Does anyone else not hate the big present pile?

[Christmasiscoming2025]

My 4 year olds favourite part of getting presents is opening them so I get him loads of things but it’s not all big gifts/toys. I have got him clothes with his favourite characters on, books, games and puzzles from charity shops, sweets ect.

A lot of people don’t seem to like the big piles of presents on here and say they only get a few presents for their kids and I just don’t really get it as the magic/wow moment is the big pile for kids 🤷‍♀️

We do Christmas but I always tell my adult kids I don’t really want “stuff”. I had a kitchen cupboard clear out and sort for my birthday. It was amazing.

Oh yeah. We buy everything she needs/extra clothes above what she needs throughout the year, same for us. But things we want are for Christmas (and her birthday)

Doesn’t your kid get presents from other people too?
Our DC only ever had one present from each of their parents, but when you added in grandparents, godparents, other family members it was a good pile.

Yes, no presents during the year (except birthdays, of course).

Have the Christmas Eve boxes had their day? Now those I CANNOT understand. Talk about ruining the anticipation. And if (as MNetters state) they contain pyjamas, a dvd (obsolete now) and a hot chocolate sachet, well, isn’t that the same every year and therefore pointless?

I hate waste and landfill, and as my kids have never had massive pile they don't expect and aren't disappointed. They usually have a few well chosen items. When they were little I used to pick up the bits second hand and it cost next to nothing, these days they like new and more expensive items. They are lovely happy children and not in anyway deprived.

Yeah but I guess my point is that if you’re buying say, paints throughout the year when needed then if you’re buying extra paints at Christmas to make a bigger pile, that stuff will need storing? Unless you try to time everything so that it runs out near Christmas? Just getting my head round the logistics! Although maybe I’ve just realised I’m massively stingy because I neither buy toys randomly throughout the year nor have a massive pile at Christmas!

Yeah I get that, but there are some posters saying they have big piles because they bulk it out with things they need, like craft supplies, toothbrushes, shoes, underwear etc. That’s what I was trying to get my head around. If they need it, surely it can’t wait until Christmas to be bought just for the sake of having a big pile of presents?

I remember one Christmas I bought so much for my children that they got bored of opening them and just walked off

Bit rude and ungrateful

We have a Christmas box that I bring out on the 1st. Its just loads of Christmas books (so I dont have to read them all year round!), a christmas colouring book, advent calendar and some Christmas pjs.

Agree. I was a child in the 60s and 70s and there was no notion of huge piles of presents. You usually got one 'main' present and a small number of little presents - things like a comic annual (Beano or similar), a selection box, another book, and so on.

I think social media has fed this idea that it's only "Magic/wow" if there's a landslide of presents. Some of this money might come in more useful when the children grow up and need university fees, help with housing, etc...

Nothing wrong with a bit of excitement, just show it to the people you're spending the day with. There is no need for attention seeking/bragging posts on social media.

I hate the big pile of presents. Any number between 2 and 5 will do for me. I buy more but I wrap some stuff together like quite a lot of clothes in a parcel or all the lego/Minecraft in one parcel. All stationary in one parcel etc.

Judging by social media you're not alone but personally I hate it. See also: cake smash. Why do you care what others think though?

When my son was younger, there were years when his present pile was big, but not by design - by virtue of the things I chose to buy him that year. I've never bought anything other than things I think he would love, and if I felt like he didn't have 'enough' to open, I'd buy tubes of sweets and magazines, because spending money just to create a present mountain 'wow' moment does feel really vulgar.

The 'wow' for my son was always his delight at the stocking hanging on his door being full, and running into my room with it to open in bed. Given how long that took him, and the fact he'd have happily stayed up there with me playing with whatever bits fit into a sock - I don't think kids need a massive present pile to feel the magic of Christmas. It's something for the grown ups - which, when shared on social media, is gross. I'm all for 'you do you', but I can't see any good reason to share photos like that online, only vulgar braggy ones.

I love a big present pile and I’m 64. That’s presents for ME.

Of course it depends how many people are in the family. If the presents under the tree are for parents, 3 kids, and any gp that are over it could look a lot.

My kids used to wake the other up to open their stockings together. I could hear their excited sqeals from my bedroom. Very precious moments 😊

I hate that for my 8yo child Christmas is all about presents. I’ve never aimed for a big pile but when you add in gifts from others it ends up looking quite big. I’m trying to scale back this year.

When I was a child I only ever got the one present, albeit a big one. The only year I wrote a huge list to Santa and I got a colouring pack which was quite disappointing - I didn’t bother again. My parents came to the UK from a country that doesn’t really do Xmas so in hindsight I appreciate they tried.

As someone who did the big present pile, it’s worth considering that you won’t be able to keep it up as they get older. I wish we had started off smaller and focussed more on putting some cash into savings for them and experiences rather than stuff and clutter.

This, often we have presents that we save for boxing day as it is too much otherwise. Mine have a few small things in stocking plus 5-8 presents from us plus 5 or 6 things from family and I think that is loads. How many presents is a big pile and how long does it take to open?

My children get around ten presents each and even that feels too much on the day. They get a stocking at the end of their bed. They get a Christmas eve box with new pjs and fun bath stuff, snacks and book. They go to my parents for Christmas afternoon and get more presents. We go to my inlaws on Boxing day for more presents. They get a selection box at every party and club they go to throughout December. The excess of December is just wild, so no I do give them a massive pile of presents that covers the living on Christmas day. It's tacky and wasteful. And there's not a chance I'm wrapping up toothbrushes and tooth paste and pants as those are year round necessities.

degin a big present pile over her (including fir my 15 year old). Clothes, sweets, random food they like (black bomber, chilli chutney), toiletries. All from Father Christmas. They each get about 20. We sit in our bed with my mum, drinking beer (dh) and baileys (me and mum) and they take it in turns so that we can ‘appreciate the presents’. It takes a good hour and is a big part of Christmas for us.

yes you actually "can" do it, you choose not to. Its your choice but be clear, its not because you "can't" do it.

I absolutely loved a massive pile of presents for my kids when they were little. The looks on their faces was unforgettable. They are little for such a short time, why not? I used to get a lot of bits from the Poundshop or charity shops so it needn't cost a fortune. Now they are teenagers though, and obviously no longer believe in father Xmas, they have a set budget and they get to pick what they would like within the budget. No point in buying a load of tat for teenagers.