How many gifts for children?

[Smarshian]

Kids are likely to get approx 10 gifts from extended family.
We have one “large” gift each (2nd hand balance bike for dd and 2nd hand tool bench for ds) which they will love but only cost around £15-20 each.
We also have a few bits each. A board game each, and a few medium gifts (play doh, colouring books, a snake which dd insists she wanted) and then a stocking with some practical stuff (socks, bath flannels, chocolate coins, crayons)
Does this sound enough? We could probably stretch to another £20 or so for each of them.
DD is 3 and DS 18months.
How many gifts have you bought yours DC?

It sounds loads. In time, your children will ask for certain things at Christmas so take advantage of this stage of their childhood!

Plenty. It gets so much more expensive and specific when they are older!

Sounds great especially if gimpy have got them gifts too, over the years they will start to ask for more specific & expensive gifts so make the best of it now

Is there anything else you would get to “pad it out”? Or any nice little items?
As you can probably tell we are on a bit of a budget but want to make this Christmas magical as it is the first year DD gets it.

I think you have bought enough tbh. Remember too you are set the precedent for the coming years when they WILL ask you for specific things. Limiting to a certain number of gifts controls it to an extent, which is something you might appreciate when they each ask for three or four gifts all costing £50+

I'd get more but only as I was totally spoilt at Christmas and so it's ingrained in me to do the same for my children. It's actually perfect what you've got. My children are a year older.

Ds1 has a bike and a vtech camera, vtech smart watch, Lego, playmobil, fireman Sam playlets, a ukulele and a wooden tool bench plus some brio. I'll also buy books and clothes.

My youngest has a little tykes cozy coupe car, music set, dinosaur teddy, balance bike, dinosaur happyland set.

I also bought a huge happyland bundle off Facebook which I'll give them as a joint present along with a personalised wooden garage and cars.

I do go OTT but I just love spoiling my boys. I'll probably get it all out and put some away for their January birthdays.

I think you are very sensible op and your children will Appreciate their presents. I'm hoping to learn from your thread.

Mine get a stocking which includes a couple of small toys (a £10ish Lego set or LOL doll or Craft set, plus a stuffed toy are quite typical) and a book. They also have 2 presents each to open on the morning totalling around £80. They also have a joint gift - board game, playset or similar. This year it's a doll's house. They will get 2 or 3 gifts from extended family.

I buy them new clothes in early December so they can wear them to parties etc in the run up.

Don't buy stuff for the sake of it.

If they are old enough, space hoppers are cheap and look brilliant, blown up in amongst the presents.

What you’ve got is perfect. I went mad one year when my DD was 3 and DS was 7, I bought them so many presents that my DD got upset at having to open more because she wanted to play with her toys. Children can be overwhelmed and it doesn’t end particularly well, certainly didn’t inspire a ‘magical’ feeling. I get the DC about five or six presents to open under the tree and a stocking with about 15 smaller things, including sweets and chocolate and a satsuma. We don’t open tree presents until after lunch so the stocking presents are bought with the aim of entertaining them until then.

I really struggle with this. When mine were small I used to get too many...they'd get around 20 each. As they age this becomes impossible as they want more expensive things...one item of clothing can be almost a hundred.

So I was just reviewing it all...DD is 15 and wants money...she will get 200 Aussie dollars from us, probably 100 from my Mum too...and I've ordered her a hoodie she wants, a skirt, two posters a t shirt too...each of those is about bloody 30 pounds each!

Then I have bought her a big set of sharpies and some Fimo. I will add a beach towel (we're in Oz) and some bath stuff from Lush. So she'll get about 10 things to open. I struggle with that looking like a small pile though and the temptation is to bulk it out with crap...Oh I also want to get her a necklace she likes.

DD 2 is 11 and getting a PC, just ordered that today...I also bought her an expensive hoodie and some Sharpies and Fimo...to her pile I will add a Lush set, a weird Japanese fashion doll she likes, two posters, a lego set and maybe some more art stuff and a fleecy blanket.

I hope that's enough.

Dd1 is 3.5
Dd2 will be one next month

Dd1 has 5 main gifts
Dd2 has 4 main gifts

Then they have 2 shared gifts

1 of their gifts each though is a box of books with about 10 new to us books in each

Then there are stockings. Dd1 has considerably more in her stocking than dd2

It sounds like a lovely selection & plenty of gifts.

I would start like this rather than goimg overboard every year as I'm not sure it adds anything positive to Christmas but costs more & brings more 'stuff' into your home.

If you're really keen to 'pad out' the presents I'd go for nice essentials like pyjamas, fluffy socks, slippers, dressing gown, duvet cover or cuddly blanket.

Charity shops are great for nice cheap books.

I bought my ds7 a boxset of 4 Steve Backshall books for £1! They are in excellent condition & my ds will love them.

Lots of charity shops sell kids books for 10p - 20p - 50p & it's better for the environment to buy secondhand!

I think the four gift rule is nice.

Something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read.

Op I think you have enough, I'd save your money for when they are older, at they're age they don't understand.
Trust me I have 5, three of them are 15,17,17 and it's expensive. Like shockingly expensive.
My little ones are 5 and 3, The 3 year old is getting a lot less than the 5 year old simply because it was her birthday last week and she's 3, she doesn't really understand Xmas yet. What you have is enough.

If you feel like you want to buy them a couple more bits have a look on fb market place, I've just bought loads of new toys from there for food bank that are asking for toys.

DS will be 20 months come Christmas and we've got him a £4.50 Peppa Pig book and got a bundle of Toot Toot things for £20 on Facebook.. that's all we're getting for him.

He 100% will be more interested in what DS7 and DD6 will be getting anyway!

This will vary so much. I vaguely follow the big present, something to play with, something to read, something to wear rule. My dd is 3 in December so not quite sure which is Xmas/bday yet. I’ve got her about ten bits so far and a second hand bike plus stocking. Still adds up despite trying to get a few second hand bits and a decent price. It depends what she has already but you could get a bundle of peppa pig or paw patrol second hand or dressing up dresses or a book.

My dd is 2 years 9 months at Christmas. Shes got about 12 presents from us. All are from charity shops or fb selling pages. We've got a couple of orchard toys games, some art stuff, a cuddly toy and some dressing up stuff. In her stocking she will have some homemade bath bombs, chocolate coins, satsuma, a new cup and couple of small dolls.

My DC will have around 10 gifts (small and medium sized this year, nothing big) under the tree each and a stocking!

DD (6) has ten gifts from us. This includes an Our Generation doll and an outfit to go with it, a Barbie Ambulance, a book, a craft kit, and a couple of useful things like pyjamas and a new lunchbox and water bottle. Plus her stocking- which is a mixture of practical stuff (like pants and socks) and tat from Claire's and Smiggle that she'll love but we wouldn't normally buy.

DS (1) has eight gifts from us, all toys and books. I may get him a couple of other bits if I see anything but may not. Plus his stocking which I haven't bought anything for yet but will probably be things he needs anyway like socks since he has no clue what's going on anyway.

They also have a shared gift which is a 'bug hotel' for the garden and will get gifts from the rest of the family. We didn't plan to get them a set number of gifts, it's just how it's worked out. I agree it can be quite hard to know when to stop.

I always have 3 things: one "wow" present, one useful present, one wildcard present under the tree. (Wow present isn't necessarily the most expensive)

Stocking always has things to eat, and something to read, alongside fun and useful stuff.
Probably 8-10 things in the stocking - they always have the same number and similar things as each other as they like to take turns opening.
(This year, favourite chocolates, favourite sweets, orange, book, socks, water bottle, hair bands, travel game.)

I think children like a mix of predictability/tradition and excitement.