This isn’t a matter of me expecting that he give me anything expensive. It was my choice to spend that much on him and his kids but I was assuming it would be just like every other year.

This also has nothing to do with his timing or finances. Was was talking to me over the phone as he was browsing for gifts in department stores for curbside pickup. He eventually picked up all these items the day after Christmas, before he came to my house, set it all up for his kids to open the following day, including a $1200 gaming system that he had already set up ready to go... so there was time for him to stop at a convenience store for a card, or a bottle of wine, heck even the department stores he picked up from, he could have easily just added a gift card to his cart when he was shopping. Time and money are not an issue here. And it has nothing to do with me expecting an equal gift but when someone give you and your children gifts, and you opened your gifts in front of your partner in addition to knowing each one of your kids were also brought a gift by this person as those gifts are sitting under your tree, wouldn’t it just naturally occur to you that you would reciprocate? Someone who’s supposed to be your partner? He opened his gifts 3 days before Xmas, I think I would feel like crap personally if I opened up gifts my SO gave me in front of him, while I never planned on giving him a thing.