Gift giving etiquette

[goofyintoronto]

Just wondering what others do in this situation. If youre the god-parent of a child who also has a sibling, you obviously give the sibling a gift for xmas. BUT the question is, do you spend an equal amount on the siblings gift as you do for your god-child? OR do you always get a little extra something for the god-child? Not a big deal obviously, I was just curious.

 

[ronandannette]

Just wondering what others do in this situation. If youre the god-parent of a child who also has a sibling, you obviously give the sibling a gift for xmas. BUT the question is, do you spend an equal amount on the siblings gift as you do for your god-child? OR do you always get a little extra something for the god-child? Not a big deal obviously, I was just curious.

Yep, I would (roughly), and I'd likely keep both gifts small and of a similar theme.

 

[anniemae]

I would.

 

[kamik86]

Depends on more details:

At least in my family god-parents were always family anyway so besides the god-parent relationship they were still related to me and my siblings.

My god-mother was my grandmother. So yeah she spent a similar amount on all her grandchildren that were still children (My cousins now range in age from 50 to 20 so we normally only got presents from her until about 15 or so)

My god-father was my uncle I'm not sure if he gave presents to all of his nieces. However when I was really small he definitely have presents to me. Some of the best ones actually. I don't remember him giving gifts to my younger cousin or my sister though so maybe it was only because I was his godchild. However he gave my presents when my cousin wasn't around (generally just on a normal weekly visit to grandmas house that both our families did) and my closest sibling was MUCH older then me. (10 years) so there was less of a chance of jealousy. Especially since the early presents were more modest it wasn't until I was 5 or so and could be given more fun stuff that I got really awesome things. By which point my sister was old enough to understand.

I don't know if my siblings got presents from their god parents. because by the time I was old enough to remember they would have been older.

So if the siblings are very close in age you might want to give similar amounts (at least by the time they are old enough to notice)

However if the sibling is much older and old enough to understand why the gifts are different that is ok. If the sibling is much younger its even easier. I have found little kids tend to count the number of presents not the amount (To a three year old getting 2 $15 dollar toys means they got more then a sibling that got one $50 toy... because its not like they know why that little device that plays music is that cool anyway!)

 

[DontRushMe]

In our family God Child/God Parent Presents were special. No other present for other sibling. We always exchanged ornaments. It was a special time to search for just the right one, I always got my godfather a Santa and my Godmother an Angel. Even when I was little I remember searching with my mom for just the right one each year. Although we stopped exchanging every year as I got older, today if I see a super special santa or angel I will pick it up. I have a whole tree with raccoon ornaments, over 50 of them. I love to put it up each year and now I realize how hard it must have been each year to find a raccoon ornament.
Now that I have children my girls get ornaments from their godparents and we have a tree with snowmen and bears.
It is just something small, but it has special meaning.

 

[Happy Snowman]

Both sides of our family, Godchildren get gifts, other siblings do not.

 

[poohfriend77]

We keep the gifts even between siblings, if they are opening them at the same time, like for Christmas. I would maybe spend a little more for birthday (or add a check for college fund for godchild), and I'd definitely spend more for a gift for religious occasions (First Communion, confirmation, etc.)

 

[cluvsdisney]

I am god mother to my nephew but I don't purposely give him more than I give to his sister/my niece.

 

[NAB]

We only give to the god child not the sibling as well since that other sibling probably has a gift from their own god parent(s).

 

[NFLDERS]

We only give to the god child not the sibling as well since that other sibling probably has a gift from their own god parent(s).

This, and the same would be the case with B-days ie.
I'd be curious to know what the books read on this topic.

 

[Minnesota!]

I wouldn't say you "obviously give the sibling a gift". I was never given gifts by my brother's godparents, and vice versa. And, I would not expect my kids to get presents from their siblings god parents..

But, if you do go that route, no, I would not make them equal gifts.

 

[NFLDERS]

I am god mother to my nephew but I don't purposely give him more than I give to his sister/my niece.

Same here. As well as Religious Celebrations all the kids would receive a Confirmation gift ie because they are family.

 

[Poohforyou]

Maybe I'm cheap or selfish or something but I don't give gifts to my God child's siblings. They have their own God parents who give them gifts. Now, if the God child is a relative and I'd give gifts without being the God parent that would be different. I'd spend a little more on my God child but not to the point that it was really obvious.

 

[msjprincess]

I always spend more on my Godchild than their siblings. And I only give their siblings gifts because one is my nephew and the other is my best friend's daughter and I had always bought her gifts even before my Godson was born.

Growing up we had a large family and Aunts/Uncles... only bought presents for their Godchildren, not the other nieces and nephews.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

My godchild has two siblings and we always get each a gift at Christmas.
Now that he is a teenager we give him cash $50 and his siblings each get a gift or gift card $15-20 each. They in turn get each of my kids something in the $15-$20 range.

 

[littlejimmy]

a bit more to god child

 

[puffkin]

I have a twin brother and we have the same godparents, who are not relatives. They always gave us gifts but not my younger brother. He had his own godparents, who were our Aunt and Uncle. They also gave my twin and I gifts since we were their niece and nephew as well, but younger brother always got something extra from them. It was the same on the other side....most of my cousins had aunts/uncles as godparents and they always got a little extra from their godparents over the other nieces and nephews.

We are the godparents to my younger niece. I have always given equal value gifts to both her and her sister since they are our nieces. For the one that is our godchild though, I have always given her an extra gift of an godchild Hallmark ornament at Christmas. She looks forward to it every year and has a collection of 13 of them now. Her sister understands....even though her godparents (aunt/uncle on her dad's side) don't do anything extra for her.

We chose not to give our children god parents when they were baptised.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Thanks everyone for your input. There are lot of mixed answers. Seems as thou my gift giving etiquette isnt out of wack afterall. Yes, i do give a gift to my god-child's sibling, BUT I tend to give a bit of extra to my god-child.

We chose not to give our children god parents when they were baptised.

Call me crazy, but I honestly didnt know godparents were a choice. I thought it was mandatory. Amazing, you learn something knew each day!

 

[McKelly]

I give Xmas gifts to all children equally. For religious celebrations, 1st Communion, Confirmation, etc., I give more to the Godchild.

 

[mtemm]

ds12 has a godfather who gives him usually around $50 gift card, usually to barnes and noble, and gives my ds10/dd10 around $15. their godparents give equal gifts to all kids. we have always just pooled the gc and the kids pick out equal number of gifts.

we gift our godchildren and their siblings equal gifts.