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[quote=Anonymous]I always feel guilty when I see people post what they are giving their kids for Christmas, because I feel like my son gets so much from me.  Part of that is that we have a very small extended family, so he's not getting a lot elsewhere, but the list always still seems long to me.

One thing that I notice, though, is that when I see lists from people who have what I'd consider a frugal Christmas, is that there are often gifts that, to me, imply that their kid owns other more expensive items.  So, for example, I'll read that a kid got American girl PJ's, or an Xbox game, or earbuds, or guitar picks, and I figure that that kid probably owns an American girl, and Xbox, some kind of device that plays music or a guitar.

I'm curious when kids are getting those bigger things?  Is it that some years your kid gets a gift like an Xbox, and other years all they get is a game, or would something on the level of an Xbox never be a Christmas gift in your family?  If you have multiple kids, do some get big presents while others don't (e.g. Emma already has an American Doll so she gets PJ's, but Lucy doesn't have one yet so she gets a doll)?  Or are they getting the big things at some other time or from somewhere else?

My teen has, and "needs"* the following expensive items.

A phone, so he can let me know where he is, and that he's safe
A computer, so he can complete (the only other computer in the house goes to work with me, so we can't exactly share)
A bike, so he get to school and other places when I'm at work and can't drive him
A pair of hockey skates, so he can play hockey, plus other equipment

Every year, by Christmas, at least one of these things needs to be replaced.  Often more than one.  Things get outgrown or they wear out or they get stolen.    So, every year by Christmas, I'm buying him a couple expensive items, plus some slightly less expensive items like new hockey gloves or a replacement for the backpack he's had since 4th grade which is held together with duct tape, plus maybe something small he just really wants,  and a book or two, and suddenly my list is out of control compared to what I see here.

If you are one of the people who spends $50 or $100 at Christmas, do your kids not own big ticket items?  If they do, where do those things come from if not Christmas?  Do they get big things some years but not others?

*  To be clear, I know he doesn't actually need these things.  Doing his work at home, and not staying at the school library, going to a school that's not in our immediate neighborhood, and playing a sport are all luxuries, but they are pretty common luxuries for middle class kids.  [/quote]

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