Spin off on the 80 presents -- is more better?

[U2_rocks!]

I'm not a fan of a ton of presents - it's overwhelming to have that much new stuff all at once. We're quite happy not to have the gifts take over the whole living room!

I try to make things even in numbers if I can - my 3 kids are pretty competitive, and they don't get a lot, so an uneven number would stand out. This year DS is getting an expensive, special present and the girls aren't, so they are being given more actual items. But to keep it seeming fair, several of their things are being wrapped together into one gift to match DS'.

 

[SaraJayne]

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

 

[mickeysgal]

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

Excellent.

 

[*BTMRR*]

For the past couple of years, my kids (all under age 10) have gotten piles of presents.
This year we decided that had gotten out of hand. We cut waaayyy down. They each have four or five.

They seemed surprised for about one minute when they saw the gifts under the tree and my oldest who remembers the past crazy years said "is this all?" But I explained that we were tightening the budget this year, and that we already have so much stuff, that we just picked out a few special things and left it at that.
All the kids were fine with that explanation and have every bit as much joy about anticipating opening the gifts as they did any other year.

The grandparents have still gone overboard with one large family gift which they will open after Christmas when we visit, but as for our immediate family we've cut down and plan to continue that way. It was just TOO much.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

My rule for checking myself is that come the fall, I ask my kids what they got for Christmas last year. If they cannot remember at least 2 items, then I gave them too many things. (I'm not going for the sort of experience I had as a child, where I can STILL remember what my parents gave me pretty much every year, because they only gave two gifts and it was a BIG deal to them to buy gifts, but if my kid has no clue at all, then there was so much that it was a blur, and it shouldn't be.)

My goal is for my kids to get about 4 items each from us, with more from family. Normally it tops out at about 10 items.

OP here, and I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing. I'm not really thinking about how MUCH stuff you get your kid, I'm talking about how you wrap it. I'm not sure that my son is going to be more spoiled if he gets an art kit in a box that costs $20, or a $.39 glue stick, and a $.99 box of crayons, and $4.00 pack of markers, etc . . . all adding up to $20.

Having said that, my son does talk about is the little stuff. Last year he got vampire teeth in his stocking and talked about them a lot. He's much more likely to describe last year as the year he got vampire teeth than the year he got a used snowboard, although he got way more use out of the latter.

One other thing I'm wondering, as I read this, is what people consider a "present". I wrap everything unless it's a bike or something that's unwrappable. So if there are 3 packets of Cheetoes in his stocking (I don't buy junk food for the house, so the fact Santa brings these is a huge treat), then I'd count that as 3 presents. The year Santa brought the art supplies I would have said he had probably 15 "presents" in the stocking alone -- but that would have included the 50 cent ruler. I read here that other people say their kids get "only 10 presents", plus "doodads", as if that makes their kid less spoiled than mine, but I wonder if they're counting things as "doodads" that I'd count as presents.

I should add that I don't really care how much other people get. I'm more curious about how other people describe it -- it's fascinating to me.

 

[klacey1]

Growing up, a lot of gifts were "bundled." I always gave my a dad a long, long list of books. Since most were from a series (BSB!) and the same size, he'd stack 5 or 6 into a pile and wrap them together. Most other gifts were wrapped separately, though.
Now, I wrap everything individually-- from my brother's gift card to DBF's deodorant! I just really love the sight of a ton of presents under the tree. Not in a greedy way, I just honestly love the look of it. That's the way it was growing up, and it's nostalgic for me. I think kids are only as spoiled as you let them be. I don't think just because you give your kids tons of Christmas presents automatically means they'll be ungrateful brats.

 

[indimom]

Personally, I like when we have "a lot" to open, so I'd be more inclined to wrap things seperately when I can. Each of my kids are getting three books (from two different series). I wrapped the three books individually, then tied them in a bundle with ribbon rather than put them in a box. I also wrap the stocking stuffers when I can just because I like to draw out the fun. We also enjoy shaking and poking and weighing and rattling, trying to guess what it is before we open.
My kids are getting 10 gifts, plus a full stocking. (I'd guess another ten tiny items - like fingernail polish, extra nerf bullets, gum or tic tacs - in there.)
But, I don't individually wrap things like packs of sock. I don't like the wrapping that much!

 

[NotUrsula]

OP here, and I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing. I'm not really thinking about how MUCH stuff you get your kid, I'm talking about how you wrap it. I'm not sure that my son is going to be more spoiled if he gets an art kit in a box that costs $20, or a $.39 glue stick, and a $.99 box of crayons, and $4.00 pack of markers, etc . . . all adding up to $20.

No, I think we're ultimately talking about the same thing. I think having too many boxes to open blurs the joy of receiving something special. Part of that is a visual -- if you take a photo of them opening the things they are buried in wrapping paper and the goodies are strewn from one end of the room to the other, because there is no space to put them down. I'm sure your kids think of all the packages as a "build the gift" game, and that's fine, but I just prefer to stick to just a handful of memorable things if I can.

I think that when they are little, especially, too much "stuff" can be overwhelming and lead to Christmas meltdowns; something I go to great lengths to avoid. Also, we almost always travel for the holidays, so with few exceptions, we keep gifts small-ish.
...

I read here that other people say their kids get "only 10 presents", plus "doodads", as if that makes their kid less spoiled than mine, but I wonder if they're counting things as "doodads" that I'd count as presents.

Well, I count "doodads" as presents (if I had to pay for it, then it's a gift, not a "doodad"), but I generally don't give them unless they've been specifically asked for. (DS likes yo-yos, for instance.) We don't do Santa and we don't do stockings; we just wrap up every gift in separate boxes.

 

[MrsPete]

All I can think of is Dudley Dursley on his birthday

"37? But last year, LAHHHST YEAR, I had 38".

That's exactly what I was thinking!

A bit off-topic:

If you have only a few presents, but you want your tree to LOOK very full, use small red balloons as "fillers". Doesn't do a thing for opening presents on Christmas morning, but it does make your tree look "full".

Something I wanted to do when my kids were little, but I never had the right kind of house/doorway:

I always wanted to "wrap" the empty door space to the living room so that the kids'd have to burst through the paper to get to their stockings, the tree, etc.



I don't think my own kids care a hoot how many boxes they have, but they do care what's inside them!

They're teens now, so they would be a bit underwhelmed with the wrap-the-hot-wheels-separately concept. Of course, for them it'd be more like a bracelet wrapped separately from its matching shirt. I tend to wrap "together"; for example, the girls are both getting cameras -- they're getting a big box with the camera, extra batteries, SD card, and camera case. If they were wrapped separately, it could turn out strangely: They could open the camera case first, then the SD card -- and that wouldn't make sense.

 

[MrsPete]

No, I think we're ultimately talking about the same thing. I think having too many boxes to open blurs the joy of receiving something special.

Yes, you can definitely over-do. You can reach a point of diminishing returns, when the child is opening packages just to open packages.

 

[RunDanceSkate]

How it works at our house:

Mom (me) buys and wraps 1 gift per child (2 kids) (usually $50 to 100)
Dad buys and wraps 1 gift per child (usually $$50 to 100)
Mom/Dad/Sibing together buy and wrap 1 gift per child ($ depends on budget)
Sibling buys and wraps 1 gift for sibling ($25 to 50)
Santa (Sinterklauss) brings 1 gift plus fills stocking with candies/nuts/ects

Total per child 5 gifts

DD buys and wraps 1 gift per parent ($25 to 50)
DS buys and wraps 1 gift per parent ($25 to 50)
DD/DS/Spouse together buy and wrap 1 gift for other parent ($ depends on budget)
Spouse buys and wraps 1 gift for spouse (usually $50 to 100)
Santa fills stocking with candies/nuts/ects

Total per parent 4 gifts

The combined gift takes alot of work getting everyone to agree on, but it is usually the best one.

To answer your original question, things are not wrapped seperately. Each present is presented by the giver to the receiver and everyone pays attention to the opening. Each gift is valued and chosen with care, even the wrapping is geared to the receipient. All parts of the gift are wrapped together, and some parts may decorate the top. If someone decides to get a bunch of smaller things they may go with a theme and wrap them altogether.