Musings: Looking back, I think I did over spend on the kids this Christmas

Do you have any regret about the amount you spent this Christmas?

While Christmas can be merry and bright it can also be expensive and stressful, especially for parents. This year alone my eldest child handed me a Santa list with some items that cost almost 800 euro! Now while there was no way he was getting most of the items on his list, especially the very expensive ones,  we did end up compromising on a Lego set that cost 200 euro. That was just his Santa gift too and I have other children. Overall I would say for just the children, I spent roughly 1,000 euro, which is a huge chunk of money for one day out of the year. I know that I'm far from the only parent feeling a little regret by just how much they spent this Christmas. One other parent feeling the post Christmas remorse said;

"Yes. They received far too much from everyone. I have filled 2 huge plastic tubs of toys in their original packaging to take to the Salvos this week or to advertise on our local Pay It Forward page. Watching them rip paper off presents, barely glance at what was inside, say “cool” and then discard it in favour of opening another gift felt a bit hollow. I gave them time yesterday to go through and pick some favourites and then told them I was putting the others aside for someone else who needed it."

As a modern parent I often feel a lot of pressure to live up to the expectations, especially around gift giving. You always want your child to have as good as the next child but what happens when the next child get an electric scooter, a PS5 and a trip to Disneyland? I think going forward from this Christmas onwards I'm going to focus a little less on 'keeping up with the Jones' and stick to what I feel is right for my family. Just because the neighbours are spending thousands on their Christmas celebrations doesn't mean that I have to do the same and I don't want to teach my children that gifts are what Christmas is all about.