To be shocked by the number of Christmas presents people buy?

[Notcontent]

I clicked on some of the Christmas threads and I have to say I was a bit shocked to read that some people buy 30 or more gifts for their children.

I should say at the outset that is always received lovely and generous presents from my parents (still do) and so I always get some nice things for my dd. So I am not anti present giving at all. This year dd will have about 6 things under the Christmas tree from me and my parents and then another 6 or so small items in her stocking.

Money issues aside, where do people put all this stuff????

DS gets a fair bit. I've never counted, but if you individually counted all of the books etc there would be quite a lot of presents, but I don't actually count the books (you can never have too many). I tend to buy one or two bigger presents, then lots of little things. Meh. He's an only, and will always be an only, and there's only one other relative in our family. We like to spoil each other, and tend to just buy what we think the other person will like. Since there's only three of us in our family, I think I tend to buy lots of little things because I like the look of lots of gifts under the tree lol!

One year we got DD an easel with chalkboard & magnetic whiteboard. And stuff to go with it- markers, chalk, board rubber, magnets, paint. Depending on how you look at it that's one or 2 presents (easel, stuff) or, by the time I split it down into multiple presents (and father christmas gave some of it), 30+

Yes I buy a tin of biscuits for my uncle. He doesn't have children, and buys us a presents (also buscuits!) and buys something for our DC. So it's nice to get him something. He doesn't have a big family buying for him, my aunt died a couple of years ago. Snear away but I'd like him to know he's being thought of.

I buy a lot of my DCs presents second hand. I have bought them both bundles of dressing up clothes for very little money. I bought DD a game that she will love, looks impressive and would have cost a lot more new, for £1.99 yesterday.

I don't think I go overboard, but my DC have a very nice time.

My dc get a lot of presents for Christmas. They get them because they'll love them, we can afford it and its how we want to do things. At birthdays they don't get anything like as much.

They also get presents from grandparents and aunts and uncles etc. None of the presents are 'tat' or likely to end up in landfill soon so for example a scooter, books, art stuff, lego, playmobil, bike.....all hard wearing and long lasting things. Yes we spend a lot but its our money, not yours or anyone else's and our kids are by no means spoilt so why does anyone else even care? Fwiw my kids have asked for an army playset from argos which is £20 (ds 7) and a Barbie (dd,3) so they aren't grasping and demanding, if they were they'd do without tbh! We pay for everything outright always and budget for that money to be spend at Christmas, I we tried to stretch it across the whole year it would just be frittered away iyswim?

Oh and we have an enormous playroom store cupboard and a big loft we are also now selling toys which both kids have grown out of and donating about as many again to charity. The kids give a present to the local present collection each and as a family we donate to the foodbank all year round.

That was a bit of an essay!

Oh and we don't give to many adults but we do give to ones who we are close to, eg parents and ones who always are kind to us and may not always get many presents. It's normally just something to eat, a picture drawn by dc / photo of dc or small gardening related gift and I don't see anything wrong with that.

We are on our own in Australia and so DD doesn't get any presents from friends/family. I tend to buy a bit more for her to make up for this, lots of books (actually, these are really expensive in Australia so not a cheap gift - I ship from the UK though), and little things like lip salve & chocolate for her stocking.

Actually, I think I might have a little too much, but there isn't one big present - a skateboard, a popcorn maker, Operation, Disney Infinity and some characters, a Jelly Belly dispenser, some shampoo and body wash, Minecraft Annual and Guiness Book of Records, a lava lamp & a pool volleyball set.

When DD was younger I used to take advantage of the massive toy sales they have here in July - I always used to forget what I'd got and then get more in a panic in December. A couple of those Christmases were a bit OTT but thankfully DD hasn't remembered and doesn't expect the same volume.

I have a budget of £100 per child for Christmas but a lot of that is made up of tesco vouchers etc so I dont physically spend that much and I pick stuff up in sales all through the year. They have roughly £50 spent each for birthdays more if they need a new bike etc less if theres nothing they really want. We do not buy toys outside these times so much so they are the only kids I know who never ask for anything as they know the answer will be no.

The total number of presents may well be over 30 when you count in the little bits and bobs but it is all apreciated and thats the main thing.

I can't even remember a single childhood Christmas present, I sincerely hope my family didn't waste much money on them. Utter madness!

This year DD is 1. We have bought her one main present (£50), 3 'bigger' presents (in the £10-£15 range), which will be from us, and then will get her some little stocking bits from Santa, books etc from cheap shops (home bargains, pound stretcher, places like that), or second hand stuff. We'll probably spend about £100 on her- more to keep up the Father Christmas illusion for my niece (4) as the girls will open their presents together. She might get a new pair of shoes too, depending on if she has grown out of her current pair by then, I figure if I need to buy her some then I may as well wrap them up and add them to her presents!

When family have asked us what to buy her, we have requested a couple of toys that we know she'd like, and clothes in the next size up. Her grandparents like to spend a lot of money on her, so we have requested just 1-2 presents, then if they'd like they can put money in her savings account.

For her birthday we spent £50, though a lot of that was on things she needed (clothes etc).

My DP had no money, and I mean no money. They also had 6 DCs. As children we had nothing at all for the rest of the year ( sml gift for birthday). We didn't even have fruit , but Christmas, my God they bent over backwards to give us not just a large pile of presents each but the most wonderful Christmas memories.
My mother used to buy a few ounces of pick n mix every week from Woolworths and put them in a glass sweet jar. The excitement at seeing that jar slowly fill up over months was great. Apples and oranges were stored in my parents bedroom cupboard ( bedrooms were like fridges as no heating upstairs) and the fruity scent was so mouthwatering.
As children we never, ever asked for anything but my parents always spoilt us for one day.
We had a lot because there wasn't anything the rest of the year, my DCs get a lot and it makes ME happy. I don't think parents that buy less for theirs are mean, I think everyone does what feels right. I don't judge, I'm too nice a person to do that. ;)

It's up to the individual family isn't it? We're not the kid of people to buy the kids loads of stuff though out the year so treat christmas as a kind of restocking mission. They both get a fair few presents but there will be lots of books and pyjamas and stuff. It's more fun for them to be unwrapping them on Christmas morning that me dragging them round marks and Spencer in October.

Both of their birthdays are within 10 days of Christmas so it costs us a fortune.

Dh andi spend a fair bit on each other too but likewise we are not frivolous the vast majority of the time.

Christmas judging really winds me up, I just can't see the point in it.

pennefab - not critical but utterly bemused that anyone would see time spent in the kitchen through the year (baking) with children as a christmas gift

FWIW my children have been adults for a very long time, so there is zero competitive element in saying that they used to get 17 or 18 presents each, each year. I listed & counted several times every year because it was a personal hangup of mine that they all had the same number of gifts to open..... and I was always losing track!! That covered everything from the selection boxes and bubble baths, to the trampolines, bikes etc.
Plus gifts from GP's.

Actually, what bugged me most was having to do the shopping for the people who very kindly sent money, with a note asking me to choose gifts for the children ......and wrap them.........as though there wasn't enough to do!

My kids get about 20/25 presents each and I refuse to feel guilty about it. I love to spoil them, I dont get into to debt and they dont get much throughout the year. My Mum did exactly the same for us, and Christmas was so magical. Do what pleases you and your children, and I'll do what pleases us :)

You need to unclench your buttocks

Who cares.

Each to their own.

YABU

We have about the same for our two children. Why the hell not?! We start in September, we're in no debt with it, we can afford it. There's no electronic crap in there....I think we've done really well this year :)

Dd will probably be getting over 20 presents. Her main present cost £300 and that was actually second hand! We can afford it and we have the space for it. She isn't spoilt and is well behaved.

Apart from her main present everything is physically quite small, lego, books, nano bug things, DVDs, computer game, make up, head phones, jigsaw.

yabu

My dc probably have around that amount, they each get 1 main gift, and probably 3 or 4 medium gifts and some small gifts. They each will have about 15 things in stocking, the usual socks, toothbrushes, hair stuff, stationery etc. I start early and not in any debt so why not.

In laws were very poor as children and literally had the minimum, now they older and have money they like to spoil dc and will probably get them 10 or so gifts each, adding in other family and friends probably another 20 each.

My kids have a good idea of the value of money, the look after all their toys, and save for anything wanted throughout the year.

I do remember a lot of the presents I got as a kid, I loved them all. I can remember clearly from age 5 onwards, even some of the "tat" I got. I also remember the presents I didn't get

Despite having an only child, we don't go overboard either. All the hype makes me sad tbh... shops selling so much stuff, to allow you to stage the perfect Christmas

Growing up, Xmas was always quite underwhelming... My mum's high expectations followed by crushing disappointment was tangible & there were custody issues too :(

My ds's birthday is three days before Christmas so I worry as it means he gets so much stuff in such a short space of time. We are having a big clear-out of our house at the moment to make space! Because he gets everything all at once I think he won't appreciate it all, however I have found that over the year every present comes out and is played with, even if it gets a bit overlooked at first. I don't think we are excessive - we don't buy piles of stuff but with presents from family as well it mounts up.

My MIL is astoundingly generous at Christmas though and she really does buy all of us mountains of presents. I am always overwhelmed but I have to admit it is very exciting to get a giant pile of gifts so I wouldn't begrudge my son the same excitement!

I don't think there's anything wrong with people spending to their budget. For me, it's the quantity that I think can be a problem. Children can become completely overwhelmed. We have some family members who go completely OTT at Christmas, and the children usually finish up getting completely worked up, and not wanting to finish opening their presents.

We had one year where these family members got so carried away that the pile of presents wouldn't stay up, and the parcels were sliding down and across the floor. They also bought huge amounts of extra food (they weren't hosting) that went to waste. The rest of the family all admitted over the following weeks that they'd felt slightly sick about the level of excess. Some presents were never even opened, and things were almost being thrown out, because there was such a mess of presents and paper.

It had a massive impact on the volume of presents we buy as a family now. We probably don't spend much less than we did, but on a few nice things, rather than mountains of forgettable bits and pieces.

I had lots of selection boxes and colouring books and an apple and an orange but this was way back in the 1960s! I remember never getting anything I asked father Christmas for even though I was always well behaved and I used to throw in a prayer to see if that would make a difference.

Mum and dad did the best they could. I know we had presents from grandparents. One set always sent a game and the other a nightgown or pjs.

When I became a parent I went totally over the top and bought 30+ when they were at the 'Santa' stage. As they got older they had less in number but more in £££s. I know some thought we spoilt them but I know we didn't. They had lots of stuff at Christmas and one big present of their choosing (within reason!) on their birthday. In between they had very little. When we went for days out they were never allowed any over priced crap from the 'gift shop' and sweets (woollies pick n mix) only on a Saturday after swimming lessons.

My DC are older and for adult DC the price limit for gifts is £40-£50. The two teenagers will now have their turn of more expensive gifts.

And my 3 little grandchildren......Will be spoilt.

I agree. I buy around a dozen things each for stockings including some tiny things - hair bobbles etc. Then they get a 'big' present which is around £60 and some clothes. I buy on behalf of a couple of elderly relatives as well. This is basically exactly what my parents did for us at Christmas. I think you do either what you had OR what you didn't have.

I found out recently that the reason my Nan is so excited about birthday cards - with really sentimental phrases in them - is because her parents couldn't afford one when she was a child. That really put things in perspective for me.

When people say their children get 30 presents, do they also get presents from family?

I can sort of understand getting quite a bit of stuff, especially if there are books and pyjamas, if children have no no one else who gives to them.

If I count family gifts, our kids have about 10 relatives who give to them with presents ranging from £10 to £50 - so quite a lot. We get them one present around the £30 to £40 price range and then buy bits and bob for a stocking - these things are cheap and small enough to go in the stocking. They also get a clementine and a coin in the stocking

So added all together it is a lot. We are lucky, all grandparents and aunts and uncles are alive and most give the children something (can be books and clothes, can be games, etc)

It would be too much though if they got any more from us. They don't get much other than the odd book or day out the rest of the year.

We buy a lot but 50% is probably books.
It doesn't bother me if they don't remember it when they're older. It's about the here and now, seeing the excitement on their faces. Not whether they'll remember what they got ten years down the line. It bugs me when people put so much effort into things so their DCs remember it as adults they don't think about how their DCs will think about it at the time if that makes any sense.