Do you try to spend the same amt every year on DC's b-day & holidays?

cbc04

A friend recently mentioned to me how much money she spends each year on her ds's b-day and christmas.  I was really surprised by how much she spends on his b-day (waaay more than we do) but also that she tries to keep it the same amount each year.  She feels that if her ds notices that he got less one year he'll feel slighted and that if he notices he got more another year he'll always feel entitled to it.  I'm sure we end up in the same ballpark each year with dd, but I honestly don't 'aim' for a certain number just to make sure I don't go under or over last year either.  I also don't remember doing that math as a kid either, so maybe that's why I don't assume dd will either.  What do you think?

JulieandBen

We don't aim for a number either. We get one bigger gift and then a couple items that Jack's been wanting for his birthday. We do the same only with a few more gifts at Christmas.

ilovemygirls

Honestly, I really don't pay attention to the $$ amount.  I like to shop discount (TJ Maxx, Marshall's etc) so I get a lot of things for less.  Now that I have two kids, I do like to keep the number of actual gifts about the same, because my almost 5yo can count lol.  However, they have no idea how much things cost, they just know what they like.  We actually don't go crazy w/birthdays & xmas- we don't like to emphasize "gifts" but rather the celebration itself. 

brightning

Nope. We get her what we want. I like to do one "big" gift at each holiday, but sometimes she gets more or less (last year on Christmas Eve, DH decided he wanted to get her a wagon, too, so she got another "big" item).

I also don't plan on spending exactly the same amount on each child per holiday. It's about a thoughtful gift tailored to everyone's interests, not spending the exact same amount.