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 🤷‍♀️

"He's been! He's been! MUMMY HE'S BEEN!"

My son is 17 now. I have to get a JCB to get him out of the bed. Lure him out with the promise of a sneaky pint at the pub if he gets showered.

I think if you make Christmas all about the present pile, you're missing the actual magic of it, and also setting yourself up for years of having to spend a certain amount when it might not always be possible.

Christmas used to start on Christmas Eve morning for us. No one got dressed on Christmas Eve. It's a day of craft and baking. Screens only allowed if they're playing Christmas films (I am not normally a screen Nazi). We'd make the ham together, make jam tarts together, make a decoration or two for the tree. The Quality Street tin is now officially open and Christmas Eve has its own tub as the first day, you go HARD. Takeaway for dinner, Carols at Kings always even though I'm the only one that likes it and honestly, I think even I'm pretending... ;-) A good movie at night.

My son made - and still makes - Christmas Day breakfast. Bucks Fizz starts at 6.30am. The presents are nice, but they're not CHRISTMAS. Christmas is rituals.

I’d say our kids probably have 20-25 presents to open each plus stockings. I don’t buy tat but there are things like pyjamas, craft kits, books, etc in there among the toys, Switch games, Tonies etc. They get these as and when needed through the year but they are Christmas staples too! I was an only child in a wider family with barely any other kids so I got a lot at Christmas too.

We take as much of the day as needed to open them. It’s just the four of us, no schedule, nowhere to be or anyone else to please, we open some presents, they play and we have a drink, then we open more, rinse, repeat, and it takes however long it takes.

We have wonderful Christmases, I absolutely love Christmas Day and the whole period, and this is just how we do it.

They get a few bits from family but not much. Usually money so we have a toy shop visit in the Jan sales for them to spend it.

Every family is different. I don’t post anything on social media as I can’t imagine it’s of interest to anyone.

no, I don't think so. Judging it as rude and ungrateful is like saying that children should eat all the food on their plate whether they want it or not.

We have a recycling box that we keep in the attic with the Christmas decs that all the wrapping paper goes in (and then the decs get stored in after) it’s surprising how much wrapping paper you can stuff into one of them, we have 5 kids and this year they each have 16 presents under the tree, plus couple from great gran and mine n OH so we end up with roughly 100ish presents under the tree, we unwrap one at a time, that present gets looked at and put into each childs individual pile and wrapping paper put in box before we move onto next present, organised and tidy xx

I really dislike the pictures you see on line of rooms where there are so many presents that the Christmas tree is half hidden! To me it's a prime example of 'over the topness'! I much prefer quality to quantity. Children do not need to be so overwhelmed with presents that most of them are discarded within a day or two and in the bin by New Year!

Yeah I personally love it, mine don’t get much throughout the year, and we buy a lot second hand, so they do get a lot at Christmas. I don’t buy tat just for the sakes of having a lot of presents, and the pile won’t be as big this year as they’re getting older.

I just don’t really get it as the magic/wow moment is the big pile for kids 🤷‍♀️

I would disagree with that. I think the wow moment is that it’s happening and that the big man has been. If it’s just based on the sheer number of presents they have to open, what’s magical about that?

I’m not saying anything is wrong with a pile of presents. I definitely have to restrain myself for nephews and nieces every year. But it’s not the number of gifts that cause the magic.

They weren’t grateful, why would they be they never asked for any of it

God I love the big pile, that’s basically the whole point. I love getting really great presents for people. Different story if it’s a pile of shit though!

Precisely

In the 80s/90s we each had a settee filled with presents. Mine are 14 and 16 and they still have a settee filled with presents.

I don’t have kids but I have such, such happy memories of the ‘big present pile’ from when I was a child. We used to open our stockings, which just had tiny things in, in bed, then we’d all go and open our ‘pile’ in the front room. It contained things from our parents, grandparents, siblings and aunts/uncles and it was always SO much fun.

It wasn’t loads and loads of expensive stuff, and it wasn’t the dreaded “plastic tat” that Mumsnet likes to turn its nose up at. But it was a lovely exciting pile.

Mine have very expensive main gifts this year. So no huge pile each. But I put all under the tree together anyway.
They love the searching through.

Mine we’re complete opposites as small children

Dc1 loved the big pile, I used to wrap socks, underwear, even tooth brushes 😂

Dc2 used to get so over whelmed they had a small pile of 5/6 things which was much more manageable for them.

now they are both teens and the cost of presents are £££ dc1 would still love a big pile however dc2 has asked for 2 things this year.

@Dulcie6I don’t get it, 5 presents each seems plenty to me and £100 is loads. That’s 10 presents under the tree just for the kids, plus the ones for you and DH, and anyone else who might be coming over. That adds up to a big pile.
Our daughter gets about 5 or 6 things from us, and another 4 or 5 from grannies/aunties etc. That’s 10 presents, any more than that would be overwhelming, especially as she has so much stuff already.

My older 2 boys have 1 main gift 1 box each a 800 pc each IV saved my ass off for that they are almost 18 and 15 my 9 and 10 have new bike Gabby house keyboard Lego bought my 10 yr old a UK departure board

Same both older boys got a new pc

Are the kids who aren't interested in presents excluding sen the same kids who get stuff bought all the time. Im just curious, I have a friend who kids have takeaways at least once a week and offering them a mcdonalds is like offering them a sprout sandwich there just not interested as my kids because its such a treat they get so excited for a takeaway.

That’s what you call truly listening to someone when they speak. ❤️

We used to get lots from charity or freexycle

I wouldn’t worry. I’ve just posted two large boxes of wrapped presents for my dd who is in her 40’s and lives 5hours away. She won’t be with us 😢

I found my son got overwhelmed with too many presents. He would open one and then just want to play with that toy or the box it came in!

I don’t know, mine definitely don’t get stuff bought all the time but equally they would get overwhelmed by huge piles at Christmas. Some kids just don’t like loads of stuff in their space.
When I asked my eldest (12) what she wanted for Christmas she said ‘I have no idea, I got everything I wanted for my birthday!’.
She doesn’t like McDonald’s either 😂

Kids can be wowed by a smaller pile 😆

I love a big pile, I think it looks really exciting. There will be 13 of us on Christmas day so with everyone's presents there doesn't have to be loads per person to look impressive.