Christmas presents... too much? or AIBU?

[celebmum]

Its going to be DS's first Christmas.. there are already 7gifts under the tree for him, from other mum friends. DH and i have bought about 4/5 items to open (spent abt £40). I know of about 5gifts my mum has bought. if i do a rough tot up of all other gifts i either know of/am aware that there will be (bro's, sis, inlaws, dad, aunts, great grandparents etc) i have an estimate of about 30more gifts.

DS is 8months old. all i can think of is that my house is going to be full of all this stuff and poor DS will be overwhelmed/not interested.. and then i'll have to find somewhere to keep it all.

When people have asked what to buy DS i have said, oh don't bother, or nothing much or clothes in next yrs sizes that can be put away... but i just know that i will have been ignored! He is the first child in my family for 14yrs, so i can understand the enthusiasm (sp?)...

Mum, sis and DH keep telling me not to be such a grump.. but..urgh!

would it bu of me to hold some back (i'd say for ds 1st birthday in April, but that will prob be the same!) or donate them (what i can get away with) somewhere after christmas? Is it too mean of me to do this with DS's first Christmas presents WWYD?

Definately YANBU to hold some back - he's only 8 months old and the paper will be the most exciting bit for him anyway.

Thing is you can't really expect people to not buy him stuff because he's precious and they want to spoil him, but I don't understand why clothes are a problem for people to buy though, they are always useful.

Anyway - have a fab first christmas with your LO.

Save some. He'll neither know nor care.

I went bonkers for my first son's first christmas. He was 7 months old. The pile of presents was sky high.

He ate the wrapping paper.

Although some would say I still go bonkers at least they are 10 & 11 now and actually take an interest

I wouldn't old things back as long as April, but there's no need to open them all on Christmas Day. You could do as many as he can cope with on day 1, then two of three a day after that.

DD was 8 months old her first Xmas and she got sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo (too) much and like Hec says all she did was eat the paper and play with the boxes.

Tis very exciting as a parent though

Sheeesh - that sure is a lot of thank-you notes

voice of dissent - yes, DS will lose interest, and by all means hold back things from you and DH, but probably best to open the rest so that you can say Thank you - you can then hide most of the toys and produce them through the year.

But you'll need to open them and know what they are so you can thank but otherwise yanbu in holding them back, not sure I would donate them yet.

TBH, I think you just have to embrace the excess, OP, and enjoy - welcome to the rest of your life (or the forseeable future, at least)

oh i am excited! it is going to be the best xmas ever!! even if a little over crowded!

i was planning on opening all the clothes shaped parcels, they'd be boring to him anyway! letting him play with the other presents and open them throughout the day.. i'll prob try and spread them out over a few days..

i'm well prepared in advance for thankyou letters, have some xmas thankyou note sheets and plenty of stamps!

DD was spoilt rotten last Christmas (she was 4mo) but I think it's to be expected. We left some toys with PIL and parents for when DD visits (and also didn't need to find room in the car or our house for them!). We discretely took a few back and swapped them for more appropriate things. Awful stuff was thanked with a smile and FreeCycled or charity shopped.

We have a basket now where we put things that are too old for DD and then get them out as she gets older. We then pass on things she's grown out of (clothes/toys) or store them in the attic. Therefore, we don't have everything out in our tiny house.

YABU to "be a grump" but YANBU to ask for clothes or other useful items if asked. Cheer up, accept the excess gifts and deal with the house full of toys in the New Year.

Hell - my DD is 11 now and I still don't get it right. My one word of advice to new parents is always "don't buy stuff for the sake of it" but I know it falls on deaf ears. You would not believe the amount of toys my DD has that she has never played with, and the clothes that I take to charity shops that have never been worn. Ho hum - I could have saved a fortune, but we only travel this way once.

OP and festivecoatgate - there must be families all around town enjoying your second hand clothes and toys! Got good karma? Pass it on.

Betty - I do believe in Karma, but I still get pangs of guilt when I take unworn gifts from relatives to the Sally Bash

What lucky people you all are. Have a lovely christmas, it must be lovely to know your children are so loved by so many people

Don't leave them un-opened until April, you won't be able to return them!

We space the presents out so DD opens a couple every day (more when they were "boring" clothes)

We have some toys out, and some others stashed away in a cupboard. Every couple of months I swap some, and it's like having new toys all over again (or having old faithful friends returned to you )

Perhaps for his birthday you should make a "wish list"? (amazon let you add items from other sites now), then at least some of it will be stuff you want?!

Having way too many presents at 8mnths old isn't going to lead to him becoming a spoilt brat - won't even realise, after all. It is wasteful of course, but then you can hide some away and re-give them later, recycle to other parents or give to charity shop etc.
Maybe some of the gifts you've got him you could return and let him open the gifts from doting relatives/freinds who are probably way over excited about small child + Christmas?

maybe open one a day over for two weeks over the hols.

open them all - then put some to one side and bring out over the next few months - trust me, when you've been stuck in the house with DS for 4 days in mid January with the snow, you'll be glad of toys he's not played with before to be produced to cheer things up!

Also, ask family to keep receipts in case you get duplicates and then take some back - if any are from places like mothercare you can return toys and get clothes...

I'm in the same boat apart from this is DC4 and people still insist on buying stuff, which we really really don't need.

TBH I will give most of it away to charity/as presents!

We're visiting good friends ever the christmas period, and their youngest is 6mo.

I've bought a teething ring/rattle that can go in the freezer. I figured they'd have a ton of toys and clothes so something that might give them 2 minutes peace and quiet when he's grotty would be appreciated...

Now I'm starting to wonder! They have 2 older DC's who will appreciate presents rather than wrapping, so I don't feel I can get him nothing no matter how swamped they are at his first christmas