# How Many Christmas Gifts do you Typically give your Kids? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 20, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-christmas-gifts-do-you-typically-give-your-kids/518324 "2009-11-20T20:16:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-christmas-gifts-do-you-typically-give-your-kids/518324/41 "2014-12-22T20:12:56Z")
My general gift-giving policy for immediate family on Christmas is to start with a budget that I determine somewhere around November. Using that budget, I start by thinking about big gifts that they’d particular like and get as many of those as I can fit (usually just one big gift, but maybe a few). However, I think it’s more festive if people have a lot of things to open, so I do some smaller fun gifts at lower dollar amounts. These might include candy, used books, cheap jewelry, small toys, etc. (In some households, many of these items might be stocking stuffers rather than wrapped presents.) I like to have at least 5 or 6 items. So one year, my wife’s presents included $180 of theater tickets, which were actually hidden inside the lid of a $10 box of chocolates, plus a $15 pair of gloves, her favorite $20 fruitcake and $5 fuzzy socks. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-christmas-gifts-do-you-typically-give-your-kids/518324/42 "2014-12-22T20:14:40Z")
Our boys are each getting 6 packages, which includes one crafty thing, a game, and one package of a few books (each). Oh, and they’re each getting something that, to be honest, is actually for me. Ha! It’s good to be a parent. I’ll leave it up to their grandparents to buy the big stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-christmas-gifts-do-you-typically-give-your-kids/518324/43 "2014-12-22T20:20:01Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > As are we. But this year I had to buy two new cars. One for me and one for a friend so I’m going light on the gifts for my brothers kids. Usually I feel bad if I don’t spend at least $15000 on each kid. $10000 into each college fund and then $5000 in gifts but this year I can only do about $10000 each. So $5000 into the college funds and $5000 in gifts like normal so they won’t really see a difference. The car was my present to myself but I think I’m going to throw some new rims on it. These look pretty good. > > [http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/carbon-fiber-wheels-by-carbon-revolution](http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/carbon-fiber-wheels-by-carbon-revolution) Drunky Smurf, despite all of my best efforts, I can’t help but like you. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-christmas-gifts-do-you-typically-give-your-kids/518324/44 "2014-12-22T21:36:10Z")
Ours are getting a trampoline to share, and a Christmas stocking each. Does that count as one big gift, or the less than a dozen option? ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-christmas-gifts-do-you-typically-give-your-kids/518324/45 "2014-12-22T21:55:45Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > BTW, all presents are officially from everybody, and we share in the cost according to ability to pay. Damn commies. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-christmas-gifts-do-you-typically-give-your-kids/518324/46 "2014-12-23T04:23:02Z")
> [@Octarine](#): > > Damn commies. 😉 I’m hijacking this thread to Cuba! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-christmas-gifts-do-you-typically-give-your-kids/518324/47 "2014-12-23T04:30:23Z")
They’re all grown up so it’s one big gift now. When they were little kids the living room was knee deep in toys. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-christmas-gifts-do-you-typically-give-your-kids/518324/48 "2014-12-23T05:06:16Z")
We don’t have a set number of gifts. It might be a big gift and a couple of little things (as it is this year) or several gifts in a middle price range. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-christmas-gifts-do-you-typically-give-your-kids/518324/49 "2014-12-23T16:00:12Z")
> [@DISMom](#): > > As it goes we are quite an effluent family. So you give really shitty gifts? ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-christmas-gifts-do-you-typically-give-your-kids/518324/50 "2014-12-28T11:40:32Z")
With Sinterklaas, our six year old son got a $50 Legos set he had put no 1 on his wish list. His grandmother payed for that one. I did most, actually all of the gift buying. His aunt gave him 10 dollars worth of glitter pens and glitter stick on tattoos, I got him the Harry Potter 8 movie DVD set, a pyjama, a book, and he got some smaller gifts like gloves, a hat, and candy. But he gets smaller gifts about twice a month all thorough the year. Toys are tools and you do’nt buy tools once a year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-christmas-gifts-do-you-typically-give-your-kids/518324.md?page=2)