christmas guilt

[WitchyWooWoo]

does anyone else feel this? im on fb and whenever i see birthday/christmas photos of other people with childrens celebrations they are -full- of presents, you hardly see the child in the photo for all the gifts.

ds will be 2.4 at xmas this year we have got him 4 books, 2 jumpers and a happyland farm. He'll get his first stocking this year, probably with some xmassy socks, new knife and fork set, some chocolate, his car soaps, soft toy and maybe some more happyland figurines. we're also going to start our xmas hamper (thanks to who gave me that idea) with a book, a film, special cups, pjs and hot chocolate (he'll prob get chocolate milk this year, we've not really moved on to warm drinks)

see i think this is more than enough, but theres still a part of me deep down that thinks im being mean. are your rooms filled with sparkly wrapped gifts for your child or do you tend to just get a few things you know they'll like.

also given grandparents a 1 toy limit for ds as wee're due another dc in february and the toys are taking over my world

*we're

That is plenty don't worry.

That's fair enough.

We like to give a little too so he doesn't get swamped.
They appreciate it more. If they have too much it all looks the same and they don't know what they have.

Said it before and I'll say it again FB=work of the devil. It is the axis of evil. Is it possible that some of the boxes are empty?
Our DD is an only and totally over indulged. Last year she got a portable DVD player amongst other stuff. She had the brass neck to ask why Fr Christmas hadn't left her more.
When she was around your sons age, I used to get her practical things. One year she had a finding Nemo christmas which included books, knickers, vests and a clock for her bedroom. She hasn't suffered as a result.

kreecher thats fantastic, im going to pretend that most of the boxes are empty now :)

i know what i have given is plenty, especially for his age and he's got soo much already, i just get that little niggly feeling of oooh bad mum not drowning my child in boxes and festive paper

I agree that's plenty especially as you have family who will be buying gifts too.
It's very easy to get sucked into the trap of buying too much but a few well selected items will be much more appreciated.
You've obviously thought a lot about his gifts and I'm sure he'll be very happy.

totally agree ,its enough.your son will prob open the farm and wont want to open anything else.{from experience}
again we get back to the point where to stop...me and dh always argue about it,im on the side of if they dont need it,havnt asked,no room for or cant afford they wont get it,dh on the other hand thinks that for ds who will be 7,
lots o huggin bear
real construction workshop
toy story 3 stuff
football stuff
kung zhu stuff
toy cars
lego
play jamz guitar is not enough is he mad???
i refuse to buy any more.his birthday is xmas eve so he will get some of the above then.
dh point is it DOESNT LOOK A LOT!!!
cost a fair bob mind,you cant just buy for the sake of it.

That sounds like more than enough try not to worry, I find the best thing about christmas is just playing with ds watching an xmas movie and having luch with family :)
I do get ds alot but I pick things up all year and I only have one ds so its much easier but dp thinks im mad.

That sounds like a lot to me. I have a dd who will be 3.7 at Christmas. I've bought her some dominoes, a couple of books, some colouring pens and then some stocking fillers (soap, socks etc). I think that's reasonable. IME, a preschooler gets very bored, very quickly with opening presents and if there are too many they just lose sight of the pleasure of what's in them.

I fail to see how facebook is evil though or the work of the devil.

Sounds ideal, have fallen into the trap of buying way too much, and they get bored of opening it all, and generally just want to sit and play with the first thing they have opened. This year, am planning to spend as much TIME as possible with the dc, and try and make it special that way, ie creating nice memories, rather than bombarding them with material things....

Does the Happyland Farm come in a really nice cardboard box? If so, DS will probably spend Christmas day sitting happily INSIDE the box ignoring his toys, and you'll wish you hadn't bothered with any of the rest...

That sounds like more than enough.

Don't feel guilty!

Speaking from experience I have gone overboard on previous years, my dcs have had PILES of presents. And I'm sad to say they don't know the value of their toys .

Totally my fault and have decided to cut back considerably this year. But if I could change anything, I'd had given them an awful lot less. Start as you mean to go on .

I think that sounds fine!
We are one of those families where it looks like we have loads of pressies, but there are 6 of us, and under the wrapping is loads of useful things (new clothes, school equipment, stuff they need anyway!)
This year though, I will still get them lots of gifts (as they need a quite a few things like new football boots, lamps etc), but I am only going to put a few bits under the tree. I will hide the rest and they can have another present every day over the week.
I agree they get overwhelmed and then do not appreciate what they have got.

You are not being mean, far from it. I didn't put more than 7 items in DS stocking at that age, as they were quite big sizes suitable for his age group. Obviously as DC get older and choking hazard less of a problem items get smaller. If they are all things he likes and enjoys he will have no concept of quantity.

I made my DS a Humpty Dumpty from material bits I had in the loft, because it was his favourite nursery rhyme. I only had to buy wool for its' hair. I just made up the design (no pattern) and hand stitched it when DS was in bed, a bit each evening. It turned out to be his most favourite present of all!

That sounds like an ideal amount for a 2 year old.

We used to buy our older children (now in their twenties) an absolute mountain of toys for Christmas. That was partly because we were young parents with more money (or credit ) than sense and partly because they had very little from other members of the family.

But after the initial 'wow' factor, most of the toys were ignored and just added to the clutter in the house. And we had to find the money to pay off the credit cards for toys that weren't even wanted.

So DS2 (7) gets very little in comparison - a hamper on Christmas Eve, a stocking and this year probably a lego set, a ds game, a couple of books and the Bakugan thingy that I found for half price earlier this year.

And he enjoys everything that he gets and the house isn't full of crap. Everyone's a winner

Girlywhirly -- I made DS a pillow one year from odds and ends of material plus a couple of new bits with his favourite things on. He still cuddles it at night at nearly 12!

I'm the same as the poster above who on first glance has a room full of presents but the kids are getting lots of clothes, books, etc - they would even get a school bag if they needed it- its the fun of unwrapping things - they love it even if its just new undies or a shower gel!

OP-remember too that some of those over indulging their DC are doing so to compensate for not being there to spend quality time with them through the year, and some are raising kids with no idea of the value of stuff, and of their own immense good fortune

having a little less and appreciating it more is much better IMO

Lancelottie, aahhh! Although DS is now grown up I have kept the Humpty Dumpty, and it has been played with by visiting children since.