How many gifts?

**northernmom2boys** · 11-01-2006, 02:18 PM

How many gifts do you buy your children.Every year I try to teach my children that christmas isnt all about the gifts.I have tried to limit it to 4 gifts each and stockings,I say I try because I am not always sucessful lol
Howe many do you buy or do you do it by dollar amount?

**jinx** · 11-01-2006, 02:33 PM

My boys are grown ages 21 & 18 (tomorrow). When they were younger and made specific lists I would go through the lists and pick things from them. If it was a big item that they wanted, say a video game system, cdplayer etc. I would just get them that plus couple of smaller items. I always included items like socks, underwear, gloves, hats, what I consider gifts to open on christmas, no one wants to open just one thing xmas morning.
Now that they have grown, I still give them socks, underwear, etc. Instead of the big gift I now give them a prepaid american express gift card, in a dollar amount.

**danni** · 11-01-2006, 04:50 PM

From Santa my kids get a stocking(max $25 each) and 1 gift(max $20).
From Dad and I they get christmas tree ornament(max $5 each) on Dec 6th to celebrate the Dutch christmas, a pair of pjs on christmas eve(max $20 each) and a gift on christmas morning(max $50 each). On christmas morning I also give them a gift my mom used to give to me and my sister. I buy 1 roll of party streamer for each kid and some small gifts, I take 1 gift and wrap it up with some of the streamer, then add another gift, I keep rolling and adding more gifts until I've used the whole roll of streamer. The ball is usually the size of a soccer ball and they get to open that after their stockings while they wait for the rest of the family to get here. I spend about $10 each on this as I get most of the stuff from the dollar store. It's great because it takes them awhile to get to the end.
They also get a Mrs. Claus bag(paper bag decorated to look like a reindeer-max $5 each). I put granola bars, fruit snack cups, bottle of juice, whatever snack stuff I find on sale that I would not normally buy and a couple candy things. I started doing the bags because we would eat a big breakfast and a big dinner no one really wanted lunch. The kids didn't ask for anything for lunch but the next day they would rember they didn't have lunch and tell me I was starving them. Doing the bags they have some nutritious snacks and can eat one if they are hungry and they don't get in my way in the kitchen while I'm trying to cook.

**McD** · 11-01-2006, 05:12 PM

We are going to try and keep it simple---how well that will work I don't know.....

**brenda67** · 11-01-2006, 05:20 PM

I use to buy and buy and buy for my boys..This year I 'm changing that and will try to get them no more than 6 gifts apiece..They are older so they want big ticket items this year..My oldest son will get the Nintendo Wii w/ 1game thats $300.00 alone..My middle son wants an I-pod Nano (that I just ordered a few hours ago) and that was $215.00..My little guy won't get any big ticket items till he is couple years older...he needs to learn to be respect and take care of what he has...My older boys are responsible enough for these big ticket items. I always get them DVD's and little stocking stuffers..BTW I hardly buy anything they want through the year...so it's not Christmas for them everyday...like alot of my friends and Family I know..

**Scattymum** · 11-01-2006, 05:27 PM

Both kids get a stocking from santa ( 10euro worth) and one big present from Santa ( 30 euro) they will then get 2-3 small gifts from us. They get so much from family and hardly play with some things. They are both getting a max of 100euro spent on them but it will probably come in lower than that!. They are still young yet so they dont have any specific things in mind, im sure it will harder when they want bigger more expensive things!

**Emerald_Mommy** · 11-01-2006, 05:40 PM

I've heard of Christian families doing 3 gifts, to mimic what the wise men brought Jesus. We haven't followed this exactly but it's usually close to 3-4 plus a stocking which includes candy, some small (inexpensive) items, a new toothbrush & toothpaste.

**FrugalMomof3** · 11-01-2006, 05:47 PM

I usually give 4-5 gifts, sometimes more if I get good stuff cheap... this year will be tight as I am NOT using any credit cards to buy gifts, but it's the thought that counts and my kids know that money is tight so whatever they get they will be happy with.

**yankeegal** · 11-01-2006, 08:38 PM

Originally Posted by Emerald_Mommy

I've heard of Christian families doing 3 gifts, to mimic what the wise men brought Jesus. We haven't followed this exactly but it's usually close to 3-4 plus a stocking which includes candy, some small (inexpensive) items, a new toothbrush & toothpaste.

we did this, to an extent when the kids were smaller. Now that they are older, 22,19, and 15, we do one big gift. Usually cash that they use for after Christmas sales.

**kittyrose** · 11-01-2006, 11:26 PM

i always spend the same amount on each child ... no matter what the age...
this year, i am not sure what they will be getting.. dh and i are thinking on getting one gift for the whole family...

**staceyy** · 11-02-2006, 01:54 AM

I used to work with a woman who was in her thirties, every year since she was a kid, her mother would buy her and her sister 100 gifts each. I found this hard to believe, but she brought in photos of them surrounded by their gifts. She would still get excited like she was a kid every year in anticipation of her gifts. She said her mother would shop all year long for these gifts. I thought they were nuts! They were not rich, just middle class. I imagined her place was full of junk.

**TheRootedNomad** · 11-02-2006, 07:52 AM

While my kids are still young enough to enjoy the excitement of opening I make sure they have several packages (about 10 or 12 ..sometimes it's less, not more) as well as thier stockings. HOWEVER we don't give them much during the year like seasonal clothes shopping or give in to the "Can I have" so most of these are things they would have gotten anyway during the year....it's just more fun at Christmas.

Here's a possible example:
-underware (found on clearence .25 a pair)
-socks (found on clearence)
-new pillow out of cool fabric (race cars or pokemon...found on clearence)
-shirts generally about 3 (JCPenny's mark down sales is my general shirt place I usually pay about $2 or $3 apece)
-pants 1 or 2 pair
-kid friendly blanket or fleece or sheets or pillow case (other than the sheets this is generally homemade)
-something for thier room (like a radio alarm clock or desk lamp....again on clearence but that fits thier personality)
-coat or sneakers or sandals or housecoat (something like that generated by the need that year)
-game boy or game cube game (used store about $15)
-toy
-toy
-toy

Stockings are usually filled with odd things like maybe some of the homade cookies we left out for Santa wrapped up saying something to the effect that they were delicious but he needed to save room to eat a couple at everyone else's house too, and odd freebies like chapstick, Seek and Finds off the internet, or if I splurge a pack of Yugh-i-oh (SP) cards.

Anyway we open alot but I've found that since most of it is necessary stuff (since kids grow) with only a few being toys we don't run into the things not getting used. It also seems to make them appreciate the necessities as well as the wants. My kids are still young 7 & 10 and it surprises some people that they're favriote gift may be thier pillow or blanket that they drag all over the house with them or the footed PJs my parents give them every year on Christmas Eve. Since I shop all year we generally only spend between $40 and $75 dollars apiece on them. Christmas was always special for us growing up. I still look foward to the surprise of "opening". The monetary value was not important...the surprise and the thought if it was something that someone had really taken "me" into consideration for. (My much younger sister use to color and make me bookmarks often. Since I love to read and collect bookmarks these were some of my favorite gifts) This is what I hope to convey to my children as even the socks I get for them on clearence have thought put into them. (According to my youngest some socks have "plumps" on the sides that he can't stand...this is when the seem runs directly across the toe...so he's always excited that he gets "plumpless socks"

**kabin63** · 11-02-2006, 08:15 AM

I used to really spoil my DD for christmas and spend quite a bit, at times, up to $200 just for her, but that was before. Now she is older and doesn't want all the toys. So, as I was thinking about what to give her this year I decided to give her $100 cash and a stocking with candy and stuff in it. As for the others, they are all grown up and we just give them a gift card.
Grandkids get $10 each in a gift card. If I have time I might knit them something.

**YankeeMom** · 11-02-2006, 09:02 AM

They usually end up with 10-12 gifts. The majority of those gifts (8 more more) are less than $10. One gift is $30 or more, but no more than $50. The rest are between $10-$20. Plus their stockings, which are usually filled with things from the $1 store, new toothbrushes, etc.

**marei** · 11-02-2006, 09:34 AM

When my kids were little they got tons of stuff, I love shopping for Christmas but like other people on here they got a lot of necessities. This was the time to buy socks, underwear, pjamas, housecoats, slippers - whatever they needed. They always got a book (and still do), whatever needed replacing in their sports equipment and the list went on and on. Now that they are older they usually get one main gift and maybe three or four extras. I never set a dollar limit - I just buy things as I see them but never, ever use my credit card for Christmas. This is the gathering place for Christmas and we have presents for sixteen people under our tree (four families who buy for the whole sixteen people) and two families that Santa Claus arrives here with their gifts so the pile of gifts under our tree has to be seen to be believed - and we love every minute of it.