Amount spent vs Pile size?

[Ceejay123]

Probably an over-asked question, but some opinions please!

How do you do it - Do you go for pile size or amount spent, to make sure neither child feels left out?

I.E we have a 2 -3 year old and a 5-6 year old to buy for. 2-3 year olds presents seem to be bigger, but cheaper (train sets, happyland, wow toys) .. whereas the 5-6 year old has more gadgets, expensive items etc.

So which way do you do it - Or do you not try to compare?

 

[monkee12]

I tend to spend the same rather then make the piles similar, and they are so excited come Christmas that they don't tend to notice the pile difference lol

 

[Jaysmummy]

Amount spent. For example DD who is 9 has an iPod touch as a main present which is £150 and DS2 has a leappad at £40 so he's obviously going to have more in his pile.

I do try to fill them out with smaller gifts as much as possible but it seems as they get older presents get more expensive and boxes and therefore piles get smaller.

She understands the concept of money so it's not a problem

 

[Natasha2605]

I've no idea as I've yet to find a happy balance. I have over £700 worth of toys in my cupboard but laid out it doesn't look anywhere near "enough"

 

[R_x]

I try and make it equalish in pile size and amount spent but they are close in age.
If it was a bigger age gap would probably go for amount spent

 

[cookielucylou]

Mine are close in age (will be 2 &4) at christmas so I match in numbers and they are getting a lot of joint things.

 

[shambaby]

This year I am not worrying about either - mine are 4 and 1 1/2, so neither really understand the concept of the money spent on them, and only Hayden can count, and not much above 10! So they are not going to notice if they have different amounts. When they are a bit older, I will probably go more on amount of presents, and then - when they really understand money and ask for expensive things - by amount spent. I really think it depends on the child, and their age. Although I would never try to 'bulk out' present piles for the sake of it - that's a sure fire way to waste money on things they don't really want and probably won't play with.

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

Quality over quantity... I actually think HUGE piles look a bit sad. I can't explain it but They bring out the opposite response in me. It makes christmas looks greedy. I don't know if that is the right word... but Yeah quality over quantity. It is sad how much emphasis people place on having the "biggest" pile.

 

[kirstybumx3]

over the years as a family, none of us have ever had equal piles and I really don't think it matters. we all had gifts we wanted, as did everyone else, and not once have I been jealous because someones pile is bigger than mine.
however, with rio being so small I have made sure a couple of his toys are big box items, so his pile looks nice on Christmas morning for him, his will be the only presents here anyway as theres only me and him.
as he gets older I wont bother so much, he will have whatever he wants, within the price range, and however big or small that makes the pile so be it x

 

[lovelylaura]

At the moment I tend to just buy things I know they will love. So neither money or size although obviously money does dictate some what. Once they are older there will be a money limit.

 

[AP]

im trying to balance it out but i dont know how i do that, its not about money but what they have to play with as such. I cant say by amount because Alex could appreciate a free gift out a magazine more than any present i could buy

 

[mammy2oaklen]

I'm trying to balance it out with pile sizes as they are so young they don't understand the value of money atm I'm struggling though I've spend loads on ds1 but everything is in small boxes whereas I've spent probably half the amount on ds2 but his boxes are all really big.

When they are older I will do same money rather than pile size.

 

[JessicaAnne]

I try and make it so they have the same amount, but I don't spend loads more/less on any

 

[motherofboys]

I've always aimed for pile size being the same (more or less) in the past and said when they were old enough to understand I'd do it by the money. I'm kind of transitioning last year and this year. For now I will be spending roughly the same with roughly the same sized piles (one might have £30 less but 2 presents more than the others, but its a small difference they won't notice)

 

[Lauraxamy]

I go by amount spent, generally they end up with a similar amount though because my two are only 18 months apart and neither of them are asking for one big present or anything yet.

 

[Lilicat]

Luckily my youngest son is two young to notice and my eldest son wouldn't understand (he is autistic).

The boys have the same maximum budget (£200) and are allowed ten presents each. Unfortunately William likes smaller sized things he is having a Kidizoom camera, Leapreader, drawing set etc and Thomas likes cars which are often big and come in big boxes. I have ended up spending about £160 on William and £140 on Thomas so they are pretty matched but Thomas' pile looks bigger.

I mix it all up under the tree so it isn't obvious. I might need to start considering it next year though in case William wonders why his little brother has all the huge gifts. There isn't anything big he wants though, he likes electronic toys, books, drawing things and toy animals but not playsets just animals. So even though some of it is expensive it is still a little box. Thomas just wants cars, big fire engines and dump trucks. Cheap to buy but look big and impressive wrapped up.

 

[leoniebabey]

this year neither harvey has less but i've spent more on him!
they both have stuff i think they'll like, there 4 and 2 so doubt theyll notice. i stressed myself out trying to make it even last year and found i was just buying for the sake of it. Harvey has loads of big boxed sets, megabloks, jake atnlp playsets where morgans stuff is mostly smaller so i'm sure it'll even out. when they are older they'll probs want the same sort of things anyways then i'll do money amount.

 

[Mum21boy1girl]

For my older two as they are closer in age, i like to do both spend about the same and have about the same amount of gifts to open, as christmas morning DH hands them each a gift to open together. i can usually find the same amount of things for the same price for them so it works out.

My youngest will be 2 this yr, last yr she only got a few things as she didnt know much about christmas and i didnt want to overwhelm her, this yr she has more than the older two and i have spent more on her too, but she is getting outdoor toys so they add up!

 

[kimmyttcno3]

It's going to be really hard this year as ds is going to be 6 so his main present is a hudl 2 so that's a good chunk of his budget right there whereas dd is only 3 so her main presents are a rocking crib for her dollys and a balance bike so two huge ones. Was thinking of wrapping the hudl up in several bigger boxes just to make it look a bit more even although to be honest once he's opened it I don't think he'll care about anything else bless him x

 

[kimmyttcno3]

It's going to be really hard this year as ds is going to be 6 so his main present is a hudl 2 so that's a good chunk of his budget right there whereas dd is only 3 so her main presents are a rocking crib for her dollys and a balance bike so two huge ones. Was thinking of wrapping the hudl up in several bigger boxes just to make it look a bit more even although to be honest once he's opened it I don't think he'll care about anything else bless him x