that. People always chirp that they do the want, need, wear, read and how it works so well for them keeping gift giving so simple. Just a buy a few gifts. You don't need the stupid rhyme.

You do you and I’ll do me. I like the want, need, wear read. It gives me a structure for shopping and I find it works well for my family. It isn’t a mandate, you can mix and match however you like and you can get two of one category (or even three) if it works that year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What bothers me about want, need, wear, read is sticking gifts into arbitrary categories. I always asked for books as a child. And what if your child needs new boots and also wants boots? SO the boots go in want, the books go in read, and you get a her a new robe for wear. Or what if you put the books in want, the boots in wear, then you can't get the robe. So shift the boots to need and you can still do the robe for wear unless she wants an expensive robe then it's a want and you have to shift the books to read.

If you only want to buy a few gifts, then do that. People always chirp that they do the want, need, wear, read and how it works so well for them keeping gift giving so simple. Just a buy a few gifts. You don't need the stupid rhyme.

You do you and I’ll do me. I like the want, need, wear read. It gives me a structure for shopping and I find it works well for my family. It isn’t a mandate, you can mix and match however you like and you can get two of one category (or even three) if it works that year.

Oh, and you can always get the robe.