Did you get one main present for Christmas as a child

[muldersspeedos]

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?

I had one main present and a few smaller things (selection box, clothes, underwear, etc)

But my mum had 5 brothers and sisters and my dad had 3 cousins who all bought us a present, plus gifts from grandparents & great aunties/uncles so we always ended up with quite a pile of presents.

When we were DC we got our Santa presents (lots of very small things plus one bigger thing) then from our parents we got an annual. We never questioned why other people got bigger presents from their parents. We do have a big extended family so got lots of books gifts for Christmas. Very middle class family, growing up in the 70s.

When I was younger there was only 3 of us. So we had a big main present each then a few smaller ones.
Now I've had my own I go ott. I start buying from the January sales and have spent over 2000 so far.

I'm not rich and I have no savings but I do the same thing every year, buy put them away then forgot what I've brought. I don't mind the kids love it and we have room for it all.
I'm not in no debt probably would be best to save but it hasn't happened. I also do the same with the Christmas shop I spend around £320 and that lasts from 21st December to maybe the 4th of January.

I don't set out to spend like this it just happens and become a habit my kids are all under 7. And I just love Christmas.

One from parents, sometimes combined with a Birthday present if big (Birthday is in January), but then grandparents, aunties and uncles also sent Christmas presents!
We never had stockings, so that was a new tradition we established once DC arrived... they are now the main event! As DC are adults, they get relatively modest gifts now.

Always got just the one item which is something i needed like school shoes, etc. No present, my parents were not poor but none of us was their priority when it comes to giving gifts. The Christmas dinner was always worth it though

A main present would have been a tape (ages me too!), a book or an item of clothing. Then you got a few sweets and little bits in a stocking. And you were grateful and loved it. Ee bah gum them were t' days!

We have one main gift and then a sack from father Christmas.

It's depended over the year how much was spent. While on benefits it was about £30 each but as they have gotten older they have become much more expensive. Most years its approx £300 with the odd year thrown in of 1k for a Apple mobile/laptop/ipad etc.

I am a child of the 70's and santa was a big deal growing up for us. Some years we got a main 'big' present and some smaller ones and a stocking. Despite lean times when I was little my parents always made put on a great show at Christmas.

One year I got a 2nd hand bike that they'd refurbished. I didn't know it was second hand though. It was red and had band new stabilizers and streamers on the handle bars and a shiny bell.

Other years we got lots of smaller things - a monchichi monkey is one of my best memories. They were brand new and like gold dust and somehow they got one and hid it in the middle of the stocking. I scanned the gifts when I came down, not wrapped and couldn't see it so resigned myself that I wasn't getting one. And then there he was! Oh the excitement and happiness!!

Our presets were laid out in displays each side of the fireplace. All gifts were from santa, my parents didn't buy us additional things. Under the tree gifts were from grandparents, aunts and uncles. Lots of practical things like dressing gowns pjs and slippers. The occasional doll or carrycot or art supplies but that was more rare. It was more usual to get cheap toiletries in gift boxes or a jewellery box of jewellery we didn't have!

My parents always included books and annuals and novelty things as well as sweets / selection box / chocolate

70s child. Same as many. One main gift maybe a board game, plus Father Christmas stocking of things like chocolate and stuff we needed.
That was it.

My kids get maybe one main item (never huge) and a few smaller items plus a stocking. It's definitely not overload or too much. Especially compared to what see discussed here or the photos on FB!

My mother is visibly appalled though at my kids getting a few things each at Christmas. Shame it ruins it a bit. She more or less looks away after saying "oh another present" in a shocked tone.!!

We got a stocking that was originally one of dads new socks before mum stitched us some larger, red stockings.
And we had a pillowcase full of gifts that was later replaced by those plastic sacks that were around in the 80s.

Then we would go to dads family and get a load of things from different relatives.

And then we would go to mums family and they gave us a santa sack full of toys each too.

We didnt have any toys bought for us at through the year though. Only christmas and birthdays.

My kids had a stocking full of chocolates and little bits. And a pillow case sized sack of various toys.

I was a child in the 60s and got one main, a board game and books. Postal orders or book tokens from relatives. A small stocking with nuts, tangerines and chocolates

We usually got one main present like a bike or console and then lots of smaller presents. My parents were really abusive and quite poor but for some reason at Xmas we got more than most. Birthdays were hardly acknowledged though.

My partner hardly got anything for Xmas and birthdays despite his parents being quite rich. His dad was a selfish prick.

With our kids, we just get them whatever they like. Some years that’s been a big present and then smaller things, other years they haven’t wanted a ‘main’ present so just lots of smaller things.

We usually used to get 4 or 5 presents for Christmas but we lived abroad from our grandparents/aunties etc. so they used to send my parents money to get presents from them too.

My DC now live in the same country as their GPs/uncles etc. so just get one present from us, one from Father Christmas and a new book each on Christmas eve (to encourage them to go to bed)

We got loads as kids. All from Santa. We only exchanged family gifts with one other family. I do the same with our kids. Big pile from Santa.

We generally only got one birthday present though. And mix kids will get a few.

We tended to just get whatever we asked for.

My children it depends what they want. A £700 pc then yeah just the pc and then a few stocking filler type bits. Want barbies then there is going to be lots of presents.

We always had a Christmas gift sack under the tree with presents from Mum and Dad and then one main present separate. Stockings were little things from Father Christmas. We do the same. They only get things for birthday and Christmas so one present wouldn’t be fair.

I'm 42 and got loads of presents at Christmas. A big present and a bin liner size sack of smaller presents from Santa, then lots more from my parents. My mum felt guilty about moving us away from the rest of the family, so she tried to make up for it that with gifts. As a grandparent she's just as generous. The problem is that I am stuck in that habit as well and feel I need to get hundreds of presents for my kids even though I know I shouldn't 🙄

Karissa1979 I read a really good article about Christmas presents and shopping, it said buy your DC the big thing they really want , then a few stocking fillers that are inexpensive but then resist the urge to get the £20 type of presents to make their pile bigger. Half the time it’s really not needed or played with. I adopted this policy and it’s worked brilliantly. Lots of DC end up with more than you think they’ll get when you factor in a present from a grandparent or other relative and even if they don’t it’s often the main thing or a couple of main things they really want.

1 ‘big gift’ and many smaller inexpensive items. We took turn about so one year my brother got an expensive thing and the next year it was me. I was most pissed off when he got a computer one year and the next year he got a new portable tv to plug it into as the wee telly he had was black and white. So I missed out my turn at a ‘big present’, not a nice thing for a 12 year old!

Taking turns to have a big present sound tough when you are a DC.

When I was a child, we got one main present and a few little things all from FC, birthdays were just one present, same as DH.

We have done the same with the DC, they're all teenagers now so no FC, but presents still get put out Christmas Eve rather than out under the tree with family gifts.

I do wish that I'd done just a stocking off FC and the rest from us as they've always loved the little quirky gifts in their stockings.

One big present at Christmas e.g. a bike, a couple of stocking fillers. Christmas was always more of a big deal than birthdays too, I'd imagine Mum & Dad put money aside into a Christmas club.

1960's / 70's childhood here.
We got one main present from parents plus lots of smaller things in a stocking from Santa. - stocking presents were pretty generous though. They could include books and jigsaws and dolls as well as sweets/chocolate coins and felt tips/crayons.
We did also get presents from other family members too and my grandparents usually gave us a fairly generous one. I remember a train set with a clockwork train from the one year.
We always opened stocking presents first thing but then waited until after Christmas lunch to open main/family presents.
It kept the anticipation going through the day and gave us a morning to play with stocking presents before we were overwhelmed with more!

@Chippymunks they were skint mostly. My dad had a good job but drank most if his earnings and they both chain smoked…us kids were the ones who missed out. I needed a new winter coat once and was shouted at for growing!!