More than one gift from Santa?????

[MamaSoleil]

I am so so frustrated!!!! We moved to a new community, and apparently all the kids in dd's class, get two to three gifts from santa!!! What the *&*^%!
Can't we all agree to just one? I'm for the magic of Christmas, and have never gone over board, one gift from Santa, one gift to each child, and one family gift. That's it, done!!!! So now, dd is asking why do some kids get more from Santa? Are they better than her???? I think it's time to tell her the truth!!!!
Any insight???

Truly,

Mamasoleil

[charmarty]

I am freaking seeing things right??? Is this THE mamasoleil???





OMG! !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MamaSoleil]

Yeah, it's me Charmy, I'm back!!! Missed this community so much!!! I've been thru a LOT of CRAZINESS since I've been gone...but I'm back baby!!!

[MamaSoleil]

I also see my sig, it's so old, but still, so right, more than ever!!!

[charmarty]

good to see ya back! Life does take it's turns but we usually ALWAYS end up right where we ought to be inspite the zigs and zags along the way

[MamaSoleil]

:bump
I really want to hear other people's thoughts on this!!!

[MamaSoleil]

:bump

[MamaSoleil]

I guess there's no bump smilie anymore?

[rabrog]

Santa's sleigh isn't big enough for multiple gifts per kid! That's just nuts!

Jenn

[FreeThinkinMama]

We don't do santa(as in we don't plan on having her believe he's real) and growing up santa skipped my house(I was poor). I just assumed that people who did santa had all the gifts addressed to the kids from santa. In the cartoons and movies I always see santa coming down the chimney and leaving a lot of gifts or all of the gifts, not just one each. I'm biased but I would explain that santa isn't real and just a fun story.

[MamaSoleil]

I think she's onto the fact that santa doesn't really exist. Actually, I think she knows deep down, but she's not quite ready to let go of the fantasy. I will let her leave it when she's ready...
but, I won't buy into this new pressure!

[zo's ma]

If I could go back, knowing what I know now...we'd only do one "hand made" gift....like the elves would make, if there WERE elves

I don't think it's anything new, my parents did it.....most of the gifts are from Santa, we give them PJs on Christmas Eve and one gift in Christmas Day. We have really cut back in the last few years but it still seems like too much!

[roxyrox]

We don't do gifts from family members - all the gifts are from santa. My lo is only 2 so likes unwrapping things so I have got a load of little things!

[nicole lisa]

We don't do Santa but growing up all the gifts were from santa so I guess it's not a completely new practice.

[oyemicanto]

When I was growing up, we got many gifts from Santa, waiting for us under the tree. We do the same with our kids - it's not a major haul like you see on tv, but this year they are both getting a game, a couple of small toys, a few books, and a remote control car that DH bought them (I could have done without that one)

I think we all have very different traditions, depending on where we are from and how we grew up and how we interpret/change/keep those traditions for our own children.

[tboroson]

I think it must be a cultural thing. Growing up, we got piles of gifts. I've seen photos of my Dad at Christmas when he was a kid, and he had several new gifts; and they were *very* poor. My Mom's old Christmas photos also show her with numerous gifts, though her family wasn't as poor.

I thought I was breaking with tradition by only providing a *few* gifts instead of a huge pile!

My parents and grandparents saved most of their toy buying for two occasions: Christmas and birthday. We didn't generally didn't get new toys year round. I think that might be a big cultural difference here. I'm a little different, spacing out new toys throughout the year a little more and buying things when I feel they're needed or appropriate (like if one of the kids takes a developmental leap, or if summer rolls around and one of them has outgrown her bicycle).

So, I take a middle ground on the Christmas and birthday toys issue: I buy/make one primary gift (i.e. a puppet theatre, a train table,) a couple of related smaller gifts (i.e. one or two new puppets, train pieces), one or two stocking stuffer gifts (something to fill the stocking other than candy, though I do give them a few pieces of chocolate); Then I give non-toy things: books, clothing, art supplies, sports equipment (dd1 is getting a new helmet for her bike because she outgrew hers.) That last category are all things that I would buy/make for the kids fairly indiscriminately through the year, so I don't feel bad filling up their pile with a few of them so they have lots of packages to open.

[StephandOwen]

We've always done all the gifts are from Santa. Mom and dad are too poor to buy gifts for the kids Seriously, that's what I believed when I was younger. Now that I have my own ds, all gifts are still from Santa, but he doesn't quite get that concept yet so I don't know if I'll stick with it or not. For this year he doesn't give a darn.

Oh, and Santa also sneaks in on Christmas Eve while we're visiting family and leaves one gift on the bed (a pair of new pj's) then he comes back after kiddo is asleep to leave everything else

[onlyzombiecat]

When I was growing up Santa left several gifts each at our house. My parents went overboard at Christmas. With dd, we only give her a few gifts anyway and Santa (or the Christmas Schnauzer) brings her one thing plus fills the stockings.

Maybe the real problem is kids these days being encouraged to count how many gifts they got and also getting bigger more expensive gifts.

[LDSmomma6]

MamaSoleil~

In my family, we do the small things from Santa. Santa brings new panties/underwear/boxers, new socks, Poke`mon cards, CD's, DVD's, little Hot Wheel cars, lip glosses, dolls, legos, nail polishes, toothbrushes, cool toothpastes, new CD ear buds, you know...the small things that they would need or want. Oh, and for older kids, deoderant, new shower supplies, stuff like that. But most of all, Santa brings candy, and it's not the cheap candy...it's the "NAME-BRAND" candy because that's the only time "he" knows that my kids never get a lot of candy.

And then for under the tree, it's the clothes, shoes, guitar (oldest DS asked for one), large-type toys, jewelry boxes, etc... But this year they are getting 2 things each under the tree...Oldest DS is getting 2 DVD's and the guitar. Next 3 are getting jeans/shirt and 1 toy item/or something they need, and 2 younger ones are just getting 2 small toy items each. That's it. That's all I can afford.

HTH...

[JessicaS]

MamaSoleil, it is so nice to see you!

Put a : at the end of that "bump" and you'll get the smilie.


We don't buy toys indiscrimantly just to make a big pile. We get one toy, and then an accessory to go with toys she has like a train or a wooden kitchen item and a book.

In stockings we have five kids to coordinate between my sisters and I, so that tends to get a little complicated.

From dh and I she gets 1 toy, clothes and a book.

But..we all stay at my mom's during Christmas so they all have a pile anyways. :

Anyone who goes *overboard* on their Santa stuff is warned severly, between three families of kids we are supposed to be consistant. Usually there is some sort of argument while the kids are asleep. *you have too much Santa stuff! Wrap some of that from you!*