How many presents under the tree?

[wifecat]

How many gifts are your dc's getting under the tree from you? I made a list of what I have for the kids, and while I only spent like $100 on each of them, because of this board (and our ridiculously awesome thrift store) I seem to have a lot of presents for them (9 each, which doesn't count what other family members are giving them).

How many do you give? Do you think there's a good number? Mine are so little that abundance may not be awful right now (since I know they'll want more expensive stuff later!), but that seems like a lot.

[khalloc]

Ugh. I am probably not the right person to ask. This year I tried to get less presents but somehow it got out of hand, and I feel like its not entirely my fault. DH is always afte rme about buying too much and this year when I told him what I had he thought we needed more.

So, DD who is 7 is getting
AG McKenna Gym Bar and Balance Beam
AG McKenna Gymnast outfit
Misty of Chincoteague book
Brave movie
2 very small AG craft things from Michaels. One is a bracelet for like $3, and the other was a kit of cardboard flowers for like $8
Spy Gear Night Vision goggles
Wii Party
A pair of sneakers (that might be way too big on her but they were on sale)
2 sweatshirts from Boden
Barbie Arts & Craft (like $9?)
A wooden jewelry box craft (another $10?)
2 Step Into Reading books ($8 total)

DS is 4.5 and is getting
Bruder Crane Truck
Pirate Book
Arthur Xmas movie
Marble track
Spy Gear Night Vision goggles
Wii Mario Kart
Crayola Dry Erase Board
another Crayola Dry Erase board that has lines for learning to write letters
Robosapien (I bought this used for $30 on Craigslist, the original price was $149 on Amazon!)
2 Gymboree Sweatshirts
A Geod to break open
2 Skippyjon Jones books

Then I have some joint presents
100 piece Magnatiles
Walkie Talkies (DH bought these)
LLBean snow fort/snow ball kit (for $4 after using free gift cards)

Oh, then my mom bought DD the AG Horse Stable and DD is adamant that Santa is bringing this gift. She doesnt want Nana to buy it. So now we are wrapping that up from Santa as well, and in order to make it somewhat even, DS will also be getting an extra present (really from my parents) which is a wall-mounted basketball hoop from Pottery Barn Kids.

Those are the gifts just on Xmas morning. I have some cheapie stocking stuffers too that I didnt list.

my DH has 3 sisters that will also buy gifts for the kids. Plus his parents, Plus we will go to my parents house a day or 2 after Xmas (4 hour drive) and they will probably get tons more presents there from my parents and brother and maybe some from my aunts.

So yeah, Xmas is way overboard. To be fair DD's big present was the AG gymnastics thing. Alot of her other presents are items she needs and I got on sale (like the clothes and sneakers). It got out of hand with the AG Horse thing that my mom got her and wants her to open on Xmas becuase she thinks Santa is making it for her instead of buying it at AG. :rolleyes:

I've been selling a bunch of stuff in the past few weeks on Craigslist to make room for the new toys that are coming.

[Binkandabee]

Under the tree from us each DD has 3 presents plus a pair of pajamas to open on Christmas eve. I REALLY try to limit what is under the tree because my family goes totally overboard with wrapped gifts.

From Santa (who leaves the gifts out, doesn't wrap them), I haven't counted, but there is probably 8 for each of them.

[redhookmom]

If I had it to do over there would be less. By do over I mean going back 10 years. It is so easy to get gifts for little ones. They are easy to please with very little money. But as they get older the gifts get more expensive but there has been a precedent set for a certain look to the tree. KWIM?

To answer your question - about 10 each.

[maestramommy]

They are getting one under the tree, and 2(?) stocking stuffers. That's just from us. They are getting some shared gifts from SIL's family, a stocking stuffer from one sister. For now. Some more may come this week, I don't know. What seems to matter is that they get something from their list. Those are the items that come from us.

[AlbrightRC]

My son is 4 1/2 and this is what he's getting under the tree from Santa.
Playmobil police car
playmobil recycling truck
5 48 piece puzzles
2 650 piece lego boxes
Doc mcstuffin toy
Sonic remote control car
posible sonic
2 cars canvas wall hangings
sonic shirt and hat
fp rev and go garage
imaginext space shuttle
imaginext artic batman, buzz with space ship, rex w. hamm and alien, lotso with spark and chuck, joker tank, batman sub
Automobloxs hot rods 3 pack
Sonic dvd

from his grandparents he's getting the playmobil large zoo, ranger truck with rhino and zebra sets
from his uncle he will get the hess truck

He has also received already a $250 gift card to toys r us from his grampy(my husbands grandfather) and a $250 gift card to toys r us from my husbands parents as well as another $100 worth of toys from them.
Not sure what his other aunt and uncle and cousins are getting him.

[Melaine]

I need to count and add up. Last year I made a pinterest board to keep track...will probably do that again. Maybe if DDs take a nap.

[kellyd]

Christmas is nuts in our house... I honestly don't even try and tone it down... lol as long is it's bought w/ cash and not credit. DS got Christmas last year... but this is the first year he REALLY gets it... and between us and the relatives he's gotten every thing he asked for. Santa has brought the girls 8 joint gifts and 6 individual gifts. DS has 10 things, and DS picked out 2 presents for each of the girls and the girls jointly got him 2 things.

[jennilynn]

About five or six plus stocking stuffers. But only two toys each, one from mom and dad and one from Santa. I know the grandparents will go overboard with toys, so I tried to stick to fun things they needed (a backpack, new Nod chairs for the living room, bedding, Hanna long johns, etc.)

[BabyBearsMom]

DD1:

From Santa - Loving Family Dollhouse with family and furniture
From Us - A height chart for her room. 2 Llama Llama books. We also gave her DH's old iPhone with a case on it for Hannukah and an Elmo jacket which aren't under the tree but are gifts from us.
From DD2 - Dora Gymnastics Dolls
Stocking Stuffers - She has 9, I can't really remember what they are, but just little things.

DD2:

From Santa - The FP Laugh N Learn Mailbox
From Us - My Pal Scout (She also got clothes and a new lovey blanket for Hannukah)
From DD1 - A Little People train with farm animals on it
Stocking Stuffers - She has 10. I got her HA best ever socks, some board books, some play silks and a few other small things.

[mik8]

She has 2 plus stocking stuffers.

[sunnyside]

My 2.5 yo DD is getting two big gifts that are challenging to wrap, so they'll just have paper sort of wrapped around them.
They're the PBK Kitchen and a small Lego or Train table with a wooden train and track (plus a few extra pieces).

She will get a couple things from each of her sets of grandparents, and her father said he mailed a few things too. I plan to buy her about 5 more things and wrap and put under the tree.

Plus we'll do the stockings.

I love Christmas though. I don't want it to be super excessive toy-wise, but as long as there is a mix of fun stuff and of useful things that she needs (pajamas, new mittens, a new blanket for her bed, etc), I don't see why not to add to the fun of more surprises. I know I'm in the minority.

[melrose7]

Every year I say I am going to tone down and buy less and then I can't help but search and find deals (thanks to this board) and buy, buy, and buy. I was planning on doing 6 or 7 per kid but now I am up to 8 or 9 plus some joint gifts and not sure what to do with the just for girls gifts, not sure if DS is going to mind.

But every year DH complains that there are too many presents and I hear the story how he would get 2 or 3 gifts and one year he got a cat so all he opened was a bag of cat food. But when I was growing up our tree was packed with gifts and there was usually close to 10 per kid (I have 3 brothers). A least DH is at work when I am wrapping and I only here him complain when we are putting them under the tree.

[KLD313]

I haven't even counted or wrapped them yet but I bought a ton of stuff. I love seeing a lot of presents under the tree. The bad part is my kids are 2 and 3 1/2 mos so they don't know or care.

[ljackson]

Each child gets one gift from us and Santa stuffs stockings. There are also about 9 other people who will buy them one gift each.

[brittone2]

As they've gotten older, the # has definitely gone down. Part of that is that after 3 kids, we have more than enough toys, they still get gifts from family, and we have big kid toys, medium kid toys, and little kid toys. Additionally, as they get older IME what they want tends to be more expensive (for ex, DD has wanted the AG doll Kit for a year now...thrilled to buy it, but I'm not buying 6-10 other little gifts). I don't really mind indulging that, but I try to focus on the one bigger thing they really want vs. a bunch of fillers that aren't going to command much attention or excitement. I've stopped buying little "extras" that in the past I've been more tempted to pick up.

This year they are mostly all getting one larger gift, some books, and then stockings (but I'm pretty generous with what goes in stockings...like DS1 and DD are both getting an xbox/kinect game, DS1 is getting his first pocket knife, etc.

[kristac]

eap.

each kid has 1 from santa and 4 from us (want need wear read)... not too bad... except there are 3 kids... then another 5-7 each from the grands and 5-7 from their great grand... So 50-60??? Not counting stocking stuffers or my and dh's gifts to each other.

eap.

[emily_gracesmama]

DD1
Kit to make Van Gogh starry night pastel picture
Comforter set for AG doll bed her grandparents are giving her
Manacala game
Black Leggings, Boden sock set and a shirt (all in one box)
Dot to dot book from Santa
Unicorn Dream light from Santa
Embroidered with her name Disney fleece blanket
(each kid got a blanket)

DD2
sticky mosaic tiara set
Comforter set for her doll bed she is getting
Hexbug crab (from Santa)

Joint gifts
Barbie dream townhouse, I broke down today and got the big 3 story one for both
It was down to $100 and I played with mine til I was 11
Crayola light designer toy
Paint Refills for spin art

I got the paint refills, starry night set, sticky mosaics, some other stocking stuffers
and mancala for free with the Amex shop small reimbursement.

[o_mom]

We will have two larger gifts for all three together. Then each will have 5 things under the tree and stocking stuffers. They will get other things from relatives, but not under the tree.

[Pennylane]

None from us, all from Santa. They each have about 4 or 5 gifts under the tree from family though.

Ann

[Pear]

Last year DD was 2 and I think she had 17 things to unwrap from us, plus gifts from other people. I didn't spend much at all. Some of the things she got were even free thanks to coupons and watching for deals.

This year she is getting 2 things from Santa plus her stocking. It was going to be one thing, but when she saw Santa she asked him for something small and reasonable so we added that. From us she has 3 packages. I actually have a stash of cheaply aquired items that we are going to save and just dole out slowly.

[essnce629]

I have no idea as I still have multiple packages arriving from Amazon every day and haven't wrapped a single thing yet!

From Santa though, they each only get one thing (unwrapped).

We have to gather up ALL our gifts and drive them 2 hours to my grandma's house every year so I try to consolidate things. Like DS1 is getting 3 Lego character books, but they will all be wrapped together as one gift.

[Simon]

We'll celebrate with 3 kids and 3 adults. I bet there will be 75+ items under the tree. MIL alone mailed 30+ gifts. I'm not sure how much she sent per kid/person. Each child will receive about 7-10 total from all the rest of the family (parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, etc) plus several things in stockings.

[edurnemk]

They get 3 items from Santa each (1 big, 2 medium-small). And maybe one small thing (a book) from us.

I had to politely ask the IL's to keep it at one item for each kid from each of them, since FIL and MIL get them 3-4 things each year. My parents are usually good at this and give 1-2 things, so I didn't think to ask the same of them but my mom just gave me the heads up that my dad "went a little crazy". Oy.

[mommytoC]

10 for each girl (1 from sister, 2 from grandparents, 6 from us, 1 from the dog :)) + 3 joint gifts; they'll have 4 each from Santa, + 3 joint gifts, + stocking stuffers.
Their "wants" this year were dolls (an AG doll for DD#1, and 2 Corolle Les Cheries dolls for DD#2) and doll accessories (they're getting doll bunk beds, a doll table/chair set
to share, and for DD#1, a ceramic doll tea set); they'll also get art supplies ("need"), 2 pairs of pajamas ("wear"), books, and a few other things.

DH started his annual complaint today, which I hopefully shut down :). Every year I show him my list (which he agrees on), do all the shopping, all the assembly and
all the wrapping. The least he can do is not complain once he sees everything under the tree!

ETA: Christmas is big in our house, same as when I was a child. Toys are typically given on birthdays/holidays, rather than scattered throughout the year. Plus, winters
are looong here, so it's nice to have new things to keep DDs busy!

[123LuckyMom]

We get one or two gifts for each child. Santa stuffs stockings. Relatives and friends contribute gifts, too, though, so there are always lots of gifts.

[lizzywednesday]

For DD, we have purchased:


Winnie-the-Pooh DUPLO set (bought at TRU last year)
Disney slippers
Playskool Star Wars Speeder with Luke Skywalker (DH)
Little People DC Super Friends pack from Target (BOGO 50%/off last wk.)
Set of 5 cloth doll diapers (Etsy)
AngelPack Mini Doll Carrier (QuirkyBaby)
Fleece Jacket from Columbia Outlet (DH)
Cinderella DVD
Minnie Mouse underpants
3-pk Hanes camisoles (I may look for another pack)
6 prs Circo socks
Fleece hat & mittens set
New insulated Tommee Tippee cups


Stocking stuffers include:


Pink Hexbug Nano
Pooh bear toothbrush
light-stick bracelets (from the Target dollar spot)
Minnie Mouse socks
Lightsaber flashlight
Silk ribbon wand (Etsy ... if it ever arrives!)

[KrisM]

Mine have 4 from Santa and 7 from us. Those are under the tree, or will be. Also under it will be 3 from my ILs that come in the mail.

On Christmas Eve, they get gifts from their great-grand parents, grand parents, 2 aunts/uncles. That's a total of 5 more things.

So, under our tree will be full - 42 things just for the kids (yikes!), plus we have 5 for DH and whatever he got me.

[ChefGirl]

Mine each gets:
1 from Santa
1 from my in-laws
2 from my parents
1 from their aunt, my hubby's sister

So, that's 5 in total per kid, and then we make up the rest so probably another 2 items on top of that.....plus little stocking stuffers like candy canes, Itune gift cards, blue cup, toothbrush, PJ's, t-shirts, socks, etc.

[pastrygirl]

1 gift each from Santa, and 4 others from us (want, need, wear, read). But I also found one other gift each that I couldn't resist. I'm disappointed in myself, LOL!

For husband/in-laws, it's budget based, so might be one $$$ thing or a few things.

[ZeeBaby]

They are getting a dollhouse together and games. We are also taking them to see Disney on ice. I love to see gifts under the tree but I make it a goal to resist.

[jent]

Managed to keep it simple, but having guilt pangs b/c my parents were very much "over the top" (and still are) on Xmas. My sister is also somewhat that way, but (I hope) DD is still too young to draw direct comparisons to her cousins. I was sooo tempted to get DD a big ticket item, but the truth is, it would be more for me, than for her- none of the things I was considering has she even asked for.

She's getting: 3 (smallish) toys, some books, a new outfit, and stocking stuffers. Each toy was not very expensive, but two are from the top of her wishlist and i know she will be super excited. Oh, and the Alex art portfolio, from the Amazon thread, as we are swimming in artwork.

We will also be going to see the Nutcracker- it's just before Xmas, so I think she won't really see it as a present, but in a way, this is our big ticket item.

[LizLemon]

Smaller number of presents in this year, probably because it is my daughter's second Christmas. :p Probably also I have been busy at work and only have so much time to buy and wrap for her and the rest of my family!

As I recall we have:

Step 2 Easy Steer Sportster
Step 2 Shopping Cart
4 or 5 pieces of clothing from crewcuts
4 board books
Zuny animal bookends (http://www.amazon.com/MollaSpace-Zuny-Animal-Bookend-Lion/dp/B004A911L4/ref=sr_1_40?ie=UTF8&qid=1355977662&sr=8-40&keywords=zuny)
A few stocking stuffers such as cups and a rubber duckie

[AshleyAnn]

I'm ashamed to admit how much I've bought this year. DD is 3 and is getting -

A FP Loving Family Dollhouse with ALLthe people and furnishings
2 Disney princess toddler dolls
PJs for the princess dolls
3 princess dress up dresses and some tiaras/shoes/ect
a complete set of Disney princess figures with magic clip dresses
A doll stroller with carseat
A doll play pen
A baby doll
A dream light pillow pet
Candy Land and a couple puzzles
A dishset for her play kitchen
A playdough set
And the usual stocking stuffer stuff

In my defense - I rarely buy toys/gifts outside of her birthday and christmas so we havent had much in the way of new toys come into the house all year, everything we have is for toddlers. Its the first christmas DD really understands the whole santa-present-excitement and I went all out. I worked an insane amount of OT on a new software implentation at work and got a nice bonus as a thanks for my 'dedication' (they seem to think I cared more than I did) - I put every penny in savings towards my christmas shopping.

DD will also get quite a bit from the extended family and my parents tend to go way overboard on DD and even do thier own Santa present (insert eye roll)