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How many Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanza gifts do you normally purchase for your children? Or, actually, how many gifts do they normally receive including gifts from grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, family friends, etc?
I love buying my child (only child) a bunch of gifts and since my parents are deceased and I have no siblings, there is no one else to buy anything -- it's all from me. I always feel like I go overboard. I don't go into debt over it (always pay cash) but it seems like I buy so much.
Just wondering if the number of gifts I buy is on-par with what everyone else's kids get.
I have three kids. This year we got them each three pretty generous Christmas gifts. They will each get something from each other (something small, of course), a gift from their uncle who will be visiting, and probably two gifts from their grandparents. That makes seven gifts per child.
I have the opposite situation from you--lots of relatives. We don't exchange gifts with uncles, aunts and cousins unless they are actually here for the holiday, which they rarely are. It's just too much expense and hassle for everyone. My mom is deceased; dad is 90 and doesn't buy for each grandchild any more. So despite all the aunts and uncles and 18 cousins, my kids don't actually get that many gifts.
How many Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanza gifts do you normally purchase for your children? Or, actually, how many gifts do they normally receive including gifts from grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, family friends, etc?
I love buying my child (only child) a bunch of gifts and since my parents are deceased and I have no siblings, there is no one else to buy anything -- it's all from me. I always feel like I go overboard. I don't go into debt over it (always pay cash) but it seems like I buy so much.
Just wondering if the number of gifts I buy is on-par with what everyone else's kids get.
It does not matter what "other kids" get. Just buy what you feel is the right amount.
I know some parents who have a pattern, such as one new outfit (or new pajamas), one book and one toy.
Other parents give one large gift plus a few smaller gifts and one gift from Santa. Other parents give numerous gifts from Santa and numerous gifts from them.
I have read threads here on C-D where some parents say that they spend $500 per child (Yikes!) and one parent said that they "cut their spending way down" and now only spend $500 per child. Other parents say they have a limit of $200 and others say $50. Last year one person on C-D said that they had a relative who gave $500 iPads to every family member (including Grandma) as extra gifts beyond the regular presents that they gave all of their family members. It sounded like those children got $1,000 in gifts each.
Families are so different. One family may be barely able to pay their bills on their minimum wage jobs and another family may earn $100,000 or $200,000 a year.
In my family, I found that when my children received fewer gifts they really appreciated them more. I really do not think that we ever spent more than $75 to $100 per child when they were younger and that usually included some clothes. When they were teenagers we probably spent a little more, but again that included clothes. (just to clarify, they are now late 20s/early 30s so those prices were a few years ago, plus I usually bought things on sale).
If you think that you are going overboard than you probably are.
PS. My children never received Christmas presents from their aunts & uncles & cousins and only one set of grandparents gave Christmas presents. Family friends also did not give gifts. So do not assume that every child will be getting a lot of extra presents from people beyond their parents and (maybe) Santa. Some kids do but many kids do not get extra gifts.
Last edited by germaine2626; 12-19-2014 at 07:09 PM..
How many Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanza gifts do you normally purchase for your children? Or, actually, how many gifts do they normally receive including gifts from grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, family friends, etc?
I love buying my child (only child) a bunch of gifts and since my parents are deceased and I have no siblings, there is no one else to buy anything -- it's all from me. I always feel like I go overboard. I don't go into debt over it (always pay cash) but it seems like I buy so much.
Just wondering if the number of gifts I buy is on-par with what everyone else's kids get.
Doesn't matter what other parents buy or don't buy...if you are happy with choices you've made and great that you are paying cash...don't worry about it.
There will always be some that get more and some that get less...and that can change from year to year.
My college daughter is getting some nice gifts..tablet..urban decay eyeshadow...a very unique purse (not a upscale brand...but completely unique) and a few smaller items ( a book she wants....Guardians of the Galaxy on dvd...the Tony Bennett Lady Gaga CD of duets etc etc) but i know so many of her friends are going to get tons more and more high dollar items...vet she's going to love these. ..and that's what matters.
I got my daughter (she's a teenager) mostly clothing that she wants, a book she's been wanting, iTunes (of course), a pair of shoes she wanted since last year, a poster, and some odds and ends. It just looked like a lot of gifts but in thinking about it, it really isn't. I got almost everything on great sale prices, paid cash, and started early so I wouldn't be stressed out. She'll be happy with what she received on Christmas morning
One Santa present, plus a couple small things in the stocking, one from us (this year it's two each), one from each other. They have two aunts,. One almost never gets them anything, the other sometimes. This year might be the end of the world, because they both managed to get presents, and before Christmas to boot. One set of grandparents gives them a small amount of cash; the other two go overboard, but get them a lot of little stuff and usually some clothes, along with one main present. It always ends up being a pile somehow, though. We always take our time opening, too--a whole morning affair. So although there is never any iPods or Xboxes or other expensive gifts, we make it special and enjoy every single gift.
I've never set a limit, just bought throughout the year what I think she would like and then give some at Christmas and some at her birthday (only 5 weeks apart). Last year she got quite a lot from me plus some from my parents and my OH's family. This year she's only getting two small presents (colouring book and a soft toy) because we're going on holiday for Christmas so don't want to have to carry a lot of presents with us on the plane.
I don't count.
Between 3 sets of grandparents, 4 aunts and uncles, numerous childless friends who like to be involved, friendly neighbors...it tends to be a lot.
It depends. We usually get the kids 1 or 2 main gifts that they asked for, then usually some smaller, more useful gifts like clothing. We usually get one or two things for our parents and nieces and nephews.
The most difficult thing for me is the differences in giving on both sides of the family. On my side, we hardly got anything from my grand parents growing up. there were too many grand kids and not enough money. On my husband's side, it was the opposite. The grand parents were the ones who got the big gifts.
So we now have one set of grandparents who go overboard and one who doesn't; and we have to deal with the kids getting, in my opinion, too much, from my in-laws.
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