Alright, so DD is #5 out of 6 of my inlaws' grandchildren. Each year we gather around a living room full of presents here the kids go insane and don't seem to appreciate much less remember half of what they got that morning. When DH and I got married we agreed when we had children we would limit all the aunts and uncles to two presents from each family (one from them and one from the cousins). She has 7, so that's more than plenty in my mind. My SIL has become upset by our rule because she believe it will not be fair to DD to watch all the other children open up a bunch of presents while she has one per person.
A) I want my daughter to grow up appreciating what she receives and I haven't limited birthdays, or if they feel like gifting throughout the year, so I am I wrong by limiting Christmas?
I know some of my siblings will neglect what we'd like and get Rohan multiple presents anyways. What do we do with the others in order to not seem ungrateful?
TIA
Re: A Christmas Ethics Question
Unfortunately you already look ungrateful by telling them how many gifts they can get.
Gifts are gifts and you should not tell people how many they can get your kids.
I don't really think you can tell people how many gifts to get your DD, but what you can do is keep the number of gifts that you think is fair, and then donate the rest to a toy drive.
this. leave it alone.
Receiving gifts and appreciating the meaning of Christmas are not mutually exclusive. Stress the meaning of Christmas to her.
But seriously. Drop it with your family. You are being really rude.
why not just reenact the Christmas Carol instead of opening gifts then?
If you don't like the way they celebrate Christmas with the copious gift giving, then don't go. If you do go, don't expect to limit the # of gifts they do get your DD. You can instill in your DD the true meaning of Christmas regardless of what gifts she receives, and in what number. Like I mentioned before, have her donate the majority of her gifts to those who are less fortunate if you are wanting to stress that spirit of Christmas is more than receiving gifts, but it is also helping those in need.
This. Trust me, I get not wanting DD to get a ton of stuff. We have the same problem. But its really rude to tell people they can't get your child gifts (or to limit)
yeah, i'm with everyone else. teach our lo what christmas is really about, but don't tell people how many gifts they can get for your child. it's a GIFT. appreciate it. you should be glad you have family that cares about your child and spoils them!
it's all about how you raise your child, and if you raise them to appreciate what they have, they will. i got tons of presents when i was little and i can tell you what i got almost every year to this day.... and i know what christmas is about!
Why would it be rude to take the toy to a toy drive?
bc people dont usually like buying presents, thinking about their niece, and then to find out "oh. no. i gave that away before they even played with it since i dont want my child to think xmas is about plastic and noises. i, of course, dont want to teach her that every other day of the year. just on xmas"
were you this sanctimonious before you got PG or after you had tiny tim?
me too. the kind of people who don't even give the homeless a dollar any other day but volunteer at the soup kitchen on Thanksgiving day.
At this age, I wouldn't think that it really matters, and would just allow people to buy what they want to. When your baby is older, and understands a little bit more, try this to reinforce appreciation:
After the gifts are open, explain that he/she will get the presents after a thanks you card is written for each one. A coworker at work didthis with her children, and even as college students they still refrain from enjoying their gifts too much before writing a thanks you.
OP: I have a three year old (he turns 4 twelve days after Christmas) and he is showered with gifts every year. We have a rule though, only one person opens a gift at a time so everyone can appreciate everyone else's gifts. It takes a long time, but everyone feels special.
He knows the religious reason behind Christmas (DH is religious, I'm agnostic, but I still respect the "reason for the season").
Your nieces and nephews sound like they are victims of crappy parenting.
I really think you should let it go and the take a step back and appreciate the fact that you have so many people that care about your kid.
I guess I'm a sneaky b then, cause I would just donate and not tell them. Kind of like, if the toy wasn't something LO wanted/needed, I would exchange it for something else and not tell them...or regift. I figure it would be better than arguing over how many gifts they could get LO.
I understand where you are coming from. Let everyone get her gifts when they would like. If the actual gift is something you find bothersome, deal with it then (e.g. a gun or something). But, let them shower her with presents. As her parents, you can teach her that Christmas is Jesus's birthday, and she gets gifts from everyone in celebration of that. Maybe you can help her make Jesus a birthday gift or something, when she is old enough to understand. Your neices and nephews lack of awareness about what Christmas is is not due to the # of gifts they receive.
we do this. we've done it since i was little with both sides of the family.
i'm really not understanding how presents take away from the meaning of christmas. i'm southern baptist, so i get the whole reason for the season. we do a christmas musical/play every year, but presents aren't shunned.
and yes, i'm thinking it's bad parenting for your nieces and nephew. maybe just try to get them to the do the one at a time thing.
Do you guys sing Happy Birthday to Jesus? My mom used to make us and I was always really embarrassed. Especially since Jesus' birthday is actually in March and it as changed as a PR move.
If there are any Jehovah Witness' on the board most likely their families are also JW and don't celebrate either. JW's would even GO to a family holiday celebration.
Seriously, you're being rediculous. Your neices and nephews don't appreciate their gifts on Christmas because their PARENTS haven't taught them to appreciate things during the rest of the years. Do you really think this behavior only crops up at Christmas? Doubtful, they're probably spoiled in many ways throughout the year. If you teach your child to appreciate things throughout the year the presents at Christmas will be no issue.
I thought it was October?
H's family actually does sing. They get him a bday cake. The little kids love it (its his extended family with all the cousins and their kids). I thought it was cute!
It was the spring equinox on the Roman Calendar. They changed it to drum up more interest from the pagans, who were already celebrating the pagan feast of the sun god.
It was cute when we were little. Kind of embarrassing when we were older. My mom also used birthday paper for christmas and just scribbled in Jesus under the happy birthday.
Oh I know why they moved Christmas to December. I just had learned a different date for his original bday.
Yeah, the big kids don't do it. Its little kids thing. They love it. And I think its a cute way for a quick reminder of what the day is really about. They don't harp on it.
We used to do it in Sunday School when I was little. We do the "Happy Birthday, Jesus" cake for Nathan (and now Lily and my niece).
Now I want to know which of you is right. I know they moved it because of the Pagan holiday, but I never knew the original date.
Damn it. I was just coming back to post that.
Thanks, Irish!
I tried to google but I'm tired and I would never posts a wikipedia reference.
It's up to you to instill the meaning of Christmas (Christ being born, giving/recieving, etc.), but it's the perogative of family members to decide how/what/who they want to give gifts to. In our family, gifts are giving - all the cousins pick out gifts to give to their other cousins - they open them....they are giving and recieving. Appreciation for gifts is something you can teach your child regardless of how much they recieve.
You don't have to cart all the new gifts off to a toy drive. What we do is in the winter, we go through Olivia's toys and she picks out ones that are in excellent shape that she thinks another child would enjoy. We, then, take them to the local Crisis Center.
I agree with why you want to do this, but i agree with the ladies leave it be. One: be happy that your in-laws are the giving type- it'll help you in the end cost-wise. Mine are the takers, they look and look and will snarl but they wouldn't dare to give back. Two: if duplicates are given go exchange for something else-put it away for another time, or donate it. Three: the meaning of xmas and all it's beauty comes from the parents, church and yes of course your family but you two enforce that everyone else makes it magical on all different levels. JMO
I'm really surprised by the vitrol of this thread. OP, I'm right there with you. I can't stand all the over-the-top gift buying during the holidays. Luckily my whole family got sick of it and we cut back years ago. If everyone's not on the same page, though, there's not a lot you can do.
Gawd some of you guys sound more than a little sanctimonious with your "how dare you ruin the miracle of family giving with your attitude towards gifts". How hypocritical of you. Also, the comment on how annoying it is when people work in food kitchens on Thanksgiving but not the rest of the year - really? Do you really think homeless people begrudge their thanksgiving meal because the workers aren't out there the other 364 days of the year? pff
The OP never said she only feels this way about excessive gift giving on Christmas and that she doesn't teach humility the rest of the year. Nice work turning her into a total harpy based on one comment.
OP - I don't think there is anything wrong with not wanting your kids to get a million presents on Christmas or any other time. In fact, we had a conversation with my MIL recently about excessive gift giving and asked her to tone it down because we were getting way too much stuff. However, it sounds like it's not just one person who's doing it but more of the whole family's tradition. In that case I think it's a good opportunity to teach your kid to be respectful of other people's traditions, even if you don't share their values (or however you want to put that). I really liked Char's idea on donating the gifts later.
You don't have to justify what you do with the gifts once you recieve them, they are yours. You can just do an annual purge of the kid's toys and donate whichever ones you don't use or need, and it's nobody's business where the original toy came from.
Give me a break....its CHRISTMAS!! It's the most wonderful day of the year to be a kid. Why ruin the fun for your DD because you want to be ethically correct! Kids are supposed to tear into the presents and have a ball opening them!!
Be happy that your family enjoys buying for them. My inalws write a check to DS every year. What kid enjoys opening an envelope with a check inside?!?! My mother in law is too lazy to go to a toy store and pick out a single toy for him to open.