Anonymous wrote:I have asked my DH and kids to buy their own presents. Hopefully this means that there will not be any returning of the gifts. I cannot deal with the buying of gifts and then the returning of gifts. It is all so stupid.

How festive
I’m so glad some of you aren’t my family. JFC.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think you are very smart and are doing the right thing. If your kids are not interested in the gifts, you are right to donate and make other families feel good about it.

I know it is frowned upon on DCUM, but what about a gift-free Christmas where you actually do not buy gifts for anyone? It is baby Jesus's birthday, why should we all get gifts? Why is not good food and family time and a holiday from school/work not good enough?

Ha ha

I have asked my DH and kids to buy their own presents. Hopefully this means that there will not be any returning of the gifts. I cannot deal with the buying of gifts and then the returning of gifts. It is all so stupid.

OP, I think you are very smart and are doing the right thing. If your kids are not interested in the gifts, you are right to donate and make other families feel good about it.

I know it is frowned upon on DCUM, but what about a gift-free Christmas where you actually do not buy gifts for anyone? It is baby Jesus's birthday, why should we all get gifts? Why is not good food and family time and a holiday from school/work not good enough?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm wondering what kind of 'experience' an almost-three-year old should receive as a gift in lieu of a plastic toy from Target.. A sky-diving certificate? Tickets to the opera? All-expenses paid vacation in Europe?

Movie tickets? Gift card to a play area / museum near their house? Ballet or tumbling lessons? Swimming pass for parent and toddler? Money to take the while family to Brookside gardens to see the lights, or to Gaylord National? Books?

OK, honestly, would your 4 yearold be excited to open up a present that says "good for one visit to a garden"?

I think you are projecting what YOU want on your kids.

My kids would be happy with one or two gifts from you, and then we could use the garden visit to pay to see their Christmas light display. And they would be thrilled to go see the lights. As long as the present was wrapped and they could unwrap it at this age, they would be happy.

Why can't they get gifts from others, you give no gifts and you pay for the experiences that you should pay for regardless so they aren't gifts. There are free places to see Christmas lights. You don't need to pay.

I understand the urge to purge and donate things your kids aren’t interested in...however, I usually give a couple months at least to see if the kids are interested or not.

I also don’t get being frustrated or complaining about this. Grandparents and other relatives enjoy giving kids toys. Maybe when your kids are older, experience gifts will make more sense but at their ages, they will almost certainly be more impressed by a new toy they get to unwrap than in an experience. I can see why you may be a little peeved that they asked for a list, you made a list, and then they ignored it. But people enjoy picking out things they think kids will enjoy. It’s kind of the spirit of the season to let ppl experience joy, including the joy of giving.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm wondering what kind of 'experience' an almost-three-year old should receive as a gift in lieu of a plastic toy from Target.. A sky-diving certificate? Tickets to the opera? All-expenses paid vacation in Europe?

Movie tickets? Gift card to a play area / museum near their house? Ballet or tumbling lessons? Swimming pass for parent and toddler? Money to take the while family to Brookside gardens to see the lights, or to Gaylord National? Books?

OK, honestly, would your 4 yearold be excited to open up a present that says "good for one visit to a garden"?

I think you are projecting what YOU want on your kids.

My kids would be happy with one or two gifts from you, and then we could use the garden visit to pay to see their Christmas light display. And they would be thrilled to go see the lights. As long as the present was wrapped and they could unwrap it at this age, they would be happy.

You are a horrible person and mother.

Giving away gifts before it’s even Christmas? OP wins for Parent of the Year.

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

I mentioned “experiences” because I thought other people would: “why didn’t you ask for experiences?” They want to gift toys, and ask for a list. So I provide one.

My boys don’t have interest in the gifts because they were items from a show they don’t know or watch (no, we aren’t “screen free”) and the other toy was several years younger than their level.

We opened them because we were visiting family in another state for Christmas.

I was asking...has anyone else opened and donated gifts, and it’s not even Christmas?!

Never, we keep them till they are outgrown. Opening a gift and playing with it, is an experience. Your 3-4 year old will not remember the trip to the zoo in a few years.

Wow, experiences aren't gifts. They are things you do as a family to spend time together. That is horrible to give their stuff away. You want your kids to have experiences, you pay for it. Your kids will hate you later.

You sound so ungrateful. Ughh.

The tone of your post is weird. I have donated some gifts. For instance my kid who was t super into stuffed animals but already had about 20. An aunt gave a very cute stuffed animal. I donated it directly to Toys for tots with tags still on. I’ve done similar with some craft kits where my kid already had a lot of that item or where I knew my kid had zero interest in that type of craft.
But I don’t see it as something to brag about or where there’s a need to start a conversation among parents about it. It’s not that big a deal.

You're weird, OP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm wondering what kind of 'experience' an almost-three-year old should receive as a gift in lieu of a plastic toy from Target.. A sky-diving certificate? Tickets to the opera? All-expenses paid vacation in Europe?

Movie tickets? Gift card to a play area / museum near their house? Ballet or tumbling lessons? Swimming pass for parent and toddler? Money to take the while family to Brookside gardens to see the lights, or to Gaylord National? Books?

OK, honestly, would your 4 yearold be excited to open up a present that says "good for one visit to a garden"?

I think you are projecting what YOU want on your kids.