To be a little annoyed by this token gift

Sorry typo! 200 hours is a lot!

Personally I’m not bothered about gifts.

But yes, OP. In your circumstances, that really stinks.

Often the contempt the parents show descends a generation though. I wouldn’t bank on the niece/nephew maintaining a strong relationship if the parents don’t. Especially once the OP has her iwn children. The position of a childless aunt us quite different to that of an aunt who has her iwn family demanding her time.

2000 hours is a lot as well! Its way more than necessary to form a good bond with the children.

This shows you how little they value you - STOP DOING IT!!!! End of. 🤷‍♀️

Oh dear they got unhappy that their free labour is going away
Op you have created this situation ,you can put a stop to it.
It's madness.
Baby sitters are hugely expensive ,charge or don't do it.
They don't respect you and why would they ? You need to respect yourself first.

They absolutely did, and in that way it was very different from OPs situation. But I think that OP may reap benefits later in tetms of the relationship even if the parents are unappreciative now.

FFS stop the free babysitting.
Don’t give any notice, at least that is the one advantage of not charging, just send a message
« I feel that the 100s of hours of free babysitting I did for you are not appreciated so I have decided I won’t be doing it in 2026 anymore. Please don’t ask me as the answer will be no, surly you’ll agree that I have already helped more than anybody else and you will find someone else - or use a professionnel babysitter ».
If they guilt trip you, remember that you don’t owe them anything, their children are not your responsibility, and why would it be yours more than all their other family members / friends?

Just babysit for the nice family from now on.

Tell the other family that you are no longer available to babysit for them. They can pay professionals to babysit. I absolutely hate wealthy people who are penny pinching and mean when they are receiving so much valuable help and support. Their gift was insulting, not kind.

It works both ways, they don't have to get OP a gift, but it helps the relationship and her availability/loyalty.

They're saving £££ in babysitting costs or would have to cancel a lot of the social stuff.

It's like saying not getting a bonus from your employer is ok when others have.
It's not a should, but helps the relationship.

OP saw the gifts to neighbours etc, so it's normal to feel undervalued.

She can still see the nieces and nephews when it suits her.

To book you for next year just shows how grabby they are.
They expect you to be available or for thier calendar to take priority.

Unfortunately, there are users in this world, and usually it's the ones very close to home.

Unfortunately your kindness has just escalated to the point where it’s gone too far. As people have said it is time to change things moving forward. It would never last forever anyway.

You are bound to get busier yourself and your time more sparing at some point soon. So even if this wasn’t triggered by a Christmas gift, something else is likely to crop up in your life to change your arrangements. It’s a shame that a Christmas gift has made you realise they expect to take advantage of you if you let them. At the very least moving forward you should be paid for your time.

Just be careful when you do articulate whatever you do with them that they don’t twist it around into suggesting you don’t like babysitting the kids. If they are that selfish they might try and twist it around and make you feel guilty.

For a slightly different context and perspective, we had a Cleaner for several years who we paid hourly every week and often overpaid her by rounding up to the nearest hour. At Christmas we would also give her £100 cash as a thank you for all her hard work. This is obviously in addition to paying her. This was our way of demonstrating our appreciation even though we were already paying her.

You will learn as you get older that it is important to set boundaries with many people in order to not get taken advantage of. It is time they started paying you something at least, otherwise you need more personal time back. You don’t need to make up an excuse or a lie, you need to set an honest boundary. I wouldn’t link it to the Christmas gift though. Also, stop booking yourself so far ahead. You have made life far too easy for them.

Good luck OP!

Honestly, they are users, who are completely taking advantage of your kind nature.

Toughen up, and don't stand for this anymore. Tough shit on them if they are furious or hacked off, just don't do it anymore.

Either tell them you are no longer available, OR tell them you'll be charging £15/hour from now on, payment due on the same day. No more favours for these piss takers.

Do NOT feel bad about it.

Tell them that you’re not feeling appreciated. If they explicitly said the gift was for all you have done the past year then you need to spell it out to them. I would also either reduce the time you’ve offered them or, if you don’t want to be upfront about the gift then tell them in light of the economy (or whatever you feel comfortable saying if you’re not comfortable telling them you’re fed up of being used) then you will have to charge for your time going forward

You could be running a side hustle for 200hrs a year, resting from your job/life or doing a hobby.

Like others have said, They've shown you what you mean to them.
Your choice how you proceed.

People treat you how you let them.

Stop babysitting for free.

It doesn't matter that you have told them you will babysit throughout next year. Let them know you are no longer available. They have adequate time to find someone else.

Tell them you are working part-time and are no longer available. Then babysit for people who pay you.

You sound wonderful and we would love to have you in our lives and would get you wonderful Christmas and birthday gifts! I think scale back this year - giving something out of love and not feeling the appreciation back will just make you feel bitter.

I babysit for my nieces and have them come for sleepovers too but never expect anything in return. For me it is a win win as I get to spend fun time with them and their parents get a break.
We don't do adult presents in our family and I don't have young children so I spend and don't receive. My DSIL got me a personal token gift that probably cost a tenner at most and it didn't even cross my mind to connect how much I babysit to the value of the gift.
If you think your family are taking the piss and advantage of you, and you don't get anything out of spending the time with the children then you should stop for sure.

Start seeing your nieces/nephews at times that suit you. Start a tradition where you take them to the cinema once a month.
They are being so ungrateful I’m shocked!

Nah sod that! You are going to tell them you have got a job as you we'd the money. They will either pay you or not. You know where you stand

Well uncomit

Do your siblings get you a Christmas present Uxmal ?

Do they appreciate you, and graciously accept if you have to say “no” to a babysitting request?

Uncommit to the ungrateful gits. No longer your problem

You don't have to babysit op but its s great way to forge a lifelong relationship with your nieces and nephews. I never expected or received gifts or payment even when I looked after mine for days at a time, and now I am really close to them which is priceless. Just a thought.

Cancel some of the baby sitting. They are obviously not appreciative. I get it, less about the price, it's about some recognition. Frankly it's insulting.

What did your sibling (or best friend) buy you for Christmas Laura? What did you buy them?

Did it cost more than £3?

Its not "free" babysitting if youre expecting (and judging the families based on) a gift.

And its a bit crass ro be like I babysit for free i deserve a more expensive gift