Social media Christmases

[Hihosilver123]

I fully appreciate that it’s all done for effect on social media, but so many of the videos of family Christmases are just so OTT in my opinion. Children being given so many presents, and so much money being spent on them. Also, the pressure to include all the Christmas hype such as wrapping paper across the door, Christmas Eve boxes, matching pjs, piles and piles of presents and Mother’s crying to the camera because of all the pressure to ‘get it right’. I just find it all so obscene. Do people actually behave like this or is it all for show? We just have a few presents, go for a walk, enjoy family time and have a nice meal together!

I no longer watch it. It doesn't make me feel jealous or ashamed that I'm not keeping up, but the overconsumption makes me cross. I also find it sad what it must be like for those DCs. Do they have camera stands dotted around the house constantly filming them? Or do they have to wait for Mummy to set cameras up before they are allowed to enjoy anything? The pressure on them to perform a certain way must be immense. If they get it 'wrong', do they have to go back and start again? I don't understand exploiting your DCs in such a way.

Our kids have matching pjs and we put paper over the door to keep the cat out - he scratches and bites the wrapping paper but only when something is wrapped up. Although what I've seen on social media is insane consumerism. The kids ended up with quite a lot, I have 3 kids and a large family on either side. I didn't go OTT, can't stand the idea of having to do a December/Christmas Eve box. Each to their own but my kids favourite part of the day was the paper, a scooter and a bubble wand.

I don't understand why anyone would watch another family doing this. I've never seen it and wouldn't want to watch it.

As for all the matching pyjamas and Christmas Eve boxes etc, I'm sensing a bit of a backlash against the rampant consumerism of it all.

So stop looking at their social media? It is not essential to life to check it out then have to complain about it, if your way suits you why are you trying to control other people's way of doing things? Its odd

It’s ridiculous. Piles and piles of presents. Excessive consumption. Matching PJs. It’s bloody nonsense. Honestly I just scroll past. Don’t engage with them. It only encourages them.

We love xmas and spend a lot on xmas experiences for the kids but I don’t post it on social media as we aren’t doing it to show off to people.

However, we haven’t bothered with xmas jammies or a Xmas eve box this year. The kids already get too many presents. The amount of presents overwhelms me. Mainly because we have so many friends and family who buy for the kids, it’s ridiculous.

You buy them for Christmas and then wear them for 6 months until its too warm to wear winter ones. There isn't anyone there when you all go to bed so it doesn't matter whether you are wearing Rudolph pjs or an old tee shirt.

Most people pick and choose the bits they want and there's lots of ways to do the bits you like without spending crazy money. Like @AngelinaFibres I give the kids new pyjamas, but they wear them all year and I deliberately don't buy them pyjamas for a while before that so they need them. We also have a 'December box' in that we open the box with our Christmas decorations and Christmas books at the start of December. They all get packed away after Christmas and reused the next year.

I personally hate Elf on the Shelf because I don't want an extra chore to do every evening in December, but most people literally buy the elf and then move it or whatever: not madly consumerist really.

We buy a wreath and a new bauble per child each year: I love doing it and having those things but some people might find that excessive.

We only bought one gift per DC and still wound up with so gifts from friends and family I felt sick. It's counterproductive for the children, it really is.

I am incredibly grateful.to all the friends but still don't know how to cope with all the stuff. A fiver for each for their savings accounts would have helped so much more but I understand brought less joy to the giver.

I cannot fathom why someone would intentionally do it to their own kids.

We also have a 'December box' in that we open the box with our Christmas decorations and Christmas books at the start of December

How big is the box?!

It’s lovely to just enjoy Xmas, share with family and friends. No need to take the time to seek validation on social media.
Lying at the pool on holiday I watched as someone fixed her hair put her lipstick on woke her partner up telling him she had to post a photo (he couldn’t be bothered) 🤣

I've never filmed my kids on Christmas morning. I love watching their reactions & don't need distraction of a phone trying to capture it for social media.

I hate seeing those videos crop up. So much pressure on the kids to react appropriately

Meh, we do some of the stuff, not all of it, it doesn’t get posted on social media - last year I think I shared a couple of pics (I only have family and close friends on there anyway) this year I just haven’t got round to it and probably won’t now.

DD gets a pretty big pile of presents and a very full stocking - her big present was second hand this year, as were some of the others, and the rest is within our budget and things I know she will enjoy and get use out of. I don’t really give a stuff if anyone thinks it’s too much or not enough - it’s probably in the middle of the worthy ‘less is more’ types and the massive haul present towers you’re talking about, and it works fine for us.

I do what we like and enjoy and ignore the rest, the big influencers are literally doing this as their job and probably wouldn’t get as much engagement ie money if they were having simple Christmases with a walk, a satsuma and some nuts as all they had to post about. So yeah it’s cynical and not how I’d want to spend my Christmas - but maybe by doing this they see it as making money for their family allowing them to not have to work or not have to work full time so they can have more time with their kids or whatever it is?

There’s a huge social media trend for underconsumption, budget Christmas, thrifted Christmas, home made Christmas etc so if that’s what you want to see try searching that out more and hopefully the algorithm will bring more of the same and less of the overconsumption stuff (which I don’t see much of anymore I have to say).

Or just come off it all together.

Don't look at it!!

Mine has had a lot of presents, so I’ve ’intentionally done that’ to her whatever that means. She has and will continue to enjoy playing with them, we will do the craft sets together and play the board games over the coming months and through the year, read the lovely books, she is loving looking through her new telescope with her dad and is excited about space and wanting to learn more and it’s lovely to see them together with their shared interest.

Surely you can see you’re rather at the extreme with your one gift?

It may be counterproductive to your kids to have more than one gift, possibly because you clearly have some hang ups and anxiety around it? I mean you feel sick and don’t know what to do with some toys they’ve been given - play with them maybe? Am sure the children will figure it out.

So many judgemental people on this thread. Who cares?! If you don’t want to spend a lot on your DC at Christmas , then don’t, but don’t make out that others who do, are less than you.

I love Christmas and I go OTT every year for my DC; they are spoilt but are not spoilt brats, there’s a huge difference.

My DC are so grateful whether they receive a bar of chocolate from Granny or an iPad from Santa. They don’t expect every year and their Christmas wish lists are always small.

I do not buy tat, all of their gifts are useful and are enjoyed and last for years. As for the pp who suggested it was harmful for parents to buy their kids lots for Christmas, come on! Not every child who receives a lot for Christmas turns out like Verruca Salt.

My DC know they are lucky and that life can change in an instant, so extravagant Christmas’ are never guaranteed.

I don’t post on social media, I don’t disclose to anyone what we have spent and I don’t brag. Everyone is different, it doesn’t need to be a competition for a race to the bottom.

My dc don’t get a lot of gifts now, there is very little they need & I would run out of storage space. We have lego sets and various kits still to open from years ago & so many books.

They are the only gc & the only nieces and nephews on both sides so there is the potential to go overboard. In the last few years instead of toys they have received cash gifts/holidays. It’s so much better imo, I’ve given them £50 each out of this yrs gifts & the rest is going into their ISAs.

The other thing that is hideous is people giving their children coal as they’ve been ‘naughty’, and then filming and uploading their reaction. I mean, wtf?

I find it really grim when people post photos of piles of presents/expensive gifts on SM... It just makes.me think a little less of them . Particularly if I know they spent money they really can't afford

I've learned to mainly ignore social.media/in follow those people though

It’s all attention seeking. Pretty pathetic when you think about it.

When I was a kid, in the 70s, there were no matching PJs, no Xmas Eve boxes. It’s all a load of rubbish, designed to make the Insta-generation waste more of the money they claim not to have. I find it all very shallow, to be honest.