To wonder why a mum would buy 100 presents each...

[Bananabread123]

... for her children. She says they deserve a great Christmas but wouldn't they be equally as happy with, say, 10 presents?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-38305247

Well that makes me feel like a terrible mum as I haven't bought our baby anything!

what does it teach he kids though

the more u have the more someone loves you?

It's like the "Santa's been!" posts all over FB on Christmas Eve where people post photos of their present piles. I post the odd photo of the DC opening certain gifts (for example, from a long distance relative so relative can see them opening it) but avoid doing the piles photos because it annoys me.

i wonder how long the wrapping took rather than how much the wrapping cost

Oh god never even thought of that! What a headache And think of how many times you would lose the end of the sellotape.

Having had a quick nose at the TV schedule, she's appearing on a channel 5 programme about Christmas Excess tomorrow. That'll go well then!

I think she's not quite well is she, it's obsessive, starting on boxing day, getting sale stuff, and it's all "little" cheapish stuff average £5 a pop so not like anything particularly brilliant. I wonder if it's a sort of hoarding type behaviour.

My FIL (a hoarder) would be deeply impressed with her perseverance and the size of the pile of stuff. He comes round with bags full of tat for the kids that he's picked up from charity shops. He can't resist a "bargain" but doesn't want the things for himself so he gives them to the kids and that means he gets to buy the "bargain" and feel good about giving presents and not add to his hoard at home which he knows is out of control.

I reckon it's something like that.

I have trained myself to ignore what others do for their DC. Competing can only do harm!

Mine have about 15 presents. costing me £200 each! They will be happy, they will be grateful! They know that Santa can only bring what the parents can pay for, as otherwise, all the children in the world would have what they need and they don't!

My DC are still really young so we've had very few demands for big ticket items so far. As they get older, especially when they hit their teens, I can easily see us spending £500 per child - mobile phones, tablets, shit from Holister, all that kind of thing - but £500 of tat for very young DC and going for quantity over quality is plain silly.

waste of money, selfish, she's doing it so the pictures she takes will get used and pay for more of the same shit next year

Children's tastes change so much over a 12 month period so it would be difficult to buy Xmas gifts so far in advance.

That depends on the child and the toy. It would be risky to buy a 5 year old a bargain Paw Patrol toy 12 months in advance. But getting a 6 year old Star Wars and Lego fan and bargain Star Wars Lego set would probably be a safe bet.

What if her child announces in October that they'd really, really like a bike? Bit stuffed then.

Also, as the kids get older, and want more expensive things, is she still going to keep up the ridiculous amount of presents? What's the point if they don't even open them all?

I love a big pile of presents... but that is not 'a big pile of presents'!! That's Everest...

Where the F does she put it all? I'm having heart palpitations about where our DD's stuff is going to go and I've made sure to buy small things!

I agree with 70sdinnerparty - it's a sort of compulsion. Almost like an addiction. She can't help herself, but it's not helping her family really either.
I wonder where it all goes afterwards? I like to make a little pile of my gifts on my bed after (doesn't everyone do this ) but with 100 gifts each her kids won't be able to see their beds!

She is from Isle of Man though.

In the small villages there are virtually no shops at all. In the capital, I remember a discount toy shop rather like the entertainer and some chain shops like M&S and WH Smith. The big retail park is again not a patch on what you get in any big town here.

Maybe all the tat is a years worth of stuff they cant shop for usually.

I can't imagine its fun to open your way through that pile.

My mum has her and dads presents and her siblings gifts to us at hers and that's a large enough pile (15 ish gifts per person) and it feels like a lot

But I can see how you could have so many if you buy stuff for the year.

Clothes
Shoes/wellies
Nightwear
Underwear
Stationary
DVDs
CDs
Books
Toiletries
Toys

And I don't believe it's £500 per 100 presents. Ok, you can get decent stuff stationary, toiletries, sweet wise from poundshop and also things like packs of 5 cars etc.
But I suppose you can get socks for £1, underwear for a few quid, books and DVDs etc for £2-3 if you shop right. But I'm not sure I'd find Christmas enjoyable if I spent all year looking for bargains and preparing for it.

If she's got the money to spare, she'd do better to put it in savings accounts for the children, for when they're older.

I want to know why they're all under the tree already?

The capitals shopping centre only has these shops in it:

HMV
Peacocks
Cafe Avanti
Millets
The Card Factory
Miss Selfridge
Mothercare

The one dept store on the Island perhaps doesnt have everything you'd ever want to buy.

Perhaps she is a SAHM and shopping is her only hobby.

QueenlizIII We do have more shops than that over here on the isle of man, we can also order online

I can't imagine its fun to open your way through that pile.

I'll say! After the first thirty presents or so I'd imagine it would start to feel like a chore.

I'm actually thankful our lot prefer one good quality present thats spread across Xmas and birthday and not a pile of crap.
Over the years they've asked for a graphics card upgrade (we traded in the old one), a Wacom graphics tablet, software, and a PS4. They actually have something to show for the money, and the gifts have lasted for years.

Hey TheseMangoes - two words : tape dispenser. Changed my life.

I know that FoxTea. maybe she rather would do it all in one go for the year.