Is this enough for Christmas??

I just wish mine a Merry Christmas and give them a cheery wave. They're happy with that.

I only ever had one gift from my parents but I also got a smaller gift from my nan, vouchers from two elderly aunts, a small gift from my godparents, and a further two presents from close friends of my parents. So 7 in total and it felt like loads. TBH my memories of Christmas as a child are more related to the atmosphere, the food, the silly games and just the general fun.

If your kids are happy then fine, keep it as it works and its a lot less pressure. Mine have always had a big pile, but no more than £300 worth each. Might seem a lot, but some of my friends spend a lot more. My kids are 16, 20 and 31 now and none are spoilt at all. My ex always told me they’d grow up spoilt as I got them too much (he doesn’t celebrate due to his religion) but that couldn’t be further from the truth. They never ask for anything and are always happy with what they receive. As a child I had a big pile, probably more than equivalent of £300 in today’s money as I always had a big item such as a bike, a hi-fi, a TV for my bedroom, all of which weren’t cheap in the 80’s. I also grew up not to be a spoilt brat! It’s just a part of Christmas for me for the kids to have lots to open. Each to their own.

The true meaning of Christmas is having the biggest pile of presents under the tree for your Christmas morning Facebook post.

We have about 25 presents for DS to open but most of them are silly things like a bottle of hp sauce (which he loves) and a wastepaper bin for his bedroom, some packets of sweets and chocolate, a hook for coats for his bedroom, a pack of black pens for school etc.

2 main presents which is some controllers for his switch’s and a cricket bat.

5 presents costing less then 20 quid (3 of them much less) .

5 present like some shower gel and deodorant. A stocking and then the silly stuff

we have a giggle while opening and some fun

Growing up we always had a good pile of presents to open but within that was always a good few bits we had asked for in our Christmas lists as well as books, craft sets, pyjamas, new clothes and shoes which always seemed to be the norm with my friends too. We weren't well off but also never went without and it was down to saving/buying stuff throughout the year and being savvy. As I've got older I've heard more talk of 'filler presents' or 'wrap ups' which is things like socks, smelly sets, pyjamas that fill out the few gifts that have actually been asked for and build the excitement of having that bigger pile of presents without being too expensive.

Same.

Gosh, that is miserable.

I personally would feel a bit joyless and stingy doing this. If you don't have the money though, that's different.

Christmas isn’t Christmas for us if the stocking ain’t packed out and filled to the brim then some on the floor around the bottom of it, it’s hearing the excitement and seeing their faces light up and showing us what Santa has brought them. I have great memories of Christmas from when I was a kid and still remember that excitement and sharing it with my siblings and that’s what we all do now for our children.

Ours would get one from Santa, 3 or 4 from us depending on size/cost plus around £25 each in today's money on little things in stockings. Relatives and friends gifts were extra. As they got older and developed more expensive tastes the Santa gift got dropped and they only had ours plus the stocking. I think 'something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read' is excellent advice but if they wanted something really techy and expensive we would scale back to token level on the other gifts.

I love to model generosity to my DC at Christmas. The fact 'you' don't get your DC anything for Christmas probably seems really mean especially once they find out most parents get their children several gifts.

I agree there is a balance to be struck. But I think you have gone to far to the mean side.

And for the record I buy my children several gifts none of which are shit, tat or 'stuff'!

This sounds perfectx

I agree with you , I think if they get a few suitable toys / art and craft supplies / games / books periodically throughout the year then one gift and a stocking plus gifts from relatives it is enough , especially when they’re young .

My children got more ( because that’s what my husband wanted to do ) but we did gradually cut back on number of items and got them what they really wanted , a few things they needed + a stocking

Can I ask when you say the grandparents give one small gift each is this at your request? I love the excuse of Christmas to spoil my grandchildren but then I only have two.

So you your children not have board games, jigsaws, craft sets etc? You must buy throughout the year and just not save it up for a bigger pile at Christmas. That or your kids has like 4 age appropriate toys??

Quality should always trump quantity. I used to buy a handful of really nice, games, toys etc for my OC and I had a friend who would buy her OC of similar age tons of useless crap. It took her forever to wrap it all and her lad actually got bored opening so much. Quite sad.

I personally wouldn't want to get such a small amount of gifts for my child, especially if I could afford more.

Sorry OP but it sounds depressing. I bet they’re wooden toys too and the stockings have a protractor set or calculator in them.

It’s all about the fun of opening. Wrap some books, a selection box, playdoh. A pile of presents is what it’s about not this minimalist dreary approach. Sorry.

I can tell you that from my own end. I will be honest I’ve thought about this a lot when I see people being excessive.

I get a rush when I give gifts to my children. This means that it’s about me, what I get from it and it’s not really about the kids feeling.. A dopamine/good feeling rush. I can tell myself it’s because they are happy but they are happy with less things, it would be ME who feels they need more, not the kids. And it’s ME who gets the feel good rush seeing them open things and seeing their face. When I realised this I started to think about other things, what really makes my kids happy rather than how it makes me feel

That sounds quite sparse to be honest. We wrap smaller and useful things too.

We usually do stockings and 10/12 presents from Santa (they’re young so things aren’t particularly expensive), then 1 main present from us that they will love but didn’t ask for. Usually a few presents from other family members for them to open on the day.

My sister does a stocking and pyjamas from Santa and everything else from them. It makes it awkward when we are all together for Christmas Eve/Day 😂

I think what you do is perfect. My kids were raised to appreciate anything they got, and they've always been happy with getting something, however small - it's the thought that counts.

Saying that, I can't even afford to feed my kids a Christmas dinner this year (or last year). Last Christmas a friend gave us a chicken so we'd at least have something other than beans on toast to eat. So, my kiddos know there are no presents this year, and they're perfectly OK with it.

If you read the post they get more than that!

Sounds perfect to me - very much like my childhood memories of Christmas.

We would get a small stocking to open first thing and one or two main gifts later in the day, which were treasured throughout the year.

We also went to church on Christmas morning, didn't open presents until after lunch, and sung carols around the piano.

It makes me sad that Christmas is no longer like this.

AnonyMouse80
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