Many parents are now buying there kids these expensive gifts like: new bikes, game systems, iPODs, etc.
Am I just old?? I was lucky to get a stuffed bunny in my candy filled basket.
What are your thoughts?
Well thank heavens it isn’t only me! I noticed that too and now somewhat participate in it because I feel, to an extent, that I have to! No really big ticket items until xmas or preferably birthday but I’ve added books, action figures, and this year a video game.
When I was a kid, the prepared baskets in stores had some candy and maybe one or two stuffed animals or a yo yo or stickers. Now, go to the store and what do you see? They are all giant baskets stuffed with sports equipment, cars/trucks/planes, giant art sets, etc.
It’s the increase in consumerism and the desensitivity to stimulation. If I got one stereo and nothing else for xmas, I was through the roof with excitement. Now, if a kid gets one stereo for xmas, the attitude is "that’s it?"
If gifts are from parents, then they can be explained away by the family budget or family values. But Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the tooth fairy are supposed to be equal with limitless resources and therefore parents must do what others are doing. If Santa gives the neighbor a bike and you got a shirt/if the Easter bunny gives your classmate a Nintendo DS and you got a chocolate bunny/if the tooth fairy gives your cousin 10 dollars and you got a quarter….how would a parent explain that?
lol…thats true…i dont get that stuff..usually a couple of marshmallow bunnies and a shirt or a stuffed animal!!!!
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i didnt even know people gave gifts for easter? thats very strange, considering its not viewed as a gift giving holiday. people are so strange.
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Well thank heavens it isn’t only me! I noticed that too and now somewhat participate in it because I feel, to an extent, that I have to! No really big ticket items until xmas or preferably birthday but I’ve added books, action figures, and this year a video game.
When I was a kid, the prepared baskets in stores had some candy and maybe one or two stuffed animals or a yo yo or stickers. Now, go to the store and what do you see? They are all giant baskets stuffed with sports equipment, cars/trucks/planes, giant art sets, etc.
It’s the increase in consumerism and the desensitivity to stimulation. If I got one stereo and nothing else for xmas, I was through the roof with excitement. Now, if a kid gets one stereo for xmas, the attitude is "that’s it?"
If gifts are from parents, then they can be explained away by the family budget or family values. But Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the tooth fairy are supposed to be equal with limitless resources and therefore parents must do what others are doing. If Santa gives the neighbor a bike and you got a shirt/if the Easter bunny gives your classmate a Nintendo DS and you got a chocolate bunny/if the tooth fairy gives your cousin 10 dollars and you got a quarter….how would a parent explain that?
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I agree with you, I used to always be thankful for the candy I got. These days, it seems every holiday has to include gifts of some sort. It gets a little ridiculous!
I still have yet to decide if my kids are going to be getting anything more than candy baskets.
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theere way more than candy and have been for a while
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Maybe kids have been bugging the parents about it and the parents see it as a way of getting their kids off their back.
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It is all the marketing done by the toy companies. They make such cute Easter editions of popular toys like Barbie, Dora, Mr. Potato Head, etc. that parents feel compelled to buy something like that for their kids basket. I am guilty of it too!
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I started giving my stepdaughters small gifts in their baskets a few years ago. Our main reason was they were already overweight and did not need more sweets. But they got small presents maybe a polly pocket, clothes for cabbage patch babys. No big ticket items here. We also keep up the idea with our 2 yr old. Today she is getting a stuffed bunny and a new purse with a few candies in it and a container of shaped magnets. Thats it!!!! Also, the price of a chocolate bunny these days, I might as well buy a small toy, something that will be around for more than a day!!!!!! We do a family basket with a movie and my husbands favorite candy, but we can control the candy out of that basket easier than out of their own!!
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