Re:

Well said, Jill.  I think you're right about small Christmases being less entertaining afterword than big Christmases but I have noticed that too many gifts on Christmas morning is detrimental to the holiday.  You have probably heard Rob's & my Christmas Gift Theorem:  Children are cranky in direct proportion to the number of gifts they get.  Maybe the solution is a 12 days of Christmas.  That way you can have the entertainment without the burnout on Christmas morning.    Actually, I think the best solution is a medium sized Christmas.  That's what we ended up with this year.  Yes, I would have liked to buy more presents but due to budgetary cutbacks, we were limited.  They each had 5 presents of varying cost.  The most expensive being around $30, and two of them  were socks (that was a big hit because all of my kids had holey socks) and underwear (not exciting unless you are 2 or 4 and get character underwear).  We also had a few gifts that were just for the family but we scored big on those - a Wii, karaoke revolution, and movies.  I went into this Christmas a little worried that our kids would notice that they had a fraction of the gifts their friends and cousins would receive but it ended up being a fantastic Christmas.   I think it's easier with older kids.  They  spent the next few days playing together on their new electronics.  The little kids spent the next few days fighting over Ari's Polly Pockets.  Oh well.  Everything can't be perfect!

Love,

Jean

On Dec 29, 2007 11:55 PM, Jill Bagley < jillbagley@mac.com> wrote:

might i say in our defense as parents who bought too much stuff-------

last year we only bought ruby and Ezra one gift from santa, one gift from mom and dad, and one from their grandparents. 

our christmas was very minimal. 

and afterwards it was very lame. there was not much to do-----ruby got a little bored with her gift. and i personally felt that it was less magical. 

when your kids have lots of presents that they are excited about its like going to disneyland. its exciting , and fun and it gives them a lot to do that day.

to get it straight, jason reported that our kids got too much stuff and they were bored---that is not true!! its all lies!!! Jason was disgusted with how much stuff we got them, but in truth, ruby was loving it. 

Ezra didnt want to open presents because he doesnt know how----he is still too young. 

but ruby loved everything she got, was grateful and excited. and jason made the kids stop opening presents because he personally felt that they had enough. and admittedly, they did have enough. 

there are at least  two good legitimate reasons to buy your kids lots of presents at christmas.

 the number one reason for me is because it is so magical. and they have lots of interesting things to do that day. 

the second reason is because it gives me an excuse to throw out all the old stuff. 

the other reasons for getting lots of stuff on christmas: 

-everything is on sale and readily in your face when you go shopping. 

its easier to buy toys at this time of year than other times.

--its fun

--why wouldnt you want lots of entertainment for your kids? its better than tv!!!

it shouldnt be such a mystery----and it shouldnt seem so selfish to all of you old humbugs out there. 

its fun for the parents, its fun for the kids. 

when picking which party you want to go to----dont you always pick the one that will provide the most fun? 

you dont want to go to a party that is unexciting. 

i know, its  a lame analogy, but that is my defense. 

so there. 

--Jill

On Dec 29, 2007, at 1:55 PM, Errol Bagley wrote:

Thank you--Thank you-- Thank you for my large flat screen monitor.  It is 30% larger to look  at and takes 80% less desk space.

 

We are still enjoying the holiday season with family and grandchildren. Our Pine house has been used regularly with a little snow still under the trees and fires in both fireplaces.

 

From what I witnessed and what was reported my pre-Christmas suggestion of several meaningfull gifts to children was universally ignored. Elaine has ignored it for forty years so my expectations were not really high on this one. I will say Sam exibited the same excitment on gift twelve  as he did on gift one. Jason reported that his children lost interest after a while and had to be encoraged to came back and finish opening thier presents. I'm thinking of commissioning a study on parents to see if we can figure out what the hell is wrong with them on this Christmas thing.

 

That aside, we are most gratefull for all of our children and grandchidren and the peace and prosperity that we live in. Sometime people ask me how I am doing and I often reply  " Better than I deserve"

 

Love Dad.