A great way to make sure you do not overbuy for your kids is to set a limit on how many presents they get. I’ve heard some families limit it to 3 presents a piece (like the Wise Men gave to Jesus). Some limit it to the age of the child. Some limit it by category, such as a thing you need, a thing you want, a thing you play with, a thing you wear, etc.
Do you have any traditions that limit the number of gifts under the tree?
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I have a large family that got larger with the addition of my boyfreind this year. I try for 3 gifts each for the adults (about 12 people) and 4 for the kids (my aunts two) but its hard with all the great deals out there. I gave up last year and gave TONS of gifts (the kids had around 25 each). I spent $200 for everyone by shopping smart and giving freebies. I made a calander for my grandma who loved it so much shes been begging for us to do one next year since july! I also make a lot of gifts. This year its shadow boxes (dollar tree find!) and bath salts ($ 20 to make a set of 30)
I’ve picked up the same thing others have done..
Something to wear
Something to share
Something to play with
Something to read
Misc gift if found a great sale on something they showed interest in
Each year we give toys to are community centers for children that don’t get as much. The kids are each given a small box and are told that it has to be filled. They pick out the toys in a matter of minutes and sometimes days. We then donate together as a family. This makes room for the new items as my dh’s family goes NUTS for the kids and gifts.
I also only have 1 tub of toys in the kids room. Anything more is put up and rotated every few months, unless asked for we switch item for item.
It’s really sad to me to see how much people spend on their own kids for Christmas when most of them already have a mini toys r us at home anyway. Especially when there are soo many children out there who have so little. We do toys for tots every year if possible or donate to some Christmas charity and one year when all of us at work participated together a little boy had asked for a new pair of shoes… That’s it, no new bike, no game system, just shoes. I think our world would be so much better off if we taught our children to care for others more than themselves. Isn’t that what the golden rule teaches?
The last few years were hard and the kids were lucky to just get a few gifts a piece and they never complained. But with Dads new job this year, we are going all out. PS3, guitars, everything. I am not even going to worry about the cost! Christmas only comes once a year and I want this one to be the best, especially since my oldest 2 are teenagers now!
We started 3 years ago with the ‘three wise men’ gift system. They get one gift for their body (clothes, soap, etc), one gift for their soul (devotional book, religious cd, etc), and one golden gift (one big thing that they have asked for). It ties in to the true meaning of Christmas and it keeps the budget low. One year the golden gift was a Wii, but this year they’re asking for Legos! Truly the best thing we’ve ever done. They haven’t missed all of the extra stuff I used to buy and I love not having all the junk after Christmas was over.
Wow !!! I really like this idea !! =)
new ornament
bag of clothes
game
movie
toy
Santa Present(s)(2)
We have 3 kids 9,9,6 We try to make it even for them. Even if I wrap something really small an inexpensive. Family members each give them 1 present besides 3 from grandparents. I usually use my sale items and let the relatives buy them off of me. As parents we don’t do much present giiving except santa:)
One huge money saver for us is the no adult present rule. Years ago, my husband and I politely asked our relatives not to give us (my husband and I) Christmas gifts. Everyone’s budget is so tight, and for people to use credit cards to give obligatory gifts is just plain foolish. We told them, Christmas is for kids, and spending time with loved one’s is all the gift we need.
We give our parents a nice token gift, like pictures of the kids, or a small handmade gift that the children help with. But we give not adult gifts beyond that.
Also,my husband and I do not exchange gifts.
I have a closet full of toys purchased at the Target toy clearance sales over this past year. Enough for my niece and nephew for 5 years of Christmas and Birthdays!
As far as our two kids, They each get new jammies, a robe and slippers, a book, a new DVD, and one thing that they REALLY WANT (usually around $50-$75). I bought this years jammies, robe and slippers at last years after Christmas sales!
Their stockings are filled with treasures that I have collected throughout the year from couponing, and even freebies! Santa usually leaves them each a video game, and he leaves the family a nice gift that we can all use together. One year it was a new TV, one year a Wii. I am not sure what he will be leaving for us this year!
I never spend more than $500, and because I spread it out over the entire year, my budget hardly feels it.
previously, no limit on alything, but last years budget busting christmas && the toys that are in the garage now played with only 1 or 2 times made me realize I need to slow down!! Older kids get to share 2 video games & they will get clothes & a stocking & santa brings a family game. My younger 2 get a limit $75 each plus stocking and a santa gift. hubby wants a tool chest ( gasp!! ) but I got it on sale at kmart & I put it on layaway, thats all hes getting :) family gifts are smaller too, I ve been shopping on amazon & using my swag bucks for small things like team money clips or wallets for the guys and for the ladies I purchased 2 large sets of my fave cookware ( temptations ) on qvc clearance in july $40 each including shipping each set had 12 pcs ( 6 cookware including a lid ) and some spoons/spatula on clearance at target for .17 cents each! a box of pasta & sauce I got free with coupons & a ribbon … tada!! :0)
I’m not sure how my parents worked things out, but my sister and I always had tons of gifts it seemed (and no we weren’t spoiled). Christmas is just a special time of year with it’s own magic, much like Disney magic. Now that my husband are having our first child I’m sure we’ll continue to do Christmas big. And I’m excited to think what I can do with my new couponing skills. Christmas is special and I get a lot of joy giving gifts, even if it does take ” so much time and energy” (can’t believe that comment, how selfish can you get?)
I know I probably should not respond to this, especially since you will most likely never read it. But I just noticed this comment, and the “selfish” reference to my comment, as I was going through my e-mail inbox and deleting all of my old e-mails. (I am subscribed to receive these posts via e-mail.) Although this is a very old post, I feel the need to respond for my own satisfaction, even though you will most likely not see this.
I think that to call a complete stranger “selfish” based on one post — a post which was not unkind or rude to anyone — is a rather unfair, not to mention rude, thing to do. How selfish can I get? Selfish enough to want to spend more time on worthwhile pursuits than buying presents when I know full well that my in-laws are already planning on buying way too many? Selfish enough to want the few gifts I do purchase to be very good, useful gifts, and therefore not having much time/energy left to get more? Selfish enough to realize that gift-buying — whether for Christmas, birthdays, or any other occasion — is a difficult task for me and therefore, one I wish to limit, and honestly saying so in a blog comment? What’s wrong with that?
Perhaps you are just more organized, creative, etc. than I am. Perhaps the Christmas joy that you were raised with is strong enough that this task does not seem as difficult to you as it does to me. But in any case, the fact that I wish to keep my gift-giving (and gift-receiving, frankly, though I have no control over that) simple is not an indicator of “selfishness”. It is simply practicality.
I think the bottom line is this. Christmas is a big deal to you. To me, it is not such a big thing. I was not even raised in a Christian family. I never celebrated Christmas until I got married 4 years ago. So while I am willing to join in, and I do think it’s fun, it will never be something I’m going to pour my heart and soul into. And that’s OK.
Three gifts a piece
One small under $10
One mediun under $20
One large under $30
Plus a new outfit & a stocking valued under $20
I don’t really do a dollar limit or number limit. I have kind of over bought in the past and it seems like a lot of it doesn’t get played with. I am trying to shop smarter this year and only buy things that I know she will love….I do always get a DVD, new book and new pajamas….everything else is random.
If I had an awesome website like this it would be Couponing to Christmas!
I spoil our son (5) my biological nieces (3,2) and my step nieces/nephews (10,8,7,5,5)! My son gets 1 big present and 3-4 smaller presents from Santa under a tree in his bedroom (a cheap tree from clearence a fears ago at CVS for $5!) plus then a few things from mommy and daddy under the family tree (clothes, new undies, bath soaps, ect) My nieces get an outfit and 2 toys plus a “share toy”, The step nieces and nephews get a Christmas tree decoration, a book and 1 toy.
The hubby and I do the stockings for each other plus a present my son gets to pick out for each of us.
I shop year round on clearance/sales/ or when I feel the need to attend direct sales parties or fundraisers for kids.
We do the stockings, which usually contain pretty cheap things, and then typically one bigger gift to share, then they each get some sort of biggish gift. Maybe one more. But really, most of the “quantity” comes from the stockings. I do wrap half the things in there, so it feels like more.
We do dollar amount but my daughter is an only child and my fiancé & I are planning to keep it that way. Under the tree is always loaded with gifts but I clearance shop for 75% of the items she gets. I’m not sure how we are going to manage this year. I’ve bought 5 gifts so far, all small clearance items but it is nowhere near what is on the list to buy. Her birthday is December 22 so that means even more money to be spent right at Christmas time plus we have 6 nephews and 3 nieces (limit to $10 per child).
My family growing up did not celebrate Christmas, and from the looks of it, my husband’s parents certainly have no limits (oy!), but since we’ve been married and I’ve celebrated with my husband’s family, we’ve always given one gift to each person. I mean, sometimes a gift may contain multiple items, like a gift basket with related items, but still just one gift. Now, we have a child, and she is 2. The first year, she was so young that we didn’t get her anything. Last year, we planned on getting her one thing, but then I got a second item for free just a couple days before Christmas, so we gave her that too. We haven’t discussed it this year yet, but it’ll probably be 1 or 2 again. We buy things from time to time during the year, and we got her a birthday present (summer birthday) as well, so frankly, I see no need to do more. *shrug*
It’s not even just a matter of money. Selecting gifts for people takes so much time and energy …
We do a dollar budget but I try to make sure that each kid gets the same amount of gifts as well. My DH and I get each other one present plus little stuff for each others stockings.
We also do the “one gift on Christmas Eve” tradition too – a brand new pair of pj’s to wear overnight and on Christmas morning. That one was started in our family by my grandparents. :)
I ran myself crazy trying to keep with the same dollar amount and number of gifts to be equal between my 3 girls. Parents only gave clothes, new PJ’s Christmas Eve and Santa brought all the cool gifts (3 max per child). Looking back I would just do the number of gifts and have a budget for each child and anything not spent would go to college fund
I start buying early in the year and just get as much as I can with my smaller budget. it works because my daughter is only 2 and doesn’t totally get it yet. Although Santa brings presents wrapped in Santa wrapping paper and Mommy and Daddy also give gifts wrapped in non Santa paper. She also gets 1 gift to open on Christmas Eve because my husband’s family only celebrates then.
No we don’t have a limit. The only thing I have had to limit in the last couple years is $50.00 per stocking, which I almost NEVER get above $20.00 cause of sales and clearance. We usually get them 1 big gift that isn’t wrapped and then about 10 more for the kids. For hubby and I we try to stay within a dollar range.
My husband and I agreed this year to spend no more than $50 for each of us on item(s) that the other can use. I use the laptop more than him so we’ve already decided that I am getting some laptop accessories (a fan, case, etc) and have begun to discuss what his gift should be. We are thinking that since his favorite car is also the one we run errands in we may get a new radio/ipod player.
I don’t limit the number I give, but I limit the amount. Like if we set the amount for my husband to $50, then he can have 50 $1 items or 1 $50 item…whatever! :)
We are doing presents according to the following:
Something to wear
Something to share
Something to play with
Something to read
And then maybe a misc present.
I think that is great and I’m gonna adapt it to my kids..I have three, currently aged 3,4, and 9 but two have birthdays coming up…over the past two Christmases I’ve began to decrease the amount of gifts although I’ve always had a dollar limit. 3 years ago even staying within the dollar limit I had such great clearance deals that each kid had over 20 gifts in addition to Santa gifts. They got tired of opening presents and I then realized that I had really over done it and vowed not to repeat. Habits are hard to break and with a dollar limit and my love of clearance I can usually stretch it out and get tons..so I’ve been decreasing the number of gifts per kid, but your idea gives me some direction…Thanks
WOW, 20 gifts! I bet they would be just as excited to get just a few for themselves and to be able to pick out a few for toys for tots, Samaritan’s purse, something like God’s Littlest Angels, etc. After living and learning with our first two and now having FOUR, we do 3 each from Santa and 3 from Mom and Dad and my kids STILL have wonderful Christmas’ (and of course they get gifts from cousins, grandparents, church, etc. We always make a point to try and remember those less fortunate before ourselves but it’s so easy to get carried away because you see so many things you know your kids would enjoy.
Ours is similar
Something to wear,
Something to read,
Something you want,
Something you need.
We’re doing something similar also.
Something you want, something you wear, something you read, and something religious.
Nope. We do a dollar limit, and I shop all year so I get tons of deal at the store or consignment shops. It’s amazing how many gifts I have for this year and am still well under budget!! I started with the after Christmas sale in January!!
That’s awesome!