crystalhicks Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 Do you make sure your kids have the same amount of gifts or do you spend the same amont on each and not worry about the amount they each have to open?
EmmyNavasMom Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 I wondered how this works as well. Little Ava will only be a couple weeks old (if that) come Christmas so I don't have to worry about it this year. Heck, the only reason she will have a few gifts under the tree is so my 3yr old doesn't wonder why Santa forgot the baby. LOL
WELUVKDS79 Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 Our baby is getting more than the older 3 because her stuff is cheaper and they are all pretty cool about it and say it's because she doesn't have a bunch of toys already which I must admit is part of it...
fingerlakesmom Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 Up till this year it was the same number. however this year they will be 4.5 9 (well 9 on 12/27) and 11.5. So the oldest will proablly get a few less because his are more exspensive while the 2 younger will get same number I'm not much help am I
crystalhicks Posted November 16, 2005 Author Posted November 16, 2005 I have one that is 10 and all of her stuff is more expensive but I don't want her to have her feelings hurt because her 4 year old sister got more. I also have a 1 year old but he just had a birthday so he doesn't need much but will get a few so that the other two don't question the whole Santa thing, not sure what I will set out from Santa for him though.
cami_reardon Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 I don't know why but it seems to always work out that they have the same amount of money (within 5.00 of each other) AND the same amount of gifts. It's strange, I don't set out to do that, but it works out that way,
crystalhicks Posted November 16, 2005 Author Posted November 16, 2005 I wondered how this works as well. Little Ava will only be a couple weeks old (if that) come Christmas so I don't have to worry about it this year. Heck, the only reason she will have a few gifts under the tree is so my 3yr old doesn't wonder why Santa forgot the baby. LOLI understand....last year our baby was only 4 weeks old so we got him a jumperoo from Santa so that the other 2 would not wonder why Santa forgot him. By the way, it was a great idea because he loved it and it wasn't too long before he was able to sit in it w/ blankets around him...he loved that instead of always having to lay on his back...he hated his swing!!
shopping mom Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 When my oldest 5 were young we made sure they had the same number of gifts and that we were within $10-20 in price. Now they know the difference so we keep the price the same.
crystalhicks Posted November 16, 2005 Author Posted November 16, 2005 with mine being 4 and 10 (and a 1 yr old but he doesn't mind if they have more) I feel they should have the same # but my husband thinks we should just worry about spending the same amount, which we also disagree on as he thinks we should spend less than I do. We don't buy them much during the year except for Birthdays and Christmas so there is always a ton of things I want to get them and I always do the shopping and I really don't think he realizes how much things cost. He as a child did not get much and so I think that has a lot to do with it.....
Guest all2tired Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 With my kids, I get the same amount of gifts. Each will get 1 big gift though that was at an equal cost. With my neices and nephews, they each get 1 gift and the same amount spent give or take a few dollars.
best4less Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 I get my kids the same amount of gifts. It doesn't always come to the same amount of money though as one may want something that cost more then the other.
Mommie2one Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 I only have my one. Im spending more this year because shes getting older and the items she wants are more expensive. Im trying not to over buy though.
outnumbered Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 Mine are young (preschool/early elementary school age) so I make sure that they have the same number of gifts to open. I try to keep the spending equal but if they want things that cost totally different amounts of money, that isn't possible.
ShawnainKY02 Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 We try to go same amount of presents and money. I usually do this by buying each one gift at a time. I will put in a layaway with 3 things, all around the same price, one for each child. Usually works out pretty good.
juliegirl Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 My kids are 9.5, 7, and 4. I generally try to keep the # of gifts the same because they would notice if one got more than the others. My two youngest are girls and are competitive about that sort of thing and I don't want hurt feelings on Christmas. My youngest, especially, doesn't understand about $$. However, my 9.5 year old son, is starting to understand that if you ask for more expensive gifts, you may not get as many presents. For example, he wants an MP3 player. I told him that IF he gets one, he has to understand that is a more expensive present, so there may not be as many gifts under the tree. My oldest two don't believe in Santa anymore. So if I say something's too expensive, they won't say, "But Santa could get it for me!"
biomajor Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 my kids are 13 and 16. I use the same number, but to even out the number of presents, I usually go to the Dollar Tree or Deal's and pick up little stuff I think they'd like, so the amount of money is pretty close to the same too. For instance, this year we've officially decided (LOL) that my DD will get a mini DV camera and a sewing machine and my DS will get a Palm type thing and Surround sound, so they both get 2 big presents. I always put LOTS of little stuff under the tree and they don't get to open the big stuff till last.
motoXmom Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 I really don't have to worry too much about it since my kids are so far apart. One just turned 19 and the other 9. Our oldest son knows his stuff is so much more expensive then our youngests. Well I should say with the exception of the XBox 360 my youngest just asked for! LOL I think NOT! He just got an XBox last christmas. It usually all works out and everyones happy!
missyjane Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 My son's birthday is 3 days before Christmas. Poor Guy! I try very hard to have the same number of gifts to open on Christmas morning. If I have to sometimes I wrap two things together like clothes or stuff like that. I'm with some of the others - I try to buy one or two "big" gifts and then fill in with other things. This year is definitely harder as my daughter's list includes an inground pool (- yeah right) a laptop (- no way ) and a video camera. My sons list also includes a laptop. So we are definitely going for an equal number of presents rather than dollar.
dorkydiva Posted November 16, 2005 Posted November 16, 2005 I try to spend the same amount of money, but it seems like they usually end up with the same number of gifts, too.
willandmel Posted November 17, 2005 Posted November 17, 2005 i always spend the same amount and i explain to the kids that the 6 year old gets more because her gifts are cheaper and the 12 and 14 year olds understand
treasure60 Posted November 17, 2005 Posted November 17, 2005 I try to spend the same amount on the children who live at home. But I do try to make it the same amount of gifts as possible. With my teen girls,,,it's almost impossible to match their presents with their younger teen brothers.
tootsieroll23 Posted November 17, 2005 Posted November 17, 2005 Well it really depends. DD is at the age now she knows her presents cost a lot more than her brothers so she is ok with not having as many as him. I still try to get her little things also so she will have more than two or three expensive presents. If I spent the same amount on each then DS would probably have 4x the amount she has.
JazzMama Posted November 17, 2005 Posted November 17, 2005 I only have my one. I'm spending more this year because she's getting older and the items she wants are more expensive. I'm trying not to overbuy though.Same response here!
WELUVKDS79 Posted November 17, 2005 Posted November 17, 2005 I figured it up and my oldest 2 sons are the most expensive...we pretty much do it by how many presents...but, the differance is only like $20..
erh12275 Posted November 17, 2005 Posted November 17, 2005 My mom used to spend the same amount of money. So like the year I got my 10 speed for Christmas that cost over $100 I didn't get much else while my sister got lots because the things she wanted didn't cost as much. Most of the toys I have bought in the past and most of them this year are community toys. But there are a few for each girl. I think until they get older and can understand prices I will do the same amount of gifts for each.
mrsbmb Posted November 17, 2005 Posted November 17, 2005 i try and go for the same number.. i have done the same $$ and even when they know you spent the same its sad looking at the sad face when one is still unwrapping.. i try and make sure they are the same value/size etc. so it looks even but may not really be $$ wise. kathy
drmy91 Posted November 17, 2005 Posted November 17, 2005 My kids get the same about of gifts. They dont care about cost. They dont want to be left out while the other two are unwrapping.
neice0510 Posted November 17, 2005 Posted November 17, 2005 This is the problem that I am having, my six year old wants expensive presents and he still believes in Santa. My three year old wants mainly non-expensive things $30 or less and the baby at one year old won't even notice he'll probably play with the wrapping paper more than anything. lol But I'm not sure to stick with the same money or the same amount of gifts. The baby doesn't need as much as the others and it's hard trying to come up with some ideas for him, as he got the other kids hand me down toys. Should I just try to keep the gifts around the same number? Or the same $? By the way my son's big gift this year is a gamecube with a couple of games.
mrsbmb Posted November 17, 2005 Posted November 17, 2005 the three yr old will never know how much you spent on the 6 yr old vs him/her. I wouldnt worry about it. like i said sitting there watching another kid open more for his money was tourture one year when i did that. the kids were around 12 and 13 my oldest two at the time.
orangedaisy Posted November 18, 2005 Posted November 18, 2005 My younger son will definitely be getting more than his teen siblings, but that's because his gifts are so much cheaper than what the teens want.
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