With Christmas right around the corner and so many things that I want to get for my kids, I was wondering how many gifts do you get for your kids? And for what age group? Is there an appropriate number for the age group?
When I was young, my twin and I would often get gifts that would cover the entire living room floor between the two of us. It was actually a bit ridonkulous. When I think of it, not one gift rings out in my memory that I loved as a child. I remember getting a china doll with a white face and beautiful white dress but that is it. I don't even know what happened to that doll. I used to get lots of clothes...
For my kids, I do not want to overload them with gifts, where they don't appreciate them. My two year old will not notice yet, but my 5 yr old will. I want to also teach him that christmas is not just about gift getting but also about gift giving. My son, does not ask for much at all. We go to the store and I hear lots of kids beg their parents for things but my son does not. He likes to play with the toys when he is there but when I say "C'mon we are leaving!" he leaves the toys behind and just follows me. At the cash, he will ask for a kinder egg.
One year, when he was 3, we went overboard with the gifts. We celebrate Christmas eve. He opened 5 presents and then got bored and on Christmas day when we gave him the rest of the gifts, he whinned and didn't want to open them, he said he had enough! At the time, we went overboard out of guilt. I wasn't spending a lot of time with him because I was pregnant and dad was in ICU and we were moving from an apartment to a house in a different city away from our friends, but closer to family, where he was the only kid. His cousin was only 1 at the time, so did not get many gifts.
This year, he only asked for one thing and that was the xbox 360 new superheros lego marvel game that came out last week. This leaves me to wonder what other parents do, if they have a limit with how much they get their kids and nieces and nephews etc.
In our family, we have a very small one. My husbands parents go away every christmas, so we don't spend christmas with them. They leave before christmas day. So, we usually spend christmas eve with my sister and her husband and son. On Christmas day, we are invited over to my brother in laws family. We have three kids only between us and therefore, we only get gifts for the kids and not the adults.
This is why I hate christmas. There is so much pressure to give the perfect gift. I just want to give all their old toys to children who need them more and give one gift to each child and that is it. However, I think we should teach kids to have their own traditions and it doesn't matter what or how much the neighbour kids get. Am I right? Teach them that it is nice of santa to get gifts but he also wants to see use give to those that don't have as much. How do I teach my children that giving is better than getting when at the ages of 3 to7 they like to copy each other and it is all about topping one another. In elementary school, I was bullied for not having the coolest clothes like other kids. My parents couldn't afford it.
Christmas presents itself with a lot of worries, sometimes worries that shouldn't be worries at all. I say just do what feels right, while teaching giving and compassion but not just around Christmas, all year long.
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