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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to only do 1 gift from Santa?

55 replies

KissingFish · 10/12/2015 09:49

Our son will be 20 months at Christmas and before Christmas last year my wife and I had a chat about the whole Santa thing and we decided that we will give our son 1 gift from Santa, always something made from wood (because that's what they make in the workshop) and all other gifts will be from us or grandparents or whoever.
We decided to do this so that if we ever got into a situation where we can't afford to buy many gifts at Christmas we can tell him he wont be getting a lot because we haven't got the money. But we will always be able to afford something from Santa.

I've been told a few times that I am being unreasonable and all the gifts should be from Santa and we will be ruining his childhood etc.
I just don't want to be stuck one day panicking because he's written a list and I can't afford to get everything for Santa to deliver.

I'm not a grinch or anything (I've been called one) I am Christmas mad. My siblings call me Mrs Christmas

OP posts:

Katedotness1963 · 10/12/2015 14:45

We had our boys write to Santa asking for one thing. Luckily, they always asked for something we could find and nothing horrendously expensive.

Presents were put under the tree over a few days before Christmas. On Christmas Eve Santa delivered the wished for gift (unwrapped) and filled the stockings.

SnobblyBobbly · 10/12/2015 14:53

We only have one gift from Santa in our house too, although it's not wooden as my children are a bit older - pretty sure my 9yo would make me pay dearly if I presented him with a glockenspiel on Christmas morning

I tell them that if they're good, Santa will bring them a gift and then he passes their list on to the people who love them so they can choose a gift for them too.

I think the eldest may be coming to the end of the Santa stuff now but it's worked so far.

choccyfiend78 · 10/12/2015 15:39

In our house Santa brings all the presents but we have to send him the money to pay for them as he can't pay for all the children's toys so he is like our personal shopper . As we live abroad from a lot of family he is also the delivery man and people can send him presents to look after until Christmas and they then get delivered with names of givers on

ShamefulPlaceMarker · 10/12/2015 16:47

My dc only get one santa present. Then 2 from us and a stocking.

Wondering how you're going to keep the wooden idea up though? I love wooden toys. As they get older melissa and doug is a great brand.. :)

ElfontheShelfIsWATCHINGYOUTOO · 10/12/2015 16:53

Father Christmas ain't gonna get all the glory in this house!

Comments like this make me feel sad.

An adult needs direct thanks and adulation and cant stand back and let the child have the wonder of FC

I feel glory when our DC see the presents FC brings, I know its me. They dont need to know. The window is so tiny and small they have a life time of knowing where the gifts truely come from.

OP that aside.....I think its a very sweet idea!! And very wise if you do have cash flow issues. Its really charming.

(However do remember for small dc, you can get lots of amazing second hand stuff, all over for pennies...I got an amazing fisher price garage only this weekend for £2, they are £40 new from DC Christmas fair at school, for my toddler (3) she loves it). In the past we have sourced from Charity shops, freecyle, school fairs, car boots, ebay....there is a huge amount of second hand toys out there in perfect condition being sold for penniies.

AlmaMartyr · 10/12/2015 16:55

Santa only brings stockings here too. That's what I had growing up too. All presents under the tree are from family/friends etc. It's still the most magical bit for me (DH and I get each other stockings too, and not necessarily anything else).

Crispbutty · 10/12/2015 17:02

As a kid I never for a moment thought Santa paid for gifts. He just delivered them. I remember my mum buying something for one of my grandparents and it was left unwrapped on the table one night (a few days before Xmas) and when it had gone by morning I was told the elves came in the night collecting presents to take and wrap ready for Xmas morning.. I knew all my gifts had come from relatives or my parents and while I still believed in Santa I also knew I had to thank people for buying me things

Thurlow · 10/12/2015 17:12

We do one present from Santa. DD is only nearly 4, so fortunately her list is only a few things long, but we've decided that Santa will bring her one bigger present. Everything else, stockings included, come from who they actually come from.

Partly because stockings in this house only have small and inexpensive presents in, which seems weird for Santa to bring!

DisappointedOne · 10/12/2015 17:17

Think the Christmas thread needs its own AIBU.

None of the presents in our house come from Santa. DD has survived 5 Santa-free xmases. OP, your kid will probably be fine whatever you decide to do.

DisappointedOne · 10/12/2015 17:18

the wonder of FC

What wonder?!

colouringinagain · 10/12/2015 17:26

OP that's exactly what we do - one pressie from Santa and not the biggest - and it works really well.

I think it's reasonable that kids know most pressies they get on Christmas day come from parents and family, but this way means they get the Santa fun too

TaliZorah · 10/12/2015 17:52

We never did gifts from Santa, it was always presents from family and they send them to Santa to wrap up and deliver or order them from Santa. My Christmases were fab

I think it's weird to say they're all from Santa.

Kaytee1987 · 10/12/2015 17:56

Who has told you you're unreasonable? Tell them to mind their own bl**dy business. I'm pretty sure we only had one or two from Santa and the rest were from parents etc. Can't remember ever caring, children don't bother about these things as much as adults think they do.

Kaytee1987 · 10/12/2015 17:58

Also you could explain that Santa has a lot of gifts to deliver so it makes sense each child only gets one.

sweetsomethings · 10/12/2015 18:06

I think its weird when people say that santa is a delivery man. Do kids believe that .

Spidertracker · 10/12/2015 19:52

My kids believe it, they buy presents for each other leave them on the fireplace to be collected for delivery. The present is spirited away and a handwritten present received not is left by an elf, saying FC will deliver on Christmas eve. Then everything appears on Christmas morning.

Spidertracker · 10/12/2015 19:53

Note not not

TaliZorah · 10/12/2015 19:54

sweet I did. Why the hell would Santa buy presents for random kids?! It's weird

timelytess · 10/12/2015 19:54

I really don't understand this Santa stuff.
Parents, family, friends buy the presents and send them to Father Christmas. He delivers them. Its his job.
No messin'.

ProudAS · 13/12/2015 18:56

I think that's reasonable - colleague regretting having her DS think everything comes from Santa as it made him think they are free
🎅

MrsTerryPratchett · 13/12/2015 19:01

An adult needs direct thanks and adulation and cant stand back and let the child have the wonder of FC Okaaaaay.

Stockings from Santa in this house. Everything else from whomever bought it.

Is there any job, mainly done by men, where they have to abnegate all praise in favour of an imaginary woman? I can't think of one for some reason.

catgirl1976 · 13/12/2015 19:05

I tell my DS (4) that the presents are from Father Christmas. but Mummy and Daddy have to send him the money to pay the elves wages.

Works for us.

mumofmunchkin · 13/12/2015 19:12

Stocking from Santa, everything else from the giver is how I grew up and what we'll be doing with our kids. My older brothers accidentally gave it away when I was quite little that Santa wasn't real, it never spoiled the magic and excitement of waking up on Christmas morning to a stocking at the end of my bed. I think it's nice to enjoy giving presents to your kids yourself, and for kids to enjoy the act of giving each other presents and knowing their family and relatives have thought about them.

Senpai · 13/12/2015 19:22

We do separate gifts Santa brings and then we have ones from "mommy and daddy" or other relatives. By the time she's old enough to realize that children get unequal gifts, or some years are lean is probably the time she's old enough to stop believing and have a talk about Christmas Spirit.

But until that time, DD has thrifty parents that know how to bargain hunt and find unique gifts that are affordable.

IMBWater · 13/12/2015 19:26

I love your idea, I plan to do similar.

Growing up or grandparents did our stocking (so all their grandchildren got the same/similar dependant on age) and we got 1-2 gifts off santa the rest from parents, aunts etc.

I want to do the same with my DD (curently 5.5 months)

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