Is this enough for Christmas??

I think it sounds very miserly OP. How many presents do they get for a birthday? Christmas has always been bigger than birthdays in our family.

Also, 3 presents must take a few minutes to open, at most. What else do you do at 7am?!

This is a perfect balance. I don't like piles and piles of tat. I don't like the OP's parsimonious Cromwellian Christmas.

DD's stocking is full of things I've collected that she likes. Tea, paint, chocolate etc. All fairly cheap and nice. Stockings aren't the main present here. I've never understood why women do all the work and a fat male housebreaker gets all the credit.

I think every family does Christmas differently and you are setting a standard now and shouldn’t feel bad about your choices. One of my son’s friends doesn’t get much in terms of gifts when compared to my son but both parents are teachers so they all go on a lovely holiday together at Christmas instead.
I love Christmas and get excited about spoiling my dc with gifts but I’m an emergency responder who works wild shifts at this time of year to keep people safe which the whole family sacrifices for so I feel they deserve to be treated and don’t feel bad about it.

Sorry OP I also think it sounds miserable. I hope your kids don’t talk about what they get at school or they’ll be sorely disappointed.

A bit more depth to your comment and I may have not been so quick to assume. The more you’ve posted though the more convinced I am that I thought right 👌

But that’s just me so don’t worry too much about it.

They should be taught that consumerism may one day destroy their future and that an excess of over-indulgence is morally wrong.

What a heartwarming festive message 🥰

Some of the responses here saying the OPs children are receiving ‘loads’ or it’s ’ample’ are deluded.

1 gift for each child plus a stocking? Sounds utterly miserable and depressing.
I agree with the quality over quantity sentiment and that’s what I do with my children but your approach is miserly and I’m rather surprised you think you’re creating special memories for Christmas it sounds like another run of the mill day in your household.

In our house santa brings the stocking and one small low value gift from their list. Stocking has useful bits in, socks, undies, bath bombs, crafty bits etc.

Then they get one main present and a few smaller presents too. I try to stick to something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read.
They also get presents from family.

As a child I was one who got very few presents and always felt a bit hard done by opening mine next to my cousins who always got loads. I try not to go overboard. But I also want my kids to get more than I did and not feel like I did

It depends what you buy, if you buy cheap tat it breaks easily, either way whatever is best for your family but be prepared for my friend has an iPhone or ps5.

I think it sounds a bit mean to be honest, particularly if you could afford more.

It doesn't have to be expensive, or plastic 'tat'. Things like cheap colouring and activity books you can get for less than £1 and is something else to occupy them in the morning. You could add clothes and underwear you would otherwise be buying them through the year anyway.

Kids do start to compare and I think they will notice they get less sooner than you would think.

I also want them to put less weight on the materialistic stuff and more on the Christmas spirit, the being together bit with friends and family and cooking and good food going on, baking, music, etc

The two are not mutually exclusive though.

My children spend plenty of time with family at Christmas. Talking, cooking, music, playing games etc. That's just how we are. And that would be the same whether they had two presents or twenty two.

A sprout and a lump of coal is most sufficient OP.

Our local social services dept gives £300 per child allowances for Xmas gifts. If that is what looked after children get them I would imagine that is quite a good yardstick.

It does come across a bit sanctimonious as of course the amount of presents you receive isn't in competition with the Christmas spirit and spending time with loved ones. Nothing was wasted in our home, ever, couldn't afford to be and we all knew the real meaning of Christmas wasn't gifts. Indeed we knew from an early age there were many children who were less fortunate than us, none of whom i ever heard of getting one gift from santa. Your children are only young once.

why are you asking on here if you think what your giving is reasonable?

if that’s all you can afford then yeah you have done your best for the kids

if not I can’t under why you wouldn’t want to spoil your kids

How the hell is it loads ? What age are your children and if you celebrate Christmas - what did you/Santa give your children ?

I'm confused!!

So father Christmas gives them a present under the tree and also a stocking full of gifts? Plus they also get a gift from you and grandparents and another?

That sounds like ample.

Why is father Christmas giving a stocking and an under-tree gift? That seems like more than most kids would get??

Well you thought wrong 👍🏻

To be honest id rather christmas didnt involve so many presents, your way sounds great, though i am a bit of a minimalist. My worry would be that they'll get to an age where they realise father Christmas is bringing their friends a lot more than he is bringing them. My DC probably have about 10 presents each, including a few small ones (we don't do stockings)

I think kids like what they’re used to. If they’ve only ever received a couple of things at Christmas they don’t know any differently and it’s fine. They might start to notice that you do things a little differently from the norm when they’re older - if so, and you’re worried about it, you can re-evaluate the approach then. For now I think it’s fine and you’re overthinking it.

That’s complete crap. Giving children three or four gifts from Santa is not going to make a child miserable and materialistic or equate love with stuff.

If the OP can afford more, it is miserable her current set-up.

Father Christmas always brought our DC one gift and filled their stockings. However they then got tree presents from DH & I when they woke on Christmas morning too. They usually had 8-10 gifts to unwrap including FC, often consisting of 1 large gift, 3 medium, 3 small, clothing, dressing gown or oodie and a selection box.

Again I’m sorry 🤷‍♀️ Just my immediate thought.

This is such a perceptive post. I think a lot of parents subconsciously do the same - when their children don't have the anticipation because of treats throughout the year.

I always am grateful on these threads that our DC are loved and cared for by a village, as that village takes care of the pile of presents. It would be weird and wrong for us to add even more.

I didn't realise how uncommon it was.

I also think there can be a tendency to more gifts in families where parents don't live together. That seems only natural.

Although none of our friends overdo Christmas we all have houses overrun with toys. But then we're a village to each other who pass things on, receive from many etc
I can see how families eho are more isolated may want to buy more presents themselves.

I think it’s about bigger picture. I know some people buy a lot for birthday and Christmas but practically nothing in between other than replacement school shoes and pencils. Our approach with Dd was always to buy her a lot in between so she never had a lot for Christmas. E.g she would rather get scooter for Easter when the weather was more suitable. And if she needed a new clothes or something for her room we would buy it. So maybe your approach of just a few presents at Christmas is fine.
However your remark about children not having respect for their toys sounds a bit off putting. It’s like you can get more for children but you are deliberately not doing this to show them that they don’t deserve many toys? And it’s like making point that you’ve had just a few things for Christmas so they should have only few too. It’s a bit mean, I’ve had black and white tv in my childhood it doesn’t mean my DD should be stuck with it too.

I can see your reasoning but we do more (maybe? -- you do say there's a stocking with bits and bobs): about 10 small things from Santa Claus and 1 from parents. I think 10 you get the excitement of 'lots' without being overwhelmed. This year it's only 2 toys with the rest being things like socks, dress, book, slap band, pringles.

They will get 5 or 6 more presents (usually toys) from other relatives. It is often junky stuff that often breaks easily but I just allow the experience and move it on if it breaks or is too much. Again, it's the world we live in so I indulge it a bit.

I figure I'm more minimalist but my kids do live in today's consumerist society so I try and strike a balance. (The same will apply with technology when the time comes. I don't want to expose them too much but I also don't want to raise Luddites when they have to interact with their peers.)