AIBU to buy DD necessities for christmas?

[hotcocoatime]

For Christmas I usually buy DD 7 half things she wants, and half things she needs, for example this year, she is getting:

Want:
2 rainbow high cheer dolls
The Never Girls book collection
Diy bath bombs
Fashion design kit, with Lightbox, stencils, etc
Nail polish set

Needs:
Electric tooth brush
Lunch bag and water bottle
Coat
Pair of boots
2 Sweatshirts
A Pair of Jeans
Some PJs

We would have to buy the 'needs' anyways and due to being on a budget this just means that she's got more to open on christmas day, especially as we celebrate with my sister, BIL and nephews who tend to have a much higher budget than us...

I never thought there was anything wrong with this until yesterday, when out christmas shopping with my sister and she 'jokingly' called me a scrooge for always buying 'necessities' for DD

Totally normal.

Your sister doesn't sound very nice.

I do this and FWIW I have no budget. My kids are getting new joggers/hoodies/t-shirts/shoes for Xmas. Id have to buy them anyway but they like unwrapping lots of presents....seems sensible to me, not scroogey.

Age 7 I wouldn't have got those things apart from perhaps lunch box in a character she liked, maybe the clothes if they were something she really wanted fashionwise/bit special (mine weren't fussed by what they wore at that age so probably not) definitely not coat or boots, nor a toothbrush.

Christmas at 7 should be fun in my opinion, but that doesn't mean it will be excessive. Although if she is used to receiving those things then it's fine and she wouldn't be disappointed.

To be honest it depends on the child. If they just like having lots of things to open nd will be happy opening a pair of bog standard jeans on Christmas day, then go ahead. If you're just wrapping for the sake of having lots of things to wrap then I wouldn't bother.

I did last year when my daughter was 3, have some "boring" presents and it just meant she had too many things and got fed up of opening them. And those boring ones weren't exciting to open so there was no point in wrapping them, just a waste if wrapping paper and effort.

I do the same thing. The things they need I buy stuff I wouldn't normally though like character clothes.
Before they got electric toothbrushes Santa would give them a manual one and toothpaste with their chocolate/sweetie treats in their stockings.

I also agree with others that maybe you should buy.a more interesting version, maybe with a character on or a pattern or whatever. Opening a plain electric toothbrush or a pair of white schools socks isn't very interesting

The best Christmas we ever had was the year DH lost his job on the first Monday in Dec and I lost mine on the 2nd Monday. Both a complete shock, we had more than 40 years between us with the companies.

Thankfully we'd already purchased DCs' main request but everything else was stuff we either already had in the house or couldn't avoid buying. They had wellies, shampoo and shower gel, pens and pencils for school, a can of coke, fancy cereal bars, left overs from previous years' party bags, colouring sheets I printed from the internet....

We were very stressed but Christmas that year was a simple affair and all the better for it and DC didn't seem to notice they actually only had one present.

Your DD will have lots to open, you aren’t Scrooge like at all! When she’s older she’ll still want clothes for Christmas too

Your sister is an idiot who is making an issue out of having more money than you.

Depends what the “need” is, I guess. I’ll never forget the year I got school uniform as a “birthday present” when I was 12. That fucking sucked.

@AngeloMysterioso

Depends what the “need” is, I guess. I’ll never forget the year I got school uniform as a “birthday present” when I was 12. That fucking sucked.

Oof!!

Even in our 40s, my mum makes my brother, sister, and me (and families) a ‘stocking’. We always get pants, socks, a toothbrush, a pen/notebook, and usually some nice smellies (Sanctuary or something). We love it! My nieces and nephew love knowing that they’ll get these things from Granny and Papa. It’s a tradition, and no-one thinks that it’s weird… well, not in our family. 🤣

At least she’ll blimin well use her “necessities” whereas you DBs kids will be sitting on a pile of crap that’ll most likely end up in landfill.

Perfectly normal. Anything anyone needs from late October gets the wrapping and shoved under the tree treatment here. only day if the year they’re excited to receive underwear and pyjamas.

The world would be in a much better place if we consumed less stuff and just had the things we need.

Same here, HollaHolla. Mum buys pants & socks for me, and socks & jocks for my brother. We’re mid-forties! But she feels like we still need them (and for her to be providing, such mum sensibilities!) and she’s right. Usually deodorant / shampoo as well. And Selection boxes from Dad.

It is totally normal.

"Something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read."

There’s nothing wrong with having clothing, toiletries etc as part of Christmas presents OP, but that’s a very sad list of ‘wants’ -does your 7 year old not play with toys ?

So many toys turn out to be less amazing than the adverts, maybe ops daughter has the right idea to keep it simple.
My adult kids still get stockings full of handy things, like toothbrushes and socks and hair products.

Son getting underwear, socks, a jacket and all-weather floor mats for his truck.
Son wants a record player and records, an x-box, and a new TV with a bigger screen. Son has a job. He can buy these.

Yanbu but....the DIY bath bomb kits are shit. Get yourself a bucket of citric acid, sodium bicarbonate and some essential oil. Maybe some flower petals, and YouTube a tutorial. Works out cheaper in the long run and you can use anything for a mould-Muffin tins work well.

My son's are adults now but still love their stockings. They get more or less the same each year. A Star Wars T shirt, check lounge pants, large Toblerone, socks, pants, Dove for men set, A tool eg new drill bits etc, car air freshener, car cleaning kit, chocolate orange and a new Xmas tea towel each for drying up dishes. They have money for main gift and show me what I bought them.

I think it depends on the kid. DS has a couple of PJ onsies. He'll love them as they're specific to a show. I wouldn't buy him plain pj's and wrap them because it isn't something he'll enjoy receiving. He's got some T-shirts of shows he likes but his plain T-shirts I brought just went in his cupboard.
So will she be pleased to open them or will it be more oh right, thanks, I needed it but it's v unexciting?

@caringcarer

My son's are adults now but still love their stockings. They get more or less the same each year. A Star Wars T shirt, check lounge pants, large Toblerone, socks, pants, Dove for men set, A tool eg new drill bits etc, car air freshener, car cleaning kit, chocolate orange and a new Xmas tea towel each for drying up dishes. They have money for main gift and show me what I bought them.

Ha ha! @caringcarer. My mum is the same - gives us cash, and we show her what they bought us. 🤣 I sometimes have to do the same with gifts from my dad to my mum. Like today, she saw a dressing gown she really liked, whilst we were shopping together. I bought it, dad will give me cash, and I’ll wrap it up, ready for him to give her on Xmas day! (He is not very mobile -post surgery - at the moment, so I’ll let him off with the gift sorting this year…)

I do this, I update the kids winter clothes and include them in their pile of presents, both mine love getting new clothes and see it as a treat and while it’s stuff I’d be buying anyway, they like having things to open. Stockings are full of pants, socks, bubble bath with a couple of toys and some chocolate. I’m trying to cut back in too many toys etc as they have so much already and I don’t want to be adding stuff that’ll end up in landfill. Luckily they’re coming to the end of big plastic play sets etc so presents can be a bit more sustainable.