Ideal number of gifts ?

[Bikingbear]

What would you say is your ideal number / amount?

I'm never sure how much I should pad out their piles with 'extras' they will have 6 things from Grandparents/ Aunties.
Stockings in this house are generally filled with novelties whatever I find.

My children have 1 stocking each, which they open in our bedroom.

Under the tree, they have 1 main present and then a couple of smaller gifts like a chocolate selection box, lynx deodorant set, bubble bath.

I always find these types of threads bring out all the people competing to see who buys the least.

I get my children what they want and what I think they would like.

This could be 10 presents or it could be 20. As long as you get what you can afford it really doesn't matter.

Its only a matter of time until that annoying rhyme is mentioned as well.

I think it does matter. My DD aged 5 came home from playing with her friend and said” Mummy it’s ridiculous all the toys were all over the floor and when her mum asked them to pick them up and put them back in the bags S*had six bin bags full. That’s too much when some children might not get any.” I felt quite proud of her.

We bought them one game to share.
A book, some bubble bath/ toiletries, a present from us and Santa brought a stocking which sometimes had things like mits and socks all individually wrapped and the main gift. Large things like bikes were always birthday presents never Christmas because the weather is so crap.
We had four kids and a modest living wage. Our kids never said they needed more they always got at least one thing from their list. They have grown into lovely adults and now when we ask them they usually say we don’t really need anything. DS1,2 &3 get a small hamper each, something they are interested in( DS1 -we bought a beautiful box with a map to put his walking maps in) and still some toiletries. DD has paints and a stocking. She loves a stocking and would rather that as a present so practical things like bamboo socks, a scarf. Treats like books booja chocolates, something funny etc
The thing they like the most now is that they come and have Christmas Dinner and they know if a friend is alone they can bring them. We had a lad from Europe who came for ten years sadly he died in 2018. He told his family we were his British family. I met his parents at the funeral.

In the past it has been around 30 presents (when they were small) but some of those were things like..a duvet cover set..pj’s..slippers, so things I would have had to buy anyway. Now they are older they get a stocking and around 5/6 gifts but dd1 will get less this year as she has an expensive main present, so far she has 2 gifts plus a stocking.

I have 3 kids, there's DH and I and my mum, that's our entire family, oh and the cat.

We all have a stocking, on the fireplace, just little things, but something modest they have asked for in amongst it

Then the kids get 5 decent presents (one from each member of the family, usually one big ticket thing) and maybe a few more little bits and pieces. They are all opened with great ceremony and it takes ages. the cat also gets presents. DD insists

My Ds2 has given me his Amazon wish list , there are 13 items on there ranging from £5odd to £20 odd , totalling £198.
Dd’s hair tongs are one present and is £100 so she will get far less in terms of how many gifts there are but the amount spent will be the same
I look in despair at competitiveness on FB when there are literally a hundred presents under the tree but it’s All tatt
It’s not quantity it’s quality
Ds1 wants a new coat which is the same price as ds2 13 gifts 🤷🏼‍♀️

My 6 yr old is having a new bike some pjs, socks and pants. Prob a dinosaur egg, hatchimal egg, jewelery making thing, slime, flying hatchimal fairy and sticker book. We had a birthday yesterday and she opened it all and then wanted an egg to paint. She loved wrapping eggs up and painting eggs lol.

Now the oldest aged 11 hmmm well money is paper in her eyes.
TV
Head phones
Chromebook
Bike
Facemasks
Pjs
Clothing for the day
Make up
She keeps asking about nake up brushes
James charles make up
however she can wait til her bday

I agree that these threads can get competitive...be nice everyone!

I always had a lot of presents growing up. I think it might be a regional thing. I only ever had one main present though. The rest were smaller or practical things, often wrapped up separately. The joy is in the unwrapping!

DS is only a year old, but he has 10 presents plus a stocking with maybe 6 tiny things in it. These are not all toys.

I would say the breakdown is:

1 main gift
2 medium sized toys
2 small toys
2 items of clothing
1 practical gift (a backpack and reins)
1 book
1 craft gift

Stocking contains sweets, crayons, a toy car, a cup and some jingle bells.

He'll also get a book in the family christmas eve box.

I'm quite happy with the variety of his gifts and think I'll stick to something similar for the next few years. He won't get anything throughout the year other than on his birthday, and I might save any christmas money he gets to buy something for the garden in summer.

I have never counted the number.

They get a stocking and then something from FC and what they've asked for from us, within reason.

If they wanted eg a switch or Xbox it would be that plus a game from us. If gene main present wasn't so expensive they get more presents.

@Spacerader

I always find these types of threads bring out all the people competing to see who buys the least.

I get my children what they want and what I think they would like.

This could be 10 presents or it could be 20. As long as you get what you can afford it really doesn't matter.

Its only a matter of time until that annoying rhyme is mentioned as well.

I agree. It’s the quality/price of item. Also it depends on the age of your child... a child under the age of 5 will be happy with cheaper things. Teenagers obviously want more expensive things usually. You buy what you can afford not to match what other parents are doing on MN!!

I give mine about 12-15 each but certainly not expensive things. They vary from a book to a handbag or a fun set of lights for their rooms. I do usually get them a 'main' gift but this year I just can't think...they're 12 and 16 and have all the electronics they need. I don't want to buy more just for the sake of it. I was thinking of just giving them cash and then their usual pile of nice but low costs things.

What some people count as gifts, others don't. Some people's big is other people's small. It's hard to compare.

Our DDs main gifts this year is camping equipment. It's stuff they 'need' for a hobby, Christmas is more an excuse for it. Then they are getting a few small presents around that, and a generous stocking... The majority of which is practical. One of DD1s gift will be a box of second hand books... She reads a lot, and I managed to get 10 in the 2nd hand book shop for £2.50. I'm hoping it will open again before Christmas to have a second look.

So far they each have a new bag, a poster, some toiletries, one has a craft set and the other will have a book, I have got them both a new skirt and will add more clothing...something from Lush too probably and some fun jewelry.

I once heard "something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read".

Marlena I always thought that was the most po-faced advice ever.

What? So...one gift they want, then some bloody shoes and a book?

How completely Dickensian. It's good advice if you're rolling in cash and your kids have everything they could possibly want or need...but for most people, Christmas is a time for some treats.

@FortunesFave I just said I'd heard it, I didn't tell her that's what she had to do! I also thought it was a nice motto for small kids. Surely the something they want could be quite big. Here

Don't be so sensitive Marlena it wasn't a personal attack.

I don't have an amount of gifts I have a cash limit. If they're big presents there'll be less, small gifts there's more

I know it's a difficult question, and what some would regard as a gift others class as a stocking filler. But I know their definitely hits a point where kids have too much, 6 bin bags, or gifts stacked to the ceiling is too much. But those must be extremes where is the more normal point where it's too much?

I have a 6 year gap between my kids, so same amount of money is daftness, even buying them both a scooter is different prices. We like to give the presents out in turns, so it would be really obvious if one had loads more things to open than the other.

A the moment they have about 6 things from us each, which includes everything from main gifts to a soap set. I'm just never sure how many extras I should add.

Totally arbitrary but I think about 8-10 from parents/Santa plus a few from extended family is a nice amount- enough that you get the “wow presents!!” feeling that you don’t get from a satsuma and a board game, but not so much that it feels obscene.

Around 15-20 present plus a stocking. The stocking is small, so a chocolate orange plus other small cheap items. Anything more expensive, even if physically small goes with the pile of presents. Clothes are included in the pile, plus toiletries, new pjs etc.

I know we are very lucky to be able to do this. I’m hoping DC know how lucky they are but it will be their normal. The excitement for my DCs comes from having a ‘pile’ of presents.
All we can do as parents is our best. Kids seem to love traditions more than anything.

I've got adult Dcs and we are cutting back. I would rather buy useful things than stuff for the sake of it and my dds like fair trade/eco products.

I've never done stockings but used to do a pillowcase

DSS (12) is having a laptop so will not get much else, only small wrapped token gifts or things he needed anyway (selection box, bottles of J2O, tshirt, new swimming towel etc) probably around 10 gifts in total.

My DC are adults and want cash! They will also get small token gifts, probably again about 10 things wrapped up maximum.

I remember once, a girl I went to uni with had a baby girl mid December. On Christmas morning, she took a photo of the baby with all her presents.. and I'm not even joking, the whole three seater couch was full of gifts, with the baby shoved (asleep and completely oblivious) in the middle.

I have no idea what the gifts contained, but it looked to be more than any baby could possibly need, when newborns just bloody lie there anyway.

But what baffled me was the fact that she had shopped for and wrapped such a huge number of presents when she'd had such a difficult pregnancy. Surely that's the last thing you'd want to do, and you'd want to keep things minimal!

I wish I could find that photo actually but I'm not friends with her on Facebook anymore as it was just one of those adds because we were at uni, but we were never really friends as such.

I was spoiled as a child, and I know that, but it's NOTHING compared with what I see today! Kids getting bikes, consoles, TVs all in one Christmas. I'd have had one of those, quiet a few smaller items, plus chocolates, smellies and some clothes.