Community Chat

[lynnie61]

We loved looking at the Sears catalog.  We would look and look and look for the perfect thing we wanted.  We got 2-3 toys, pajamas, socks, underwear, maybe a dress or blouse or skirt.  And we loved our stockings.  Candy, oranges, nuts, lip balm or nail polish.  We always looked forward to our Lifesavers Christmas book. We weren't poor, but we had enough, and I was glad the way it was.  

Some neighbors got so many toys, they never played with some.  They had all those things, and many times were hungry, as they didn't always have good amounts of food.  It was actually quite sad.  Many dinners with no meat, or cereal with no milk.  

[Group 5 minus 1]

Reminds me of a relative whose Christmas list would always include difficult things to find. I like to give gifts,but not when it turns into a thing.

[Ainhisg]

I'm in the minority, but I don't see one thing wrong with this.  The girls don't expect you to get everything for them or even the most expensive items.  They probably made this list for their parents and other family members-- everyone who will be gifting to them.  It's a win-win, because the giver can spend what s/he wants knowing that what s/he buys will be used and appreciated.

Like others have said, it's really no different than making a Christmas list from the Sears catalog, which is what many of us of a certain age did.  We didn't expect it all--it was a WISH list.  The premise is the same; it's just that the method of giving out the list and the method of purchasing the gifts have changed.

My niece-in-law sends out an Amazon gift list for her two young daughters, and I am so appreciative!  Since I don't live in their home, I don't know what they have or don't have or even for sure what they would want.  I can just go online, pick a few things, have it sent to them or to me, and voila!  Done!  The gifts will be appreciated, wanted, and not a duplicate of something they already have.

[Harpa]

Sometimes I think we've created these "monsters." I asked the same from my 3 grandchildren (from the same parents). The oldest, girl age 12 gave me a loose leaf page filled with pictures of the things she wanted -- front & back! I never counted those, and barely looked at them. I asked her to circle her top 3. (I got her one of those.)

The boy, 10, told me only 1 thing.

The littlest girl, 8, didn't really say.

My DM was rather indulgent, though. 

Personally, I prefer what they portray in the old b&w movies -- giving a single gift.

eta: The thing w/ the 12-year-old is that she did the same thing to her mother, and then again to her older sister. The gift ideas were all different.

[vermint]

My parents, bless their hearts, went into debt every Christmas to buy our gifts. Now this was the 60's and they borrowed $500..but it was from "loan companies" because their credit wasn't the best. They'd spend the rest of the year paying it off. We never asked for anything expensive, we knew better! I was always happy with 2 or 3 new books and a stuffed animal. They finally quit borrowing when we got a little older--I guess they felt we were old enough to "understand" about our finances.

All this giving to way-out extended family, such as greats and great-greats, and godchildrens' children is a little mind-boggling to me. Not judging, everyone should do what they want and can afford! We quit giving gifts as each niece/nephew turned 16 (they were told this ahead of time) and never gave to their children, there were just too many of them! We also quit giving to brothers/sisters when they started having children.

Now we buy a few small gifts for each other, and contribute to Operation Christmas Child & a couple of other things for our church. No more stress!

[KittySoftPaws]

@Biftu  So true, and the things that the young generation wants today, are too many, and mostly all really expensive items. Many years ago when my twin nieces were around 8 years old, my sister told them to gather all their toys that they never played with anymore. Then she took them with the toys to a children's charity to donate them. This was a firsthand experience for them of not only to experience the joy of giving, but to help them to realize the blessings they already have and to see how fortunate they were. I also remember my Dad telling me how poor he and his siblings were growing up and that without the help of the Salvation Army, they wouldn't have had anything at Christmas. So I always make sure to put money into the ringing red bucket this time of year.