Christmas

Mary Berger

Little one just turned 1 and I'm not sure how crazy we should go with Christmas. He's so young and we still have gift from his birthday that he hasn't opened? How many gift are you buying for your 1 year? 

brewcitybride

My advice - save the gifts and hype for when their older - with one child, at age 1, now is the time for you to take it easy and relax! When DD was 1 and we only had one kid, she just got a few gifts. Like, seriously, 2 gifts. Then it was her birthday a few days later, and she got a few more gifts. And yes, she liked the ribbons and wrapping paper much more than the gifts at that age, so it's just silly to get a lot.

Now she's going to turn 4, and it's much more involved, and much more work! So enjoy it without going crazy while you can is my opinion:)

Jenny952

We're in the same boat.  Lots of presents for her 1st birthday last month and grandparents are going crazy over the top for her.  It's kind of ridiculous.  I am planning on getting her 2 outfits, 2 books and a baby doll.  The books and clothes are hopefully things that she'll grow into and can use in the spring/summer, since she doesn't have much for when she's closer to 18 months.

EDWHIP

brewcitybride:

My advice - save the gifts and hype for when their older - with one child, at age 1, now is the time for you to take it easy and relax! When DD was 1 and we only had one kid, she just got a few gifts. Like, seriously, 2 gifts. Then it was her birthday a few days later, and she got a few more gifts. And yes, she liked the ribbons and wrapping paper much more than the gifts at that age, so it's just silly to get a lot.

Now she's going to turn 4, and it's much more involved, and much more work! So enjoy it without going crazy while you can is my opinion:)

 

This is DD second Xmas and we still aren't going crazy.  Last year we bought her a ball.  That was it.  Put the money you would spend on her in her college fund! 

ladybugpjb

We didn't get him much last year and won't get him much this year. We gave specific recommendations to the grandparents and so far they are doing well at not overdoing it. I tend to buy or suggest to grandparents only the things that he's really shown an interest in at playgroup. I hate having toys that he doesn't play with.

pettycrocker

I bought a ton of gifts, because I am a crazy person. Small kids do not need a ton of gifts. 

Mustardseed2007

We did 3 gifts for his birthday in mid december, and are doing 3 for christmas plus a few little stocking stuffers. Of those he gets one large gift for each occasion and two small ones - a play table and a push toy are the big gifts.

chardonnay24

At that age, I wouldn't go crazy. Last year I bought a couple little things and a ton of clothes that he needed. Family and friends more than made up for that and he (actually, I) had plenty of presents to open.

We went a little more crazy this year. He'll be 2 in about 6 weeks and he "gets" Christmas more than he did last year. He loves to open presents and gets excited when he receives new toys. His birthday is in early February so I really haven't purchased a lot of toys since then. He's grown out of a lot of his current toy collection so I didn't feel bad spending a little bit more.

He is getting a balance bike, helmet, bath paint, and play kitchen pots, pans, and utensils from us, and a peg board, flatbed truck and racecar, puzzle, and reusable stickers and sticker pad from Santa.

Netty_3

We have been pretty lucky in that we have never really bought anything for LO.  A few things last Christmas, but other than that he gets a lot of hand me downs from my sister and our friends, to the point I would feel guilty buying him anything else.  That being said...this is the first time we're buying toys and stuff...since it is Christmas.  I got him a couple of Melissa and Doug toys, a Little People car wash thing (found it on sale and initially was supposed to be for a nephew, but then my sister said my nephew would like Duplo blocks), some new toys for the tub (I think he's getting tired of the ones he has) and Thomas Wooden Railway with train table. He's more fun to buy for than my nieces and nephews...I've had a hard time not buying things I see, but I've done it somehow! At the end of the day I think he'll love the paper and ribbon most. About a month ago we finally unpackaged a few gifts he got last year  for Christmas...he loved them...

M&M227

Last year DD was 6 months and we got her like 3 or 4 things (but things she needed - a foam playmate for the floor, cups, bibs, etc).  This year we got like 6, but she's much more into presents this year.

kxp004

We got a lot of gifts for DS this year, but they are all relatively inexpensive ($10-15) each... with one exception

4 touchy-feely books,  a kick piano to use in the car and will eventually be DD's, a toy from Germany (tradition), a bath toy, Octoplush talking toy (also eventually for DD)... We just set a budget (~$150) and then however many things we could get with it we did... Many of the toys were also purchased with our second LO in mind though so hopefully we will see many many years of usage...

However, he is also getting things from his Mimi & Pop, Neenah & Opa, Godmother, Godfather, Gramps & Grandma, and Mamaw Liz... so, I'm sure it will be more than enough stuff!

ETA: DS is 18 mo, so that may make a difference IDK... however I would say we probably spent about ~$100 on his first Christmas even though he was only 6 mo but mainly clothes and other essentials... He didn't have a big 1st birthday party though so I don't think we over did it...

beautiflaw

We just got her some clothes, and we are getting her some small toys to put in her stocking. She likes the packaging more than the actual toys right now anyway. Her grandparents and other family went crazy and bought her a ton of toys and stuff already. The same with her birthday. Plus we don't want to spoil her and make her think she has to have a lot of presents in order to have a good Christmas.

brewcitybride

We don't go super nuts for Christmas just because she's 4, I'm just saying it's more work with two kids and yes she gets a few more presents than she did at 1- but her grandparents sure do go nuts! She's into arts and crafts, puzzles, books and dolls. And yes, we save for her:)

kxp004

M&MHaveMyHeart:

kxp004:

We got a lot of gifts for DS this year, but they are all relatively inexpensive ($10-15) each... with one exception

4 touchy-feely books, a kick piano to use in the car and will eventually be DD's, a toy from Germany (tradition), a bath toy, Octoplush talking toy (also eventually for DD)... We just set a budget (~$150) and then however many things we could get with it we did... Many of the toys were also purchased with our second LO in mind though so hopefully we will see many many years of usage...

However, he is also getting things from his Mimi & Pop, Neenah & Opa, Godmother, Godfather, Gramps & Grandma, and Mamaw Liz... so, I'm sure it will be more than enough stuff!

Do you possibly have a link for the kick piano for the car? I've been trying to find something along those lines.

 

It's the Fisher-Price Kick Piano and really supposed to go in a crib, but one of our friends reccommended it for hanging on the back of the seat instead... She swears by it, but we'll see... If DS doesn't like it, it will end up in the crib with DD

https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Precious-Planet-Kick-Piano/dp/B0028K2RME

I think Walmart had it the cheapest...

capulet

I bought DS a couple of toys (rather substantial ones) and a picture for his room.  We didn't get anything for his birthday, so the money I spent includes birthday money from family members.  I'm sure in future years we will separate birthday and Christmas presents, but we're in the process of moving and didn't want to give him a lot of toys we'd just have to pack up again.

Reallynervous83

EDWHIP:

brewcitybride:

My advice - save the gifts and hype for when their older - with one child, at age 1, now is the time for you to take it easy and relax! When DD was 1 and we only had one kid, she just got a few gifts. Like, seriously, 2 gifts. Then it was her birthday a few days later, and she got a few more gifts. And yes, she liked the ribbons and wrapping paper much more than the gifts at that age, so it's just silly to get a lot.

Now she's going to turn 4, and it's much more involved, and much more work! So enjoy it without going crazy while you can is my opinion:)

This is DD second Xmas and we still aren't going crazy.  Last year we bought her a ball.  That was it.  Put the money you would spend on her in her college fund! 

This.  DS is almost 2 and getting one gift (a workbench).  He just won't remember at this point so why fill the house? 

Tink112011

My LO is the same age as yours - just turned 1.  Santa is bringing him two "lift the flap" books because he loves them so much and I need a little variety in our story time 

Coworkers ask me what I'm getting DS and gasp when I say "nothing".  I just don't see the point - he is going to get plenty of gifts from grandparents, he just had a birthday, and he doesn't know the difference.  Why in the world would I buy more stuff just because its Christmas????

blu-eyedwife

He's getting 2 gifts for Christmas, one from us, one from Santa

BUT we do Channukah too, so he's already got a ton of presents.  What I've been doing is since his birthday in October, anything he needs has been saved for a "present" so new pajamas, a new towel, a night light, new shoes, etc. 

fancynewbeesly

Between Hanukkah and Christmas I bought her a lot of things. However, last year we bought her ONE gift. But now I really see her interest develop--and her birthday is in May (so not close to the holidays), and I try not get to her things throughout the year as well.

I took Hanukkah & Christmas to stock up on "new toddler" toys-lots of little people sets, crayons, coloring books, and a play kitchen. I know she is getting a ton of things for Christmas and she did get a bunch of things for Hanukkah--but there were certain things I wanted her to have--and I didn't want to rely on other people for gifts.

I do fully plan to put away the gifts she was given and give them out to her through the winter/spring.  

Nwlywed07

We bought about 5 to 6 gifts plus stocking stuff. I didn't plan on buying that much but some how it just happened! He will get a few others from other family members too.

KMEss86

Last year, DS was 11 months old and we didnt get him anything. We left it to the grandparents, and there was wayyy too much stuff. This year we bought him a few things. They dont have the attention span to want to open a bunch of stuff. They will just want to stop and play with the first thing anyway.