my parents did a dollar amount for each kid, but it was only 100 dollars each christmas. so they would have to spend 400 dollars every year for their young kids, which is a hell of a lot more reasonable than 300+. a lot of the time i would get more items because i was the youngest and stuffed animals cost less than tech items my brother would get. but we were all happy and my parents still explained every year that it was equal monetarily. this is my first christmas with my 6mo daughter and i'm only spending MAYBE 50 dollars to get her some clothes and some toys. maybe 50. cause i already know our gigantic family is going to get her a lot and she's only 6mo but behind 2mo cause she was a preemie. she doesn't DO anything yet and won't even remember it to justify big things. she just needs some actual winter shoes and more mirror toys cause she doesn't use anything else lol

i feel like people spending that much is all preformative for social media. and this isn't a 'oh my god this new generation' type rant but you already know people are going to post their 3 yr olds brand new ipad or whatever.... maybe they needed an ipad but they sure as hell didn't need a brand new one. i'm 22 but already feel crotchety