how many presents?

[whentheshithitsthefan]

do your children get? not how much have you spent..but how many items?
and if you do santa, how do you do his gifts?
thanks.

Around 25 -30 gifts, plus 9 or 10 small things in the stocking.

Can I ask, where an earth do you fit 30+ new things? Do you all live in huge houses?

Both ds's current toys have storage, any major increase and there would be no space. Even with their 3 new main presents and stocking we constantly sort/ organise and donate old things.

We haven't space for anything large so everything we buy has to come apart ie train track in basket.

We have x4 medium wicker baskets on shelf for toys, a cupboard with dolls house in, drawers in coffee table for craft, and a smallish chest with balls/ bats/ kites etc for outdoors.

Easy. Some are clothes- so fit in the wardrobe, some are edible and get eaten. Some are toiletry products, some are to replace items- new keyboard, new headphones, new dance bag. Some are very small- mobile phone case, juice cube, make up set.

Finding homes for 60 or so new items is not a problem.

like the pp some are clothes, some eaten, some for the bathroom. the toys we have a load of boxes under both boys bunk beds so theres a lot of storage for them. as they are all above 7 though i find the presents are getting smaller but more expensive dont have a clue where i would store big things!

Ds is getting about 30 gifts this year plus a stocking and Christmas Eve hamper. The stocking is from Santa the 30 gifts are about half from Santa and half from me. The Christmas Eve hamper is from his Nanna (my mum) who is "up in the stars", i.e. dead, and it's my way of involving her in his Christmas. He is 3, almost 4.

It is more gifts than he has received any other year but this year he has outgrown a lot of his toys and there are so many new things he's into, his playthings really needed an overhaul. So Christmas seemed like the perfect time to do this.

As for storage, well not all the gifts are big! For example some are Thomas Take n Play trains. Some will stay downstairs in the living room and others will live in his bedroom. I have a small 2 bed house so I always plan for storage carefully and am very good at making use of all available space.

He is an only child and will only receive about another 3 gifts from others, so the gifts from me (and Santa) will be everything. He is super excited about Christmas this year and seeing the big pile of gifts on Christmas morning will make his year!

Father Christmas brings a present for each child. Something they have asked for (3yo ds wants a helicopter, 7yo dd doesn't mind). He also brings a stocking with normal sweets, flannel, toothbrush stuff.

We buy one main present (by main I mean something we really think they'll like, never more than about £10) and a few small things like books or jigsaws.

We don't have room for 'stuff' let alone the money.

Santa brings the main thing requested in their letter to him, we buy everything else (and friends and family) they probably get about 20 things to open each. Again a lot of consumables, clothes and essentials (pants, socks).

Father Christmas brings gifts in the stockings which are left bedside the bed such as sweets, little toys, bits of stationery, jewellery and then he leaves the rest of the gifts under the tree in the living room. We then have gifts from friends and family. We make room by sorting out regularly. There are lots of gifts but I start early in August, use discount codes, vouchers and loyalty points. Agree with bigbluestars - we find room for everything, some things are tiny. Don't do essentials, they are bought the rest of the year. Can't wait.

Stocking:
Satsuma
Apple
Choc coins
Bath toy
Playsilk
Nativity figure

4 gifts from us:
Something you want,
Something you need,
Something to wear,
Something to read

And, one gift from Father Christmas.

Star girl - your plan is lovely!

Thank you

We try to keep things simple and try to buy second hand if possible. DD1 is getting her first bike. We found a great bargain on Gumtree for her.

About 30 gifts plus stocking and xmas eve hamper.

Main gifts are 2 large (more expensive gifts ), the others range from £3-£15 each, some are clothes, some are bath things ( bubble bath sets, bath bombs ), some are craft items which they often use to do their homework and to keep them busy on rainy days.

Stocking contain £1 gifts, stationary, tooth brush, socks,gloves, wooly hat and sweets.

Xmas eve hamper, pj's, slippers, a book, a make a xmas decoration kit and some chocolate.

I go a bit OTT but 99% of it is bought in sales, half price or using Tesco vouchers, I hate paying full price for anything , we don't have a huge family so they don't really get gifts from anyone else. We probably spend around £1000 on the whole of Christmas including food and presents for family.

DS is two.

I've bought maybe half a dozen presents plus stocking fillers.

Stocking is outside his bedroom door and presents under the tree.

I've probably spent about £150 total, although it could well be more as I keep seeing things he'll love

I would have liked to give all presents from FC but my DD twigged about a certain brand...so now I give some from us....just in case FC sleigh has a problem etc...most from FC, I had got a lot this year, birthdays are also to the latter of the year, so I am thinking about a 9/10 month wait before any more new toys come into the house....as a sahm thats a long time...so plenty of toys, brain teasers and so on, to keep them going...

I'll have a clear out in January and chuck the stuff that doesn't get played with any more.

I can't stand clutter

I go a bit OTT but 99% of it is bought in sales, half price or using Tesco vouchers, I hate paying full price for anything grin, we don't have a huge family so they don't really get gifts from anyone else.

same here, only us to buy really and nearly everything brought at very good prices.

FC gifts are wrapped in a special paper ( brought from shop DD wont go in, as she spots same papers etc) red with FC on it....different lables and under tree on xmas eve night when they are in bed..

I am going to try and put our presents out for them before xmas eve so they can prod and look and get excited but we have a toddler too...so will se...

I'll have a clear out in January and chuck the stuff that doesn't get played with any more.

I can't stand clutter

Currently spend £60 each max on family. i'd imagine once baby arrives I will do a max of £60 on them too :)

I have no rules (unless restrained by our finances on a given year). I am a pile person, having received a pile myself as a child.

Generally though it's something along the lines of....

• one big main from us
• one larger gift from Santa
• one medium gift from Santa
• one more medium gift from us
• a small or medium gift from sibling

A board game for the family

And a bunch of small gifts from Santa - proper gifts though not just bits and bobs which I don't think is the norm. Santa brings books, hotwheels cars, a DVD, a character shirt, a stuffed animal, a bath toy.....that kind of stuff. Plus a chocolate Santa or some such and a candy cane. in other words, santas stocking stuff tends to be in and around the stocking.