How many Christmas presents??

PJ - I only have two kids and I have the same problem with finding room for everything! My boys share a room (we tried separate rooms and it started WW III between the two of them!), so we have to find places for an 11 year olds stuff and an 8 year old's stuff. And of course you have to be able to keep the 11 year old's extremely important stuff out of the hands of the younger sibling's hands! :rolleyes: This is what we started: On the Friday after Thanksgiving (when they don't have school and I refuse to shop!) we take a couple of large tubs, four large (clean) garbage cans (two per child) and some garbage bags into their room. We all sit down in the middle of the room and start going through their toys one by one. If it's broken or missing something, it goes in the garbage bag. If it's something the boys are willing to let go of, it goes in one of the tubs. Anything they don't want to let go of goes in the garbage cans. The rule is that they can only keep what fits into the two garbage cans that are assigned to them. We always end up overflowing those two cans, so we move to round two! Round two - we haul out the stuff we definitely aren't keeping that went into the tubs and garbage bags. The stuff in the garbage bags goes to the curb, the stuff in the tubs is put into bags to be taken to Goodwill. Then we take the tubs back into the room. Now the kids go through all the stuff they wanted to keep and we help them make decisions about if they are keeping it, or if they think another family might like to have it. By the end of the day (and yes, this is usually an ALL DAY process), we have the kids things down to two garbage cans of things that can be put into the storage tubs and toy boxes already in their room. For stuff with sentimental value - like the truly ugly stuffed dog my youngest has had since he was born - we make a special dispensation certificate that lets the toy stay even if their can is full. These certificates are rare, and reserved only for things that are more than one year old and truly attached to their child. One thing we've done this year is get our oldest (11 yrs) a locking chest to put certain things in. Having separate rooms didn't work, but he still needs somewhere to put things he REALLY doesn't want his sib into. It's small enough that he has to pick and choose what goes in and what can be shared. As far as the number of gifts is concerned, I think that as long as they get one thing they really really wanted and the same number as their sibs, kids are usually pretty happy. We usually have one special thing from Santa, then a couple of things from us. Of course they get a couple of gifts from grandparents and their stockings. We give the boys $10 to buy each other gifts with. Merry Christmas!

P.S. Oh yeah - the best thing we ever did to cut down on the volume of STUFF the kids have is to ban KIDS MEALS! The first time we went through their room after Thanksgiving, we threw away an entire lawn size garbage bag full of those annoying, cheap little toys! LOL

Oh - I totally know what you mean about the crappy McDonald's toys. With so many kids (6 yrs and under), we don't even buy them the happy meals anymore. Its cheaper to buy the biggest size of chicken nuggets or their own cheeseburger and a large fry (to share). They don't miss the toy at all anymore. They always look at them in the display and they seem satisfied with that. However, when the grandparents take them out, they are more than welcome to buy them whatever they want. I firmly believe grandparents are entitled to spoil their grandchildren. Honestly, I don't mind at all. We have a large family now and it is impossible to do all those things with them that the grandparents do. Usually, we send one or two kids at a time to be with the grandparents. They get a lot of attention then. I love the idea of the tubs and garbage bags. We are moving into a new home within the next 5 months. We are going to go through all the toys then. I'm having a HUGE garage sale in the fall!!!! Thanks for the great idea!! Pat

I also have a lot of kids.Mine get about 4 presents apiece.I also handcraft them 1 item every christmas.They also get their stockings filled.I grew up in a large family and we got 3 presents each.I watch my sister who goes all out because she buys her 3 children so much.Most times the toys dont get played with as they got to many.It is nice because with only 4 items per child i know the toys are going to get played with alot.My children also get presents from granparents and friends.They get One thing they really want.My 15 yr old wanted a portable cd player not a bad thing considering his age.I also make my kids go through their toys to make room for their new things.This does help alot.Also dont have to worry where we are gonna put everything. Denise

Every year just before thanksgiving the kids go through their toys to get rid of broken ones and ones that they do not play with anymore. Then we fix or throw away the broken ones and give the good ones to the local Goodwill or DAV, they usually sell the toys very cheap or give them away. This helps to teach the kids about giving and also helps to clean up their bedrooms really good once a year.

I have 8 boys. The younger children have more presents and the older children usually have two items they really want(higher $ than the smaller children). Santa brings exciting gifts like hat/glove sets, hooded sweatshirts, socks, tooth brushes, hair gel-lots to open and they like it. My mother always gives legos, model cars and lots of paper, pens, pencils, and crayons. My six year old asked for a big box of klenex.

I was so pleased to read this thread as the amount of toys children have these days I feel is over the top! We live in a small three bedroom house and already it's over flowing with toys for ONE three year-old girl. WE are the only parents we know who have not bought presents for our child for the past three years. Why? Because she has everything already! I'm not kidding. We've been given so much stuff from other parents and family that the house is now bursting a the seams. I have taken all soft toys from nonsignificant friends/family to charity, as well as anything else she does not play with. I think it's too much as children will not learn to value anything. I grew up in a good middle class family in the 60s and 70s and I had a fraction of the toys my child has and I was MORE than happy! Often she gets into the pantry and plays with the canned food...She also plays with the huge box of hand-me-down shoes that is in the bottom of her wardrope. Please NEVER buy soft toys for friends/family children just get clothes or gift vouchers. I see friend's children destroy and fail to value the huge amounts of toys they have - which end up in the trash. I think less is best! I know it sounds like a kill joy but we have been blessed by soo much. Also I tried to have a "no-gift" party when my daughter turned two - everyone bought gifts - total failure and more stuff in the house.....I think big families are blessed because there are lots of play mates - have a great Christmas!

We also have a large family with 5 children. A few years ago we HAD to change the way that Christmas was conducted. From that point on they were only allowed to ask Santa for ONE gift. Then all members of the family were responsible for buying one gift for all the other members. For example...my oldest son John would get his Santa gift...one from us...one from Aaron...one from Sejona...one from Anjali...and one from Maya. They do odd jobs throughout the year to earn their "spending money" for Christmas time. They have a blast buying the gifts and trying to keep secret what they got everyone. My husband and I add to this a new outfit for each child...two videos...and a family game. It sure put a lot more fun into Christmas and let them understand the value of giving as well as receiving. Every few years we have a special Christmas in which EVERY gift given has to be home made. We have really been having more fun during the Christmas season since we stopped the massive buying we used to do. Hope this helps...Merry Christmas from the Asche Clan...Mom, Dad, John, Aaron, Sejona, Anjali, and Maya!!