I found it to be very expensive..as she gets older electronics become the go to "toys"..We are at about $800 and I feel like I have to go get more !! I am a sucker for my kid thats for sure, I hate to disapoint and if it means charging till the card is maxed so beit!! So my question is, do you buget for the kids? or just say the heck with it and do your best to get them everything they asked for? We kind of play it by ear every year..this year was a tough one for her in school but she has done so well that we really feel she has earned every toy she gets...She gets a huge A for her effort.....Do you look at the stuff under the tree and say "man I never got stuff like this on Xmas" also whats your tradition for playing "Santa" We put her to bed, wait until she is out like a light, pour a glass of wine and then start putting it out around 1 or 2 am after the long night at my moms house...she always puts out cookies for Santa I mean Dad...and I eat them...Its really one of my favorite things in the world...

One other tradition we have that is from when I was a kid....We hide one toy and she gets a note in her stocking, telling her to start a hunt for it....I love the look on her face when she opens everything and that one big thing she was hoping for isnt under the tree...then she gets the note in the stocking, says something like "Hello Ali, I did not have room for your present so I placed it in a secret place" Love Santa....Its a blast..

So lets hear yours...I love Xmas!

I am older and I have only one, 6 years old, so she get's spoiled rotten and I wouldn't want it any other way. IMO it's for the kids anyway. P.

800 bucks on a single young kid? That's insane, and trust me...I know how to spend money :hee:

-spence

Probably about 300 on my daughter, and 800 on the wife.

a successful and joyous holiday has no correlation between money spent and happiness.

$800....Thats it???
I think you better recalculate...PS3 cost that.....:smash:

$800....Thats it???
I think you better recalculate...PS3 cost that.....:smash:

Ya, that doesnt factor in the plastic:err: :err:

800 bucks on a single young kid? That's insane, and trust me...I know how to spend money :hee:

-spence

Ya I guess but so is spending $800 on a fishing reel because it has the letters VS on it...think about it..And to me she isnt just a kid..thats my daughter, and the smile on her face is worth every penny...We dont shop with a set amount in mind. Thanks god for xmas club accounts

a successful and joyous holiday has no correlation between money spent and happiness.

so true and the sooner they realize it the better off thay r !

so true and the sooner they realize it the better off thay r !


To bad there parents didnt follow suit.."Sooner or later they realize there better off with a penn than an $800 status symbol" Its just like fishing..."Money has not direct correlation to success"

Bill if I told you you'd cry :crying:

Does the check for $11,000.00 two weeks before Christmas for my share of next semesters tuition count for my oldest daughter? Next year I will have two in college. :wall: :jump1: :shocked:

Thats insane! My husband and I were just having this conversation abou how much people spend (or how much more debt they create for themselves) on Christmas. I dont have my own but I bought for 3 nieces and 1 nephew for less that what many are spending on one. Shouldnt it be more about making them thankful for what they do have that spoiling them with so many things? Things they will break or loose by June?

Well this year is very lean so no one is getting much, 3 kids 2 boys 27 & 21 200 a piece, 1 Daughter 17, 300, thank god we don't buy for all our brothers and sisters any more, that's when it got insane
We buy for each other the 3 kids and her mom and my mom and dad. probably about 1200 bucks this year but when I work it is probably around $3500.00

Not sure, waiting for the bill from the.............COAL MAN

In spite of not issuing me fishing time, I have THE BEST wife in the world. She will start shopping for Chrtistmas before Jan 1. By the time CHRISTmas rolls around next year we will just need to pick up a few items. BTW, never pay full price...My kids have e^^x more stuff than they can possibly use in a lifetime... It isn't about the $$$ it is about being a happy family...