If you do the three- or four-only Xmas presents thing...

[quelindo]

...do you stick strictly to three or four things?

What I mean by that is, do you give only three or four physical objects, even if they're not very expensive? For instance, I'm planning on giving our son books, some Playmobil toys for his castle and a clock with a space theme to go with his outer space-themed bedroom.

The books are only about $10 each and the Playmobil toys are $2.50 and ~$20 each. If I stuck to just three gifts (which is what I've sort of settled on) that seems like so little. What I'm kind of deciding to do is give three TYPES of gifts and set a monetary limit. So the three books are "one" gift, the two Playmobil toys are "one" gift, and the clock is one gift.

We also do stockings and I try to stick to three small things for that.

[MonkeyPrincess]

It can be whatever you want.

And it can change from year to year, or present to present...

Its okay for it to seem like "too little" as well, my kids get one Christmas present. The littles don't know any different and are excited for their gift. The bigs have adjusted...we weaned down from keeping up with my parents the first couple years, to doing 3 presents each plus a stocking, and now they are totally cool with one gift.

I don't have a set limit, and I don't make sure its an even amount between kids.

[O's mommy]

We are planning on doing three gifts this Christmas too. I was wondering the same thing. I think I would group it, books all together etc. We are also doing a gift from mommy and daddy (knitted/made by me) and a gift to exchange between them (kid calenders-$1 from Michael's). So it's really five gifts total I guess, three from Santa. Christmas pj's the night before. I feel like it's PLENTY. Especially when you factor in the overboard grandparents.

[IngaAnne]

Originally Posted by New Mama

...do you stick strictly to three or four things?

What I mean by that is, do you give only three or four physical objects, even if they're not very expensive? For instance, I'm planning on giving our son books, some Playmobil toys for his castle and a clock with a space theme to go with his outer space-themed bedroom.

The books are only about $10 each and the Playmobil toys are $2.50 and ~$20 each. If I stuck to just three gifts (which is what I've sort of settled on) that seems like so little. What I'm kind of deciding to do is give three TYPES of gifts and set a monetary limit. So the three books are "one" gift, the two Playmobil toys are "one" gift, and the clock is one gift.

My husband and I agreed on the three gift rule prior to our son's first Christmas. Honestly, we never thought about how to address small items. It's really just a rough estimate and our agreement not to go overboard. I think it's fine to group inexpensive smaller items together as one gift. Your listed gifts could reasonably be considered three gifts

[34me]

I have two teens and a pre-teen and we do 4 gifts. Just four, but their gifts tend to be small and expensive

[Crunchy*VT*Mom]

We AIM for four gifts (although this year I think it will be three).

I also add a few "fillers" in there...stuff I would have bought them anyway like bubble bath, chapstick, new toothbrushes...if they need them I will get cute towels or sheets for them as well.

So they are getting four fun things and a handful of other things that were part of the household budget anyway.

Edited to Add ---> and food gifts. I wrap up cookies, fruit snacks, things like that. These are a real treat for my kids because I don't normally allow refined sugar in our home (family history of diabetes) except on special occasions like Christmas.

[smallmama]

I do the "something you want, something you need, something to play with, something to read" gift thing, and I absolutely group small, inexpensive things together. For example, the "something to read" is usually 3-4 books (with a total max of about $20 for books). Whereas the "something to play with" is usually just one bigger toy (like one year it was a $40 easel) but I would also have no problem grouping small, inexpensive things together to a max $$ limit if that's the stuff he wanted.

I put "filler" stuff in the stockings.

[doubledutch]

i stick with one (per kid) and last year it was a combined gift. actually, this year it will be too - they wanted a playmobil castle; now they are asking for these stupid kung zhu fighting hamster pieces of crap, so their gift would be a track for that, a pair of hamsters, and the little outfit for each hamster. i consider that one gift even though it is multiple purchases.

i try to make it something that i would not normally buy for them. for example, books? we buy books whenever. it i were getting them books for christmas it would probably be a complete series or something - and that would be it.

eta: in my opinion, it doesn't have to be expensive to be special, and the more stuff they get, the less special each item is.

[sunnysandiegan]

We do one gift from Santa and it is completely set up and ready to play with first thing Christmas morning. Totally takes the focus off gift-opening and gives the adults time to wake up fully and grab a quick bite of food and settle in to watch the festivities. We have older relatives (age 60+) who come to our house for a few days each year.

Then, we generally give one gift specifically from each of us. DH picks out and buys the gift from him and it is unique to their relationship. I pick out and buy the one gift from me that is unique to our relationship. Then, we discuss and I literally buy 1-2 items from the child's wish list. The first two items I mentioned aren't typically on the wish list, but have often been the most favorite items that last beyond New Year's. Santa brings the best gift and it has been a mix of things the child really wants and what DH & I think is best.

We group like items, but not always. It isn't about the cost, though. It depends on the item(s).

[leigh09]

we do very little in terms of gifts/toys for our kids. my kids like to open presents though (i have young kids, ages 1-4).
what we do is wrap up clothes that our kids would be needing anyways - all our kids get new socks, underwear, the youngest gets new diapers, pj's, etc. under the tree.
craft supplies get restocked at christmas - this is when the water paints, washable markers, and playdoughs get replaced

then our kids all get 1 (maybe 2 smaller) special toys at christmas. our oldest wants new pieces for his wooden train set. our 1 year old has no wish list, our 3 year old wants a magna doodle.

we also usually have special food treats with christmas when we are opening presents - usually homemade christmas cookies we made and decorated together, and other "junk" that we don't eat much of during the rest of the year.

we don't spend a lot of money per say at christmas - the clothes and craft supplies are things that would need to be bought anyways and we just save them up until christmas. we just try our best to make it special without being overly extravagant.