how many gifts do you give??

[kfeusse]

I know this can vary because some items are more expensive than others, but in general, how many gifts do you give your kids (ages 10 and under)??

[danivdp]

Too many :lol:

 

Probably about 4 per kid....but I have 5 kids, so it looks like a ton.

[Catwoman]

About 75-100 for my ds.

 

We really go all-out for Christmas. My family was always that way, and dh has been successfully converted. (He hardly got any presents at all for Christmas because his mother didn't want a mess. :glare: He wants my ds to have a different experience.)

 

Cat

[RahRah]

We usually hit somewhere between 20-25 gifts for DS for Christmas - one is usually a big item, 5-7 moderate size and the rest on the smaller side or accessories/auxillary to something else he's getting. In his stocking is usually 4-6 small things.

 

From my parents he usually gets another 3-7 things, same from the inlaws....and then a few from my sister, and one or two from a variety of cousins.

 

It's kind of insane!

[Parrothead]

I've got 21 fun things now. I want to add a bath robe, set of flannel sheets and two crafty items along with stocking stuffers that have not been purchased. And one St. Nicholas Day gift. So +/- 26.

[kokotg]

Okay, I posted a couple of weeks ago that each kid would get 4 or 5 from us, plus one or two Santa gifts, but I just looked through everything last night and there's actually...more. A lot of them are little things like a paperback book or some Mario t-shirts that were on clearance at Target, but it looks like it'll be more like 8 or 9 each to unwrap, plus a couple that are for all of them to share.

[KS_]

I know this can vary because some items are more expensive than others, but in general, how many gifts do you give your kids (ages 10 and under)??

 

I try to keep it under control (dh would give a lot more, but our dc have too much stuff and have a very difficult time keeping their rooms in any semblance of order). So I go for a around 3 gifts - nothing terribly extravagant, something I think they'll really enjoy, but I do try to stay away from more toys. There may be a few small extras - like special food treats for their stockings.

[Mekanamom]

This year, my step-dd and her fiance are staying with us for the holidays. So... with the extra budget stretching for food, gas, and a couple (hopefully pretty inexpensive) outings for all 8 of us (including FIL)... we can just do one gift per child. DH and I are sharing a gift.

 

I'm loving it!! All my shopping is done, and I can focus on spending time with the family and doing fun things together. :D I could totally get used to this.

 

The kids did pick up some small things to give to each other at the dollar store. So they will get to unwrap more than one thing... just one gift each from Mom & Dad. :001_smile:

 

Ohhhh- just saw where you said age 10 and under. Well, my youngest is 10, and is getting the one gift this year. When our budget wasn't as stretched in past years, we did 3 gifts/child. One craft/art type gift, one tech type gift, one puzzle/game type gift.

[keptwoman]

One major item, which last year was iPods all around and this year is a scooter for one, a watch for another and regatta fees paid for the third. Then about 8-10 small items for their stocking, most of which are things they need, with a couple of fun items and some candy.

Wow, you guys get heaps!

[mom2jjka]

Our kids get 4 gifts - 3 from us, and 1 from "Santa."

We started doing this last year because we were tired of the overspending and the commercialism of Christmas.

 

Our 3 gifts symbolize the gifts that the wise men brought baby Jesus. Last year each child got a game, something to foster creativity (art supplies, etc) and one special thing that they really wanted.

 

As far as Santa, they each get to request 3 things - and 'Santa' gets to choose which of those they get.

[Carrie12345]

My "official" list has 6 items for each child, plus stocking stuffers. It wouldn't be unusual for dh to come home with a few extras though. :glare:

 

We've done more in the past, but that was when they had cheaper wishes, and space wasn't quite as tight!

 

ETA- I forgot, there's also a group present this year. And "Number 5" doesn't have a full 6 gifts b/c I can't think of 6 things (plus stocking stuffers) that a 1 week old baby could possibly need. Perhaps I should stick a bow on my chest?

Edited December 3, 2010 by Carrie1234

[ilikemyhomeschool]

My kids only ask for 3 things each but I keep adding more and more. Every Christmas is the same I can't stop myself!!! I hate it.

[J-rap]

My kids are older now, but we do the same thing now that we have always done. Four gifts -- which includes one "main" gift, plus stocking stuffers.

[MamaT]

We do one big gift per child, 5 or 6 medium gifts, and probably 10 small gifts. They are older now, but we did the same thing when they were younger.

[tabrizia]

We do 4 at Christmas time, plus their sibling gets them a gift as well, so 5, though they may get one more small one for 6. My in-laws also get both of them half a dozen gifts or so.

 

They also get 8 at Hanukkah, well we get them 7 and they get each other 1. Plus my mom gets them another 6 to 8 small things plus a bigger gift, and my siblings get them something sometimes.

 

They get 1 main gift at Christmas and then the rest are smaller gifts they we think they will enjoy as well. The Hanukkah gifts include 1 big thing and then a couple of medium sized gifts and a few smaller items.

[RoughCollie]

When my kids were 10 and under, they received about 16 gifts apiece, not including stocking stuffers and gifts to be shared.

 

One year, the kids actually complained that Santa had brought them too many gifts. That was an eye-opener for their toy-loving Mom (no one can ever have too many toys).

[sbgrace]

We do one bigger gift for each child and then 2 or 3 more small gifts (a book, a game, etc.). I wish I could do Christmas big though. My parents did that for us.

[athena1277]

I've bought about 8 gift per kid so far, not counting stocking stuffers. I will probably buy 2-3 more things. BTW, 2 items per kid will be clothes and 1 a book.

[sbgrace]

Now I'm feeling a little bad. Those of you that give lots of gifts per kid (to me 10 is lots) are these inexpensive little things or $20 gifts or even more?

[Joyofsixreboot]

Three. Older kids get one nice thing.

[Old Dominion Heather]

No big gifts this year which is making me sad because they know they can't ask for the things that they really want. PReviously, we've given one big gift per boy and three or four littler gifts.

 

This year they will MAYBE get two medium gifts and two small ones. If they get any big gifts, it will be from grandparents.

[Plucky]

Christmas eve they get 2 gifts, one is fun and the other is pjs. Then they get 5 presents and one is a book. Wow, it sure does sound like a lot when I write it out. Oh, we have a family game to play xmas ever & a family gift in the a.m.

[missesd]

3, just as Jesus did from the 3 wisemen. Or 1 big gift as they get older. Usually 1 from us, 1 from Santa and 1 hopefully as a stocking stuffer- if it will fit. A cap of $100 per kid.

 

I just want to add, that if the 1 will not fit as a stocking stuffer and is an exrtra gift from family or us, then stocking stuffer usually consist of candy and nuts. This year, though, I did get 2 small $2 and under gifts/toys from the Wal-Mart holiday section to put in there as well :)

 

We also don't buy each other gifts, and don't buy for anyone other then just our children... it's enough just to afford that! LOL

Edited December 3, 2010 by missesd

[Laurie4b]

Each child gets 3: an outfit, something educational, and something fun. Often the fun thing is a family gift--like 3 months of cable for basketball season, an X box, etc.

 

We don't want the materialism, and the wise men brought Jesus three gifts, so we go with that number. They each give each other a gift, so each gets 6 from immediate family.

[RahRah]

Now I'm feeling a little bad. Those of you that give lots of gifts per kid (to me 10 is lots) are these inexpensive little things or $20 gifts or even more?

 

I stay within a budget - so even though it sounds like a lot, it's within the budget....and as DS is getting older, the "wish list" is getting more expensive! :001_huh:

 

I did almost all my shopping online on black friday, so got some tremendous deals - a $99 LEGO set he had on his list that was $40, a $49 Wii game he wants for $19 - so that definitely helped alot!

 

In his mix of gifts are books (4-for-3 deal), a couple of basic games (he loves family game nights), and other low-price items.

 

The "big gift" this year is from us (we give him the big gift, the rest is from Santa) and is a basic computer for in our family room so he has his own computer now....he likes to use mine, but it's online and I'd prefer, at least for now (he's six) that his computer time not be spent online, but rather using the educational software we have and/or some of the games he likes. In a way, this is something more for *me* than him :lol: but he also asked for it! I don't count the big gift from us in his gift budget though since it's something that DH and I were already saving for since we do need to get another computer and now just seems like a good time since DS asked for his own computer for Christmas.

[justamouse]

We have a set amount budgeted per child--it's all the same amount. If that buys one present, it's one. If if buys 15 it's 15.

[Heather in OK]

Three per child plus their stocking.

[myfunnybunch]

We give 3 gifts per child (sometimes 4), plus stockings and a big basket for all the kids filled with books, a movie and a board game.

 

One small gift from Santa, two or three gifts from us.

 

Cat

[Catwoman]

Now I'm feeling a little bad. Those of you that give lots of gifts per kid (to me 10 is lots) are these inexpensive little things or $20 gifts or even more?

 

Well, we buy mostly large gifts for ds, because he's into things like computers, camcorders, video games, and robotics, but we're able to buy him a ton of expensive gifts because he's an only child, and also because I don't have a set budget for Christmas. My dh and I spend a lot on each other, too. It's a family tradition, and I would have a lot of trouble cutting back (although if money were tight, I would do it anyway, as I won't be in debt!)

 

We do have the advantage of not having to buy a lot of gifts for other people, so that's a big saving of both money and time. And even though I don't care about how much I spend in total, I hate to overpay for individual gifts, so I'm always on the hunt for bargains. (I'm a shopping fiend when Amazon has good Lightning Deals -- today, they were nothing special, but I got some great deals over the weekend on two laptop computers, a big Lego Atlantis set, and about 10 different video games.)

 

I love to shop, so Christmas shopping is like a gift I give to myself. I'm always in the stores and online, and I love a great bargain! I'm sure that when people look under our Christmas tree, they assume I spend a lot more than I really do.

 

Oh, and while I was shopping, I might have picked up a few things for myself, too............ ;)

 

Cat

[Catwoman]

I did almost all my shopping online on black friday, so got some tremendous deals - a $99 LEGO set he had on his list that was $40, a $49 Wii game he wants for $19 - so that definitely helped alot!

 

Please tell me it wasn't the Lego Portal of Atlantis! I got it for $59.99 and thought I got a great deal. I would have LOVED to have found it for $40!

 

I did very well on Wii, DS, and XBox360 games all weekend on Amazon.com, but waiting around for all of those Lightning Deals started to get a little old after a while. (When I figured out how much I'd saved on everything, though, it made it all worthwhile!)

 

Cat

[kfeusse]

each year it seems I buy way too many things...and my problem is having 3 kids...and me trying to keep things even...so each kid has the same number of gifts to open...so if I find one more really cool thing for my son, then I feel like I have to buy one more thing for each of the other 2. Do you guys worry about such silly things???

[Carrie12345]

each year it seems I buy way too many things...and my problem is having 3 kids...and me trying to keep things even...so each kid has the same number of gifts to open...so if I find one more really cool thing for my son, then I feel like I have to buy one more thing for each of the other 2. Do you guys worry about such silly things???

 

Constantly.

Now that ds#1 is older, I don't worry about him as much. He knows the difference between expensive and inexpensive (He actually put "used" next to his video game list in hopes of stretching things a bit, lol).

The girls, otoh, have a limited understanding of what many individual items cost. They know video games are more expensive than, say, Barbies, but they don't realize that a Barbie Pamper Paws Salon has a relatively hefty price tag compared to a Webkinz or whatever.

[lynn]

6 for the youngest and 3-4 for oldest plus stocking stuffers.

[DarlaS]

We do one big gift per child, 5 or 6 medium gifts, and probably 10 small gifts. They are older now, but we did the same thing when they were younger.

 

That's about what we do. It's what we intend anyway...

 

I always keep finding neat stuff my kids would like though. We "save up" a lot of ideas for Christmas and it even includes winter wear and other practical (but nice) items. With four kids, it can be a big pile. Especially if it's a year when everyone gets new snow boots, bibs etc. These are usually things I'd buy anyway and just give them, but if it can possibly wait until Christmas, I wrap it and put it under the tree. Even jammies, mittens & woolly socks. :D

 

We are very modest with birthdays. It started because our oldest kid's b-day is in January, and we didn't want to do another big pile of gifts right after Christmas. All birthdays are really low key just to keep it fair.

[newbie]

Dont count, go by money amounts for each.

[Nakia]

This year they will have 9 gifts to open, not including the one they get from their siblings. We wrap everything separately though. For example, Emma is getting an AG doll, Josephina. Josephina will be wrapped separately from her accessories and her book, etc. Stocking stuffers aren't usually wrapped.

 

I like to make sure they have the same number of gifts to open as opposed to making sure I spend the same amount on each one. Anna is getting a desk, but it cost less than the AG dolls because we bought an old piece that we are refinishing. This has worked well for us so far, but I imagine as they get older and ask for more expensive things, it might change.

 

Do not ask me how many gifts they get from my mother. ARGH! Blessedly, this year she got them a joint gift, a Wii, so that's great. They will probably still have 10 small gifts to open each. Too many!!!

[Princess Peach]

We spend $100 per child. Sometimes that means they get one gift (like last year when DD got an AG doll), or many. I don't worry about numbers of gifts, I just spend the same amount on each. They know I do this, so they don't compare numbers.

[Prairie~Phlox]

It just depends what I feel like, usually books that I get free from ordering Scholastic for our co-op families, so they get books to unwrap and books in their stocking, but not always educational books, fun books that they want. Joint gift is Kinect, they will all get a Kinect game in their stocking since Kmart and buy the kinect (we already had the x-box system) and get a $25 coupon and a $15.00 coupon off of games, so I've been able to get games a lot cheaper than elsewhere. They each have a pair of pajamas to unwrap. The boys will have Legos in their stockings and dd will have socks, gloves, etc. That's probably it. It's not that I couldn't get more, it's just that we try and do high quality stuff that will actually get used and not a bunch of little crap.

[kokotg]

each year it seems I buy way too many things...and my problem is having 3 kids...and me trying to keep things even...so each kid has the same number of gifts to open...so if I find one more really cool thing for my son, then I feel like I have to buy one more thing for each of the other 2. Do you guys worry about such silly things???

 

Yep. I think it's going to mean one more shopping trip for me this year, in fact.

 

I can remember my mom always freaking out about whether my brother and I had the same number of presents...like until we were in college. We finally had to tell her we really didn't care!

[Pretty in Pink]

The boys will have a book basket to open on Christmas Eve and between 2 and 4 gifts each on Christmas morning. I also prepare stockings for each child full of fun stuff, which sometimes includes a DVD or other higher cost item, as well as art supplies and some sweets.

[mcconnellboys]

No children that age any more, but I never had a set number. I did always try to give them the same number of gifts. We've really cut the number of gifts we give each year by quite a lot as they just don't want or need that much....

[Renee in NC]

One from us. And cereal - I buy them their favorite sugar-laden junk cereal. They used to get to eat it on Christmas morning, but we'll go to my aunt's for breakfast instead.

[petepie2]

We have a budget of roughly $100 per child + stocking stuffers. So far we have held to a 3 gift rule, even if we don't spend the whole budgeted amount. I don't feel the need to spend money just to be spending it. We just settle on 3 gifts each that we know they'll like and that don't blow the budget.

 

DD6: AG Bitty Baby Swing/Carrier, Playmobil set, board game

DS4: Two Playmobil sets & board game

DS2: Two Lego Duplo items & puzzle

DD9months: Monogrammed duffle bag, pink sock monkey, and a taggie blanket (made by me!)

[RahRah]

Please tell me it wasn't the Lego Portal of Atlantis! I got it for $59.99 and thought I got a great deal. I would have LOVED to have found it for $40!

 

I did very well on Wii, DS, and XBox360 games all weekend on Amazon.com, but waiting around for all of those Lightning Deals started to get a little old after a while. (When I figured out how much I'd saved on everything, though, it made it all worthwhile!)

 

Cat

 

Nope, not the Portal of Atlantis - I got the Space Shuttle for $40, not sure which store though - I was all over on BF, I know it wasn't Amazon though....I was tempted by the Portal when it came up on Amazon, but passed since I'm done and DS is already getting enough LEGOS!

 

On Amazon I did get good deals on the Wii & DS games and stuff for some of the adults on our list - some of the lightning deals have been fantastic - today's deals, meh - I check now and then through the day, but you're right, they're getting stale/old now!

[littlebug42]

This year we are doing 4 per child plus stocking stuffers. We have done more in the past but it is too much especially since they get gifts from others as well.

[Catwoman]

Nope, not the Portal of Atlantis - I got the Space Shuttle for $40, not sure which store though - I was all over on BF, I know it wasn't Amazon though....I was tempted by the Portal when it came up on Amazon, but passed since I'm done and DS is already getting enough LEGOS!

 

On Amazon I did get good deals on the Wii & DS games and stuff for some of the adults on our list - some of the lightning deals have been fantastic - today's deals, meh - I check now and then through the day, but you're right, they're getting stale/old now!

 

Ooh! The Space Shuttle is so cool -- and that was a great price!!!

 

(I'm glad it wasn't the Portal, though. I know it's stupid, but I hate it when I overpay for stuff!)

 

I didn't find anything at Amazon today. I'm hoping that in the next few weeks, they'll have cheap Lightning Deals on some toys and games that would make fun extra gifts and stocking stuffers. I'm sort of secretly hoping they don't have any great deals on super-expensive stuff, so I'm not tempted by the savings. ;)

 

Cat

Edited December 3, 2010 by Catwoman

[ereks mom]

...all kinds of things: gum, CD's, unusual snacks & candy, toothpaste, toothbrushes, socks, underwear, handkerchiefs, batteries, pencils, markers, cologne, cosmetics, etc. We also give each other gifts, so each person has 3 "non-Santa" gifts to unwrap. My kids always say their favorite part is the stockings because they never know what kinds of cool, unusual items Santa will put into them.

 

ETA: Santa gifts, when the kids were little used to total $100-$150 per child. Now that they are older, it's more like $200-$250 per child. The "non-Santa" gifts we give each other are around $25 each.

Edited December 3, 2010 by ereks mom

[Sherry in OH]

Each child receives 3 from us, 1 from his brother, and the contents of his stocking. We also buy 1 or 2 gifts for the whole family to share. They each receive 8 to 10 additional gifts from family and friends.

[Mom0012]

When my kids were little, I kept things at $100/kid and I could actually get quite a bit for that money.

 

Last year, I increased my budget to $200/kid. It was a good Christmas.

 

This year, I am lowering it to $140/kid because that's what I feel I can afford and there is nothing that anyone is dying for that I can't get in that price range. My daughter is getting an AG doll and a cotton candy maker. My son is getting a large lego set and a $40 bill.

 

BUT, we spend Christmas morning with my parents, sister, brother and their families and they will get my son all the other smaller legos that he wants and my daughter the books, ds games and webkinz that she wants.

 

It all works out well.

 

Lisa

Edited December 3, 2010 by LisaTheresa

[JudoMom]

My oldest is 11, but I counted him anyway :).

 

This year they're each getting an inexpensive mp3 player, a book, a personal gift, monster feet slippers, and fleece pants. Then there are about 15 group gifts and a few DVDs. These aren't all from us, though, but I do all the shopping. My grandma, both sets of grandparents, and my brother & his wife all send us money to buy for them.