What gifts did your child(ren) get?

[GoodSteward]

It's so interesting to see what people do for their kids.

SavingAdvice has saved me money. lol When I mentioned the robot I was getting my son I googled it to make sure I was spelling it right, and I noticed at the top of the search where they advertise stores it showed a cheaper price at Walmart. It was 149$ to start with when I put it on layaway(just to keep it out of the house). When we got it out of layaway it had dropped 30$. Checking when I posted originally it dropped another 30$! So, I took his present back and ordered it again online (none in store). Walmart offered free expedited shipping. Should be here today or Monday. 60$ off total.

[msomnipotent]

It's so interesting to see what people do for their kids.

SavingAdvice has saved me money. lol When I mentioned the robot I was getting my son I googled it to make sure I was spelling it right, and I noticed at the top of the search where they advertise stores it showed a cheaper price at Walmart. It was 149$ to start with when I put it on layaway(just to keep it out of the house). When we got it out of layaway it had dropped 30$. Checking when I posted originally it dropped another 30$! So, I took his present back and ordered it again online (none in store). Walmart offered free expedited shipping. Should be here today or Monday. 60$ off total.

And if you ordered through a shopping portal, you could have earned a whopping 2% cash back! I know it sounds like peanuts, but it adds up. I'm getting over $50 back so far from Christmas shopping, and I'm sure it will be closer to $75 once everything is accounted for.

[cornfieldj]

Our older son is disabled, so he doesn't want much and the things he does enjoy tend to be pretty inexpensive - some books, some toys. My younger son turned 16 yesterday. Yep, a week before Christmas and Hanukkah (this year).

His big birthday present was 2 shares of Nike stock because he's a huge Nike fan. He buys and sells used ones. I'd like him to get a little interested in investing. He seemed very pleased. He also got a novel we thought he'd enjoy, a sports jersey, a gift card to Shake Shack and some food treats (like Twix and some beef jerky).

I know the food ones seem weird but it's a way of extending the gift pile without spending a ton, and it's also usually something we don't buy that often. (Though I'm sure he buys plenty of Twix on his own.)

[sv2007]

It's so interesting to see what people do for their kids.

SavingAdvice has saved me money. lol When I mentioned the robot I was getting my son I googled it to make sure I was spelling it right, and I noticed at the top of the search where they advertise stores it showed a cheaper price at Walmart. It was 149$ to start with when I put it on layaway(just to keep it out of the house). When we got it out of layaway it had dropped 30$. Checking when I posted originally it dropped another 30$! So, I took his present back and ordered it again online (none in store). Walmart offered free expedited shipping. Should be here today or Monday. 60$ off total.

Good saving $60, but why not just price match?

It's almost like fate wanted us to save money.

I was ordering a bunch of chocolates for various people online and needed to order some more the next day (because I didn't have some addresses handy); noticed a price drop of $17/box; so I send the store an email. A few days later, they sent me a reply with CC refund of a little over $170.

[cornfieldj]

I just read this essay on gift giving (or not gift giving, really) - and I think it's worth reading. I probably couldn't do what the writer did but I really applaud the effort to keep a kid from getting too materialistic.

[sv2007]

Interesting article.

I think it's good that it works for her (not sure about her child since the article didn't ref any long term studies on whether her method is effective). In a way, we try to raise our child the best we can, and many ways, that doesn't mean spending money on gifts.

I sometimes wonder how much parental behavior influences a child, as kids pick up on things and learn new stuff really fast and constantly seek approval. If parents display non-materialist behavior, regardless of the lack of or abondance gifts, perhaps their kids will learn it ?

[phantom]

While I find the idea of trying to completely eliminate birthday and Christmas gifts interesting, it's not for me. I didn't get many gifts outside of Christmas and my birthday, and while the sheer number I did get on those occasions might have made me a bit more materialistic than I otherwise might be, I know it taught me a lot about delayed gratification and setting priorities. My mom's goto line anytime I asked for anything was "Put it on your Christmas/birthday list." Then as the event grew closer, I pruned off the items I realized I didn't want all that much. With time, I got used to waiting for things I wanted. The mother in the article talks about how her daughter doesn't want for anything, which means she's getting gifts throughout the year. I don't know if she limits those gifts or not, but I like the idea of putting limits on gifts, and limiting gifts to certain occasions seems like a really simple way to do that.

[MonkeyMama]

We don't have a gift/consumer focus in our house, when it comes to holidays.

Absolutely, parents set the expectations. I just don't think that they realize. My parents didn't raise me with all these expectations about Christmas. I feel like I was raised in another country, because it's all so completely foreign to me. My husband likes my attitude about it, but struggles with guilt if he didn't do any gifts. He told me 4-6 weeks ago he didn't see the point of doing any gifts this year. But then he felt some guilt so he decided to get one "need" gift for each kid. They are getting a blanket and a robe (11 & 13). In recent years, we have otherwise changed focus to more food gifts. I got them some food for their stocking. It seems to be a happy medium of not filling the house with more "stuff", while letting them have some nice treats.

[PeggyHefferon]

I can't imagine not buying a child something for Christmas. No matter how tough things were financially, we always made sure there were some gifts under the tree. NOT huge credit card debt Christmases, but there would always be something.