The money is not that bad, but do children (or anyone else) really need 100 new things every year? I get that most of it is normal stuff, but still. I don't believe that they don't buy the kids anything throughout the year; kids can grow several sizes during one season, and you can't wait until december to get them new shoes when the old ones are two sizes to small. But even in the theoretical world where the kids time their growth spurts to christmas, I can't fathom that they need 100 pieces of toys, pencils, erasers, clothes, shoes, etc.
Using my 2.5-year-old's stocking, as an example:
- Bubble bath (she loves it, and most of them give her welts, so the slightly pricier one that doesn't make her skin react is a great gift)
- Cute tooth brush (thanks mom's dentist who gave her a cute one for her granddaughter!)
- Hair brush so she stops losing mine
- Nail polish (3) (Parent-child bargaining chip: if you let us clip your nails while cooperating and NOT howling, you can have paint on your toes. Pick your battles.)
- Pairs of socks with animal faces on them (4 pairs, 1.50 each - thanks, Old Navy)
- Hair clips (2 designs, 12 total) - her hair is starting to get long enough that we either need to cut it significantly or just trim and style, so, we're trying these.
- Headbands (made by me, ok, but still: 3)
- Markers (her old ones are half dried out)
- Candy... ;)
... So that's about 20 items right there, if you count the hair clips individually. And we haven't hit actual 'gifts' yet. And yet, if you look at the items themselves, most of them are used and needed personal care items or things that make life more pleasant (cute toenails to avoid howling, her not losing my brush every 2 days). And the total cost of the contents of that stocking is under 25$. *shrugs* So yeah, while 100 items is a lot, I can see the numbers climbing pretty damned quick...
For the record: do think 1.5K/child in gifts is ridiculous? Yes, yes I do. But mostly because, even if you can afford it, you're setting really skewed examples for your kid about what is 'affordable' and 'doable', and they're gonna have a MAJOR shock when they try to afford things for themselves on an average first salary. And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is how you set up your kids to need economic outpatient care in 15 years.