I was expecting more excitement.. hmm..
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
United States
December 25, 2010 10:24am CST
Merry Christmas! How did your morning go?
Mine was not what I expected. My kids did not react the way I expected them to. My oldest son is usually extremely excited about his gifts.. this year he was not, and I really thought he'd go crazy over some of the things he got. He liked some of the smaller gifts, seemed pleased with a NY Giants cup, Axe body spray set, honestly his best reaction was for the football cards he pulled out of his stocking. I thought he'd flip when he opened his Skechers, his reaction was "Well, I didn't really need shoes." I thought he'd LOVE his new coat.. basically he just thought it was cool. He was happy with his 6 month Sports Illustrated subscription, but was not pleased with his Avatar video game, the cd player, or the cd I picked out for him.
My middle son was also unpleased with the CD player.. I got a big "Oh, great" very sarcastically. I think his favorite toys were is Nerf gun and Darth Vader guy.
My daughter was happy with most of her gifts, but wasn't as excited about all of her Hannah Montana things as I thought she'd be.. she had a huge reaction for the HM outfit her grandpa got her, which was the first thing she opened, but after that it was "Oh.. more Hannah stuff.." sarcastically. She was happy with the Disney stars CD she got though, and her favorite (from her reaction to it) was her Furreal kitten.
The little 2 were plenty excited at everything they opened.. the only dissappointment with them was that my 4 year old remembered that he'd asked Santa for a Diego toy and did not recieve one (I couldn't find any where I shopped). I hoped he'd be so pleased with his toys that he wouldn't remember he'd asked for a Diego toy.. I was wrong!
Man.. what's a mom got to do to please her kids on Christmas??
Well, now that it's all over with the kids seem to be happy. They're testing out all their new toys, my oldest is even playing his Avatar game that he didn't seem happy to open. So although the original reaction is not what I was looking for, they still enjoy their gifts, it's not like they're refusing to play with them (though the 8 year old has yet to open his cd player).
Maybe they just got their hopes up too high?
Though I am pleased to announce that as far as my gifts go, I'm very happy. My husband usually isn't much of a great gift giver, but this year he got almost everything I asked for and even things I didn't ask for but was hoping for. The #1 item on my wish list was the Twilight Saga Scene It game and I did get that, as well as all 3 Twilight movies. I also wanted the last 2 Twilight soundtracks (got the first last Christmas) but I did not get those.. but I did get 2 cd's from artists I've recently discovered that I liked, so I was really happy with that.
Did your kids have a good reaction to their gifts? Did you get everything you wanted?
4 people like this
13 responses
@Thumper66 (9)
• United States
26 Dec 10
I have spent my day very disgusted with my daughter in law. Last month my son and his wife and my one month old grand daughter were evicted from their home and did not have a place to stay, so I moved them into my house. Part of the deal was that they would get jobs, so I went and bought them both two outfits to wear for job hunting/work. I got my grand daughter a beautiful play mat that she can lay on the floor and play with the toys, as well as 3 small baby toys and the LeapFrog Violet dog. My grandson came down for a week and I got him some trucks and tractors (he is 3) and my daughter had given me $100 to pick up some more toys and clothes for him.
The problem today was that my daughter in law felt that we got more things for the grandson than the granddaughter, and says we favor him. She was also mad that I got my daughter a pair of Justin boots that she wanted and all her and my son got were clothes for work. The next issue she had was that it did "not feel like Christmas" because I was working on my computer and my husband was playing video games. We (as a family) had decided to postpone Christmas dinner until Monday when my mother in law can be here since she has to work 16 hours on/8 off/16 on over the weekend. My daughter in law has locked herself away in the bedroom all day, refuses to eat dinner, and will not talk to anyone in the house because she feels that we have wronged her (still not sure how since she is living in my home, not paying rent, not buying food, and has 24 hour child care). Am I wrong for being disgusted and somewhat offended by her actions?
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
26 Dec 10
Wow, I'm really sorry your holiday is being so messed up by her attitude! She is not right to act this way. She should be thankful to you for letting her stay there. Also, a one month old baby will never remember this Christmas, but the 3 year old boy might.. I too would probably get more for him than the baby.. it's not like it matters to a baby!
1 person likes this
@ravinskye (8237)
• United States
28 Dec 10
Our kids had a pretty good reaction to some of their gifts. When they weren't fighting lol. My middle one is 5 and in a very mouthy short tempered phase. She only uses it on her brother and sister though. So from the start they are coming down the stairs and yelling that one pushed the other and she's yelling shut up lol. So I'm going down the steps yelling "its freaking christmas shut up and be nice to each other" lol. Then we made the mistake of giving them a few gifts that they all had to open because they'd be shared lol..big mistake. That just caused more arguing over who had a hold of it. The best reaction was them getting the stuff they asked santa for. Their faces lit up for that stuff. But some of the stuff they got that I thought they would react more too, they didn't as much. Oh well.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
28 Dec 10
Mine fight like that all day, everyday. It makes me crazy. I swear all I hear when they're all home is whining and arguing. I'm so tired of those tones of voices. One time I tried doing a secret sibling week.. where they each drew one of their sibling's names from a cup, and they had to be super nice to that sibling for the whole week, and they'd get a prize if they did it. It worked great for the first couple of days.. after that, it went right back to normal!
1 person likes this
@cutepenguin (6431)
• Canada
26 Dec 10
my son is too little to do more than chew on the wrapping paper, so he really enjoyed his gifts. To be honest, I didn't even buy him any presents as we are kind of tight for money. My parents gave us each a thoughtful present, and my in-laws spoiled us with many nice things. So present wise, we really were lucky. We had nice visits too.
Maybe your oldest is starting to outgrow Christmas presents? The teenagers I work with seemed more interested in having the time off of school and seeing their friends and cousins than in presents. They still really enjoy the baking and the crafts - one of the 17 year olds stayed up late and made all her own cards.
@cutepenguin (6431)
• Canada
26 Dec 10
aaah, I see. That's hard. I'm sure he'll have fun with his things throughout the year, so maybe it's not too big of a deal?
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
26 Dec 10
I don't think you ever outgrow presents! And my 13 year old is a bit immature still, so Christmas is definitely important to him. Like I said, I think he just had his hopes up too high.
@laglen (19759)
• United States
26 Dec 10
Merry Christmas Kat! I am sorry you were a little disappointed. Actually my daughter was a great receiver this year. It was a lean year, I usually get everything on her list. This year her list wasnt very big and no big present. I had to wing it! She is 16 and so it is getting a little harder. She was very gracious and thankful! I think your right maybe they had their hopes up too high.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
26 Dec 10
Yes a 16 year old girl is tough to buy for. I remember being 16 and not getting much of anything that I really wanted. But I knew our financial situation so was happy with what I got.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (93794)
• United States
28 Dec 10
I'm outraged on your behalf. That's the attitude you got when you got them so many things and spent so much money on them?! I can't imagine getting that many presents, and you picked out such GOOD presents. I just can't imagine being ungrateful like that. Man, they don't know how blessed they are. As far as gift giving goes, you get an A+.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
28 Dec 10
You know, they got over their original attitude and now they love ALL their gifts. I caught my oldest trying to wear his new shoes and new coat to the gym.. I told him to save them for school. He also had to wear the new outfit his grandfather gave him. They've killed the batteries in their cd players already and have been fighting over the video games.
It was just that initial reaction.. and it could have just been sensory overload, or it could have been having their hopes up too high.. who knows.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
29 Dec 10
My children had great reactions to all of their gifts this year. Both of them were pretty spoiled by the fact that I was able to get most of their toys and things from Amazon and didn't spend a lot of money out of pocket for them. However, I will admit that the biggest hit for my daughter is that she was able to take her birthday and Christmas money to go and buy a Nintendo DS. Then now for Paul it seems that his favorite is the Kung Zhu that he bought with some of his Christmas money. However, his Geo Trax have been a huge hit as well.
As for me, I did get New Moon and Eclipse on DVD from my sister and I got a waffle iron from my brother and sister-in-law that I've been wanting for quite some time. I didn't get anything from hubby because he wanted to get me things that I knew we couldn't afford and I told him to just wait until tax season.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160908)
• United States
27 Dec 10
Mom, it sounds like you tried too hard and they are on gift overload. I had a lovely Christmas. I had made an appropriate list for hubby and he did good. I did not really have kids to buy for this year. My grands will be here and I will have some stuff for them, but I sent their main gifts home at Thanksgiving. Your oldest three are tweens or teens, right? My grands are little and I am going to make some homemade playdoh before they get here on January 8. My daughter gets her kids one toy, one book, one set of clothers, because, as she says, Christmas is not about the presents.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
27 Dec 10
Actually this Christmas wasn't nearly as good as most Christmases are. I mostly got a bunch of cheaper things as I didn't prepare very well and Christmas sort of snuck up on me. I wasn't satisfied with most of the gifts myself, but ran out of time and money to do any better. That's why I'm already making a plan for next year!
My older 3 kids are 13, 8, and 8.. then I have the 4 and 3 year olds. Thankfully the younger 2 were very happy with their gifts.. but those ages are so easy to please!
@danishcanadian (28955)
• Canada
29 Dec 10
Christmas morning was great! My husband and I got up at 5:30, and were at the bus depot by 7 AM, on a bus from Guelph to Toronto. We checked in at our favourite hotel (goto grandhoteltoronto.com ) and stayed there for three wonderful days! :)
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
25 Dec 10
I stayed at my son's house last night and slept with my five year old granddaughter...or tried to sleep with her....she was so excited that she didn't spend much time sleeping...so at 3a.m. her daddy came up to check up on us and saw she was having problems sleeping so we all got up and she got to open her gifts from Santa....well we thought that would solve the problem...but it didn't. Mama told her she couldn't get up until there was a 7 on the clock...she kept waking up and checking the clock....finally she got to open all the rest of her gifts..I thought she would be excited about her play dough cake station I got her....she didn't even ask to play with it...last year I got her a play dough ice cream factory and she loved it.....she loved the jammies I got her with a matching robe and slippers...she was still wearing them when I left today about 2...her other gifts were okay...I got more then I expected as this is the first time I stayed at their house and santa even filled a stocking for me...I got what I asked for plus many other things I really enjoyed..like a gift card to Hobby Lobby and two to Target...the only thing I asked for was flannel sheets and I did get them....hope you are having a great Chrstmas!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
25 Dec 10
Kids' tastes change so much from year to year. My daughter usually LOVES Hannah Montana.. I guess this year she does not anymore. One year when she was 6 she got a ton of Disney Princess stuff and when she opens it she says "Disney Princess sucks! It's for babies" Well.. that was a dissappointing Christmas for her! Guess I have to pay better attention to see what she's into next year!
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Dec 10
hi katsmeow my son is 51 and he was delighted that I got him a care package as he is out of work,well he does have a part of a job now but
still not working full time. He said wow this comes in handy as I have not cashed my pay check yet due to an insufficient funds thing, they did not give him a break over a three dollar purchase when he had only a balance of two dollars and twenty cents so put an insufficient on it and the other two small purchases so 35 dollar fee on each of three checks that were the sum total of 15 dollars and would have ate up all his paycheck and still left an insufficient amount he tried to get the woman banker to give him a break but she would not do it. thats over a hundred dollar charge for three checks less than fifteen dollars altogether.Other banks will often forgive a less than a dollar insufficient; it was not as though he had done anything
purposely. so for the New Year I am hoping and praying he will get a relly good full time job. He feels so bad he could not get me anyth. .ing but he gave me the gift of his company all afternoon and evening. I received a hundred dollar cash gift so am not giftless an am very pleased. So not everything I wanted but the big thing my son's company. He gave of himself. When every cent counts and all around you p eople are getting tons of gifts and maybe not really appreciating it, you can be bitter or you can be glas for what you do have, love of your family and its a gift you cannot put a price on.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
25 Dec 10
I can totally understand those types of issues with the bank. We deal with it regularly. We basically survive by overdrawing our account every week.. then all of a sudden they decide not to let us anymore and I don't find out until I get to the register with $300 worth of groceries (which is what it takes to feed us for a week.. we have 5 kids) and my card is declined. I knew I had only $50 in the bank because the previous week's overdraws ate our entire paycheck.. but as I said, normally the bank lets us overdraw because we have direct deposit every Friday so it's always paid back. I know it is more expensive this way with the fees and all.. we try not to but some weeks we have no choice.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
25 Dec 10
Your kids sound about like mine. I gice my sons & dil's money & they can buy what they want. Got where i couldn't please them. My grandchildren seemed pleased w/what they got. I think one thing grownups & children get wwhatever they want all year long. There was not a thing i ask for or wanted so was pleased w/what i got.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
25 Dec 10
My kids are normally so appreciative, that's why I'm a bit shocked at their reactions. They're still a little young to be giving them gift cards. I think maybe they've gotten spoiled.. I don't see how! They do not normally get what they want or need through out the year as we can't afford much. I don't know, maybe it's the ages, the oldest is a teenager now.
1 person likes this
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
25 Dec 10
i KNOW MINE ARE SPOILED ROTTEN.Sounds like alot of nice gifts u gave them . I'm sorry they didn't show their appreciation like they should have.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
25 Dec 10
its kind of like any other day around here so far. youngest son will bring his babies over for their gifts later. i may perk up then. 2 days ago i got a package from middle son.with a lot of Betty boop purses and such. but my second favorite gift was his pic he sent of him and his wife. 
my best gift is what i bought myself
a printer/scanner. @katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
25 Dec 10
Hope your day ended up going well once your family came to visit.
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
25 Dec 10
Well, the government agency gave the kids lots of nice things, and they were definitely pleased. My husband's mother also gave lots of gifts as well...to Hubby, and the 2 kids, and only gave me a card with a $5 gift certificate to a coffee shop. I was so hurt. She gave Hubby $100 along with some pretty nice things, and Hubby felt sorry for me and gave me $20. It really, really hurt me :-(
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
25 Dec 10
I am sorry that you're offended by your mother in law's gift. My Mother In Law always gave horrible gifts. Now that she is gone, FIL seems to be doing much better in that department. He got each kid a nice outfit that they like, and he gave me and hubby a card with both our names on it and $25 inside. He can't afford much so we are not disappointed.
