Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4

Original poster

Did you get one main present for Christmas as a child

99 replies

muldersspeedos · 06/11/2021 22:37

I just typed out a long op about this and it disappeared 😩

I was thinking back to when I was a child and I got one main present and some thing small/one inexpensive from Father Christmas. Birthdays were one gift too. We didn't have much money when I was little though so that might have been it but I don't recall lots of gifts from one person being the norm,

When did Christmas and birthdays become multiple gift occasions? Is it the sheer volume of things available now? Mass consumerism? Greed? Are things cheaper now so we can buy more for our money? Do we expect more? I'm sure we all knew someone who was deemed 'spoilt' and got loads.

My dc don't have a main present and I'm sat here wondering why I've fallen into the same habit of multiple smaller gifts. Luckily they never ask for expensive presents like games consoles or phones or the latest trainers as I couldn't afford them even if that big item was the only thing they got. I do the same for my mum too. I only buy for my 3dc and my mum. My siblings all buy her multiple presents too. She's always amazed by how spoilt she is these days but she deserves to have nice things and never treats herself as she can't afford to.

I've done my main Christmas shopping now for this year but maybe next year I'll have a rethink on how I do things?It could be that I love giving presents but feel very anxious receiving and unwrapping them (ASD).

How do you do presents at Christmas? One main one or several smaller ones? Does it depend?

OP posts:

reluctantbrit · 07/11/2021 11:33

It really depended and was different year after year (born in the Seventies).

If I wished for a larger item like a walkman I would get a lot less (when I understood the costs of items). But I never had the "one big/main present" year after year. Once I got a bike (first time brand new, normally I had hand-me-downs) as a surprise gift when I didn't really had a lot of expensive gifts.

But I remember years/have photos where I got doll, board games, books, drawing materials all in one year. My parents were definitely not well off and presents were given just at Christmas and birthdays.

With DD we do a FC wish list and then she gets surprises from us as well. The stocking is from FC but has normal presents, just in small size. We also don't do a main gift, it really depends on what she is asking for.

KateF · 07/11/2021 11:52

We had a stocking from Father Christmas then a main present and a few smaller ones like a selection box, book etc under the tree. Not a big family and we lived abroad so tended to get some money from relatives. As my birthday is just before Christmas I used to save my money so I could have a present or two throughout the year.
I've done a similar thing with my dds. They have something large and a few smaller gifts from me, something from their father and usually money from his parents. There are no other family but my best friend treats them as nieces and usually gets a little something for them.

1stTimeMama · 07/11/2021 12:33

I was born in the early 80's, we got a main present, a pilowcase of smaller ones from our parents, and ones under the tree from other people. Plus a stocking.
I do similar for my own children now, but everything comes from Father Christmas.

Ludoole · 07/11/2021 12:56

I'm 45 and we always got loads for Xmas. My brother got all the star wars vehicles and people one year, and I had a cabbage patch kid with all accessories including an imported chair that wasn't available in this country. Presents under the tree were from mum and day and were mainly board games and clothes. Everything else was from "santa".
I think this was due to the fact that my mum grew up having very little at Xmas as a child.
I'm very grateful for everything I received but it was totally unnecessary! My best ever present as a child was a cheap plastic Roland rat watch that my brother picked for me

TyrannysaurusXXrightshoarder · 07/11/2021 13:00

1970s, One main present and some smaller ones like jigsaws, annual, craft stuff. And a stocking that always contained Brazil, walnuts and hazelnuts, satsumas and chocolate coins. My best ever main present was a rocking horse. Good times.

Insert1x20p · 07/11/2021 13:01

Definitely one main present - still remember the year it was a BBC computer with a cassette drive to load games and that was the BEST although the Sindy cooker was also epic as was Crystal Barbie. That would be it from mum and dad but we got a lot of presents from family and godparents (and even just friends of my parents)and then our Santa stockings would be all the little bits and pieces.

Lasair · 07/11/2021 16:36

I got loads growing up. I do the same for my kids. It’s not greed it’s just the way we do it.

Chippymunks · 07/11/2021 17:03

One main one or a few that were a set such a Sindy and then some furniture. Then crafty stuff I think such as a flower press and a selection box that was in net stocking.

InTropicalTrumpsLand · 07/11/2021 17:14

I'm in my mid 20s and growing up, I got one present for my birthday and one present for Christmas (and one present for childrens' day, which is celebrated in my corner of the world). As a teen, when I began needing expensive tech, that required lumping gifts together, so I'd get nothing for my birthday and get a laptop or phone for Christmas.
Clothes, however, were never considered gifts, as well as anything I actually needed, such as school or hobby supplies. So I suppose I might have gotten more than one main gift if those counted.
Stockings aren't done here, either. By age 8 or so I had joined the family's Secret Santa, due to my DM's family size (she was the youngest of 7, so buying a present for everyone got expensive fast). Therefore Christmas meant two main gifts.

Joining Mumsnet was quite a surprise, and my mind still boggles when I see some users mentioning 10 or 20 presents for a toddler!

Siameasy · 07/11/2021 21:18

Similar to others-born in the 70s, one main gift (donkey kong) some smaller gifts “smellies from the body shop” and a few stocking fillers
Try not to go overboard with DD as I find it all too much

3peassuit · 07/11/2021 21:25

I’m in my sixties. We had a main present, stocking, an annual and a selection box. Most of my friends had similar. My parents were aghast at the amount spent on their grandchildren.

BigYellowHat · 07/11/2021 21:33

Our kids have a budget which they can have as cash if they want. Some years they’ve had one big thing only and other years lots of little things. This year DS is getting a laptop so that’s it for him. It’ll just be a few things in a stocking up to the value of about £20. Not sure about the other kids yet.

crosstalk · 07/11/2021 21:36

Tiny Christmas Eve presents, a sock with tangerine, soap, etc, main present (one) Christmas Day from parents and a few from relatives. All highly appreciated.

ChipButtyCurrySauce · 07/11/2021 21:46

I had lots of small presents. I'd have games, toys, colouring stuff, underwear and clothes. Stockings with toiletries inc toothpaste, toothbrush etc. It was only when I had my own kids I started with main presents and smaller bits.

MyDcAreMarvel · 07/11/2021 21:49

I had a main present from Santa that I asked for but it was in a sack of other presents which were surprises. I also got a present from my mum and one from my dad in the evening.

VestaTilley · 07/11/2021 21:58

@Scarby9 can I ask where you get your New Berry Fruits from please?

My DF would love to have some, but I’ve not seen them for years (or York Fruits, come to that).

Apologies for derailing the thread.

strivingtosucceed · 07/11/2021 22:06

We got one main present from our parents then any others would be from family members, bigger ticket items would be joint eg consoles. Any other presents came from family members cousins or grandparents. Even though we're older we still stick to this rule, and they're only multiple presents if it makes sense e.g. multiple (used) console games or matching clothes sets.

I have no idea why people feel the need to buy their children so many things, just seems like excuse to spend a lot of money for kids to be entitled.

giggly · 07/11/2021 22:08

[quote VestaTilley]@Scarby9 can I ask where you get your New Berry Fruits from please?

My DF would love to have some, but I’ve not seen them for years (or York Fruits, come to that).

Apologies for derailing the thread.[/quote]
Marks and Spencer do a version of York Fruits

MeredithGreyishblue · 07/11/2021 22:08

[quote VestaTilley]@Scarby9 can I ask where you get your New Berry Fruits from please?

My DF would love to have some, but I’ve not seen them for years (or York Fruits, come to that).

Apologies for derailing the thread.[/quote]
Home Bargains sell them

ThePoisonousMushroom · 07/11/2021 22:11

Multiple presents here as a kid. Usually one ‘main’ one and a few smaller ones, plus a stocking.
We do the same for our children, although the amount we buy (and budget) seems to be far less than a lot I see on here. For example there was a recent thread about a Nintendo switch for a 6 year old… I don’t spend that much (approx £300) on all their presents, let alone on one gift! I spend approx £150 per child plus an extra £20 on their stocking. It’s more than enough.

AliceMcK · 07/11/2021 22:12

Lots of gifts, not necessarily expensive, a couple of years I remember a couple of big items but mainly lots of small. We didn’t have sacks or stockings, everything was wrapped and put under the tree regardless of how cheap it was.

Starcaller · 07/11/2021 22:12

I usually had a main present and then smaller ones. Santa gave stockings and left a medium gift (something like a stuffed toy) by the fireplace.

Starcaller · 07/11/2021 22:13

I did get a lot of gifts. I was an only child in a family with not very many children so Christmas involved a lot of presents

AmyDudley · 07/11/2021 22:13

Born in the late fifties - we got one main present which would never be anything enormous - I never got anything like a bike it would be perhaps a doll or once I got an easel and paints, and maybe a couple of other things (often something my Mum had made - once she made me a knitted doll, another time a pinafore dress). there were 4 kids in our family and we all gave each other and our parents presents (usually things we'd made ourselves), and we got presents from our aunt and uncle and from cousins in Australia and Canada. We also had a stocking each on the end of our bed when we woke up and it would always have a tangerine at the bottom - which was a treat because fruit was much more seasonal then and you couldn't get tangerines all year round.

I think we did pretty well - I always remember being excited about Christmas and always very happy with my gifts. I think people do go a bit over board these days. My sister and I still make Christmas presents for each other - we like it better than bought things.

ballroompink · 07/11/2021 22:15

I think it used to depend! Some years there was a big main present and other years we got a variety of things plus a stocking. I remember getting games, books, sweets, CDs, toiletries, etc. One year I got a keyboard and that was a 'main present' year, ditto when my DSis and I got a Playstation.

My DH grew up in a 'one present plus a stocking' household and when we had our DCs he found the idea of getting them more than one item at Christmas really weird and extravagant at first. And we absolutely don't go overboard with spending!

Flip

1 2 3 4

Swipe left for the next trending thread