My parents have way too much stuff so I typically do experiences, in the $150-300 range. Examples:

- My dad is a big baseball fan, I got him a season ticket pack to a local minor league team he enjoys.
- my parents are traveling to Italy this summer and both love desserts; I found a pastry making class near their hotel and told them I’d book it whenever they wanted during their trip.

I literally don’t understand wtf you’re talking about. Because your neighbor’s Asian child gave their parents a designer bag, you assume that all Asian kids give their parent such a gift? And your husband is Asian?

19-year old DD has always made gifts for us - she took art classes through school and would gift us pottery or other special artwork she made. She blew me away last Mother's day by buying Dior perfume I smelled and loved in a department store and having he bottle engraved. She wrote a lengthy note with this telling me why she loved me. I was and continue to be blown away. She paid for this on her own with her part-time job money and it was so sweet that she remembered. That said, I certainly do not expect anything like this and have always told her that handmade gifts are the way to go - just thought this was really sweet and thoughtful.

After college when they had a job, I would say gift giving felt like peers. They gave us similar gifts to what we gave them. Now they tend to give us "experiences" and it is more than we spend on them.

FFS. I gave my parents gifts out of my allowance and lawn mowing money in grade school. Old Spice, soap on a rope, dusting powder, candy
As I got older upped my game to charm bracelet charms (Daddy died), cologne, books, puzzles and more.
I gave her gifts until she died age 87. She sent me and DH gifts too. i miss the gifting.

If we're not on a trip for the holidays (no gifts on those years), we play Dirty Santa or another type of game (they're college aged now), or a just draw names . We all get something under $50.
When they were younger we would have them buy some things for the Saran Wrap game. Wrap up money, lottery tickets, candy, etc and you need to tear open the saran wrap with oven mitts on a timer) and keep what falls out .

I hate consuming for the sake of consuming or obligatory gift giving, so games or themes makes it fun!

We don’t do high value gifts. We do smaller gifts all around.

We started DCs on buying each other gifts around early elementary school. At some point it evolved to them buying the parents gifts as well. Maybe late ES or early MS? Oldest are in HS now, so we're not talking extravagant gifts, but I love seeing what they pick out for each other and us.

I think when kids start working- high school or college they should get their parents something, i.e. high school $10 Starbucks gift card, same with college, after college when they have a job and money, a gift card to a restaurant. We would most likely take them to that restaurant.

Pre-School
They made hand print plaques

Anonymous wrote:Our kids who are in their twenties always ask if there is something we want and we always say no. We just do not need or want anything and I know we are blessed to be in that situation. I'd rather have time with both or either of them, as we are doing over the holidays. They will send flowers on bd or Mother's Day, and take their father shooting or fishing on father's day and his bd, but gifts, just do not need anything.

THIS!

Anonymous wrote:I don’t really want or need anything so I tell mine no.

+1

I'm asian american and started giving "higher" value gifts (like $500+) as soon as I started earning money from my summer internships. I don't go the designer bag route but I just write a check out at the end of the year.

Before I started earning money, I used to buy my parents gifts and my mom made a comment to me that I was basically spending her money to buy her junk she didn't want and asked that I please stop.

Our kids who are in their twenties always ask if there is something we want and we always say no. We just do not need or want anything and I know we are blessed to be in that situation. I'd rather have time with both or either of them, as we are doing over the holidays. They will send flowers on bd or Mother's Day, and take their father shooting or fishing on father's day and his bd, but gifts, just do not need anything.

In our case, our kids do give small gifts and we appreciate it but we try to compensate them with much more as they are on early career salaries.