what did you get for Xmas when you were a kid?

EMT

My mom told DD yesterday that when she was 4 she got a brush and mirror set. Quite the contrast from DD's scooter, bouncehouse, dressup clothes, etc, etc, ETC.

I *think* when I was 4 I got a Cabbage Patch doll but I really don't remember for sure!

We do have more money then my grandparents did and fewer kids (I think they had four kids by the time my mom was four) but my parents and my "situation" were more similar.

Just thought that was kind of crazy! Maybe we'll scale back next year

veloelle

My parents were always very middle of the road. I do remember getting a Hot Wheels track from my dad thinking, um, you know I'm a girl, right? But I loved it once I started playing w/ it.

We'd usually get one big present and a half dozen smaller ones.

Halo79RN

my kids definitely get more.... but dh and I make a lot more than my parents did.  we did scale back this year.  I figure we'll scale back the number of gifts b/c the gifts are getting more expensive and my kids are picking gender specific items that they do not want to share????  the things they learn from school friends.  ugh. 

when I was four I did get a skillet, with cardboard food , you turned a knob and it sounded like it was sizzling. lol.  I asked my mom and she said we got maybe 3 or 4 gifts each (3 of us). I scaled back to 4 toys, then books and stocking stuffers this year.  what I buy next year will be determined by what they are asking for... if it's $$$$  they won't get much else.  

goodheartedmommy

I definitely remember some cabbage patch dolls. A rainbow brite doll. Lots of barbies. A doll that played pat-a-cake (my uncle broke it a few hours after I got it, so sad). One year my dad built us a barbie house (my kids have it now). I remember getting bikes a few times. My kids got a lot less than other nest kids, and I spent more than usual. Ethan got some hot wheels tracks, some pixar cars stuff, a toboggan, some coloring stuff, mater's tall tales, and a small game. Bella got some barbies, bouncing babbles, a shopping toy, shoes, lip gloss, nail polish, coloring stuff. Maile got a magna doodle, fridge phonics, some barbies, gummy bears. This is the first year where I questioned if my kids were getting the short end of the stick (after I saw some pictures on FB of what other kids were getting). But I did what we could, and they were happy. Sorry for the long drawn out response.

Jodi&Joe

I don't have a clue what I got.  I have a horrible memory.  I do know my mom's Christmas budget was $300 each kid -- and there was 3 of us.  I think that was quite a bit for back then and considering we were middle class.  My mom always made a big deal out of Christmas and Christmas Day was probably one of the few days out of the year that was happy for us. I'm sure that plays in to why I'm so over-the-top with Christmas myself.

luckyluvr

My mom was a single mom going to college when I was my kids' ages, so I'm pretty sure I didn't get much. As I got older, and she married my stepdad, I usually got a big item and a few smaller...never more than 5-7 gifts. I got a CPK one year, the year they were the HOTTEST thing in the world, and my mom went through all kinds of channels to get it (ended up buying it from the neighbor who decided her dd was too young anyway). That's about it. My kids are at about the same level as I was when I was older, but we're still recovering from DH's 2 yr. unemployment.

Temp108743750006959

as a little kid, I remember getting a teddy bear, Mouse Trap, pick up sticks, and clothing. Oh, and Light Bright.

Our financial situation changed when I was nine and we started getting a lot more. I remember my mom getting my a Holly Hobbie nightgown when I was way too old for it.

wildfloweragain

Ha, vcake - I wanted a hollie hobby so much when I was a kid and we had no money.  My mom actually got me one THIS year!

I remember my grandma getting me a cabbage patch kid, which was a big deal.  My family wanted to make sure I got one, but they were pricey.  Usually I got one thing each year that was a big hit (sit n spin, snoopy sno cone machine, easy bake oven...)  I would play with it a lot.  I feel like our kids play with something for a day and move on, it gets thrown in the bottom of the toy box. Partly because we have a small house and storage issues, and partly because they get so much stuff!  I try to mostly get things they need as gparents go overboard (snowpants, clothes, sleeping bag, etc.)

Littlejen22

veloelle:

My parents were always very middle of the road. I do remember getting a Hot Wheels track from my dad thinking, um, you know I'm a girl, right? But I loved it once I started playing w/ it.

We'd usually get one big present and a half dozen smaller ones.

Exactly this.  My parents probably spent about the same as we do today and that was 30 years ago.  When I was a pre-teen a few years I got a stereo (or a boom-box, lol) plus a bunch of smaller gifts.)  I totally remember my friend's parents used to spend about 5 times what my parents did in 1988 but that I got more than enough. 

My friend and I were just talking about a big part of the issue today with kids getting too much stuff is that extended family and friends buy so much more than years ago, when I was a kid my Grandparents and Aunt and Uncle would get us one gift and none of my parent's friends would buy us gifts.

#6

I remember quite a bit from when I was around 9-10+ but from when I was 4-5 only one thing.  I had just turned 5 in August and we were shopping but not for cmas...just looking around the toy section.( I have no clue when this happened oter than between august and cmas)  I vividly remember as if it was yesterday standing in Hills (store like Kmart/Target)  begging (ok, whining/screaming/crying) for a My Buddy doll.  My mom was a single mom and we didnt get much for cmas. She has since then told me that it was more than she wantd to spend on 1 item because she wanted to get me more than just one big present.  I remember her trying to talk me into kid sister and leaving the store without it.  I was crushed.  Then on Christmas morning there he was.  I was the happiest 5yr old ever that day, I remember my mom telling me I have to take care of him and keep him forever.

Im 27yrs old and My Buddy is upstairs in my bedroom closet.  I will NEVER part with that doll.  It went e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e with me from 5yrs-8/9yrs old. (yes, I played with dolls for way too long)  My husband hates it but I have threatened divorce if anything suspicious happens to My Buddy.