MH and obsessed kids/parents.

[Diamond]

That child could be like my Thoth whose Birthday is in December and in our house the celebrates both major holidays.  I know there where several years in the middle of G3 years that her piles of ponies and pony playset would have out  done those doll piles.  Her relatives would help out with the size of the piles too.  So you never know.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Wow.... just wow...

That will never happen in my household.  Not now, not in the future, not because of grandparents.  If "excess" gifts are purchased, they'll be hoarded away for Mommy to distribute at appropriate times.

If that means she's unwrapping dolls at 16 that I stashed away at 10, then so be it.  I never want my child to learn that "just because it's Christmas", that it's appropriate to go into debt so that others feel they are "loved" with piles of gifts. 

Everyone's statements about their outstanding holiday gifts in the 80's may be true, but prices and inflation were vastly different then.   

[LuvlyMelody]

That will never happen in my household.  Not now, not in the future, not because of grandparents.  If "excess" gifts are purchased, they'll be hoarded away for Mommy to distribute at appropriate times.

If that means she's unwrapping dolls at 16 that I stashed away at 10, then so be it.  I never want my child to learn that "just because it's Christmas", that it's appropriate to go into debt so that others feel they are "loved" with piles of gifts. 

Oooo lawdy lawd, Amen!! Preach it like you teach it!!

[Icecrystalline]

If the gifts were from lots of people, I see that entirely differently, and actually, I'd feel really happy for the child, that to me, would mean a whole lot of time and love gone into picking those for the child. So I'm considering it in different lights

[Galactica]

I don't care so much about the amount of toys a kid receives-  far more important is how the kids behave... a re they polite and grateful? Or bratty and greedy? 

I guess I probably got too many toys at Christmas growing up- but whenever toys came in, my parents then made us round up all of the toys we weren't playing with, and donate them to kids that would appreciate them.  I think that was a good thing- because I liked the idea of my toys going to another home who would love them as much as I did.

Unfortunately, that means I have very few of my childhood toys which is why I probably felt compelled to re-collect them all on ebay...  but that is another topic.

[jupiternwndrlnd]

I know that personally, i have purchased myself over 20 MH dolls in the past year.

there is no way to know the financial situation, or circumstances of someone else.
maybe they were bought and stashed away thru-out the year. maybe mom is a collector too.

lets try to refrain from being judgmental, and be happy that there are people who are able to afford an over the top Christmas for their kids.

[bagheera86]

I know that personally, i have purchased myself over 20 MH dolls in the past year.

there is no way to know the financial situation, or circumstances of someone else.
maybe they were bought and stashed away thru-out the year. maybe mom is a collector too.

lets try to refrain from being judgmental, and be happy that there are people who are able to afford an over the top Christmas for their kids.

Sorry i didn't mean to be judgemental or sound that way, just, shocked that people could actually get so much at christmas haha! So many things went through my head about how and why, so  I was compelled to make the post x_x;

[Burgundy_Rose]

I do think 20+ dolls on Christmas day is a bit much as it sounds overwhelming to me, especially as there were probably non-doll and non-MH presents on top of that! I'd be concerned that the child would lose interest in each toy quickly and expect a similar sized haul the next year.

I do understand that many were probably presents from other people though. I wouldn't really know what to do in that situation- I suppose it's easier for everyone if relatives ask the kid's parents to prevent excessive/duplicate gifts.

This topic has reminded me of how much I wanted a singing Ariel doll as a kid- I got one for Christmas and immediately wanted her packaging off and the batteries put in. I think my dad would have gone mad if he had to open another 20-something dolls for me 

[bagheera86]

I do think 20+ dolls on Christmas day is a bit much as it sounds overwhelming to me, especially as there were probably non-doll and non-MH presents on top of that! I'd be concerned that the child would lose interest in each toy quickly and expect a similar sized haul the next year.

I do understand that many were probably presents from other people though. I wouldn't really know what to do in that situation- I suppose it's easier for everyone if relatives ask the kid's parents to prevent excessive/duplicate gifts.

This topic has reminded me of how much I wanted a singing Ariel doll as a kid- I got one for Christmas and immediately wanted her packaging off and the batteries put in. I think my dad would have gone mad if he had to open another 20-something dolls for me 

I kind of, tore through my gifts. Teeth, nails, knives, whatever ripped it open xD

[Kalavista]

My little boy is having a pretty big Christmas; I shop all year long and snag toys on clearance, because we don't have a lot of money to spend. But what we do is spread the gift-opening over a week - several days before Christmas right up to the New Year. That way, he can take time to appreciate each of his gifts.

[jupiternwndrlnd]

i love that idea kala! I was curious how you do it? do you have a set number to open on Christmas day with the rest being before and after? or a gift a day thru the end of Dec?

[wiccanpony1]

I gave my daughter 8 M/H dolls for Christmas along with a bunch of other stuff:) we don't buy toys though-out the year only for birthdays/Christmas plus most of the dolls i brought were second hand from here and i brought them throughout the year:)if im honest i would have brought her more if i had the money x

[Sonata]

I was quite spoiled when I was a kid - and still am ! I used to ask for a lot of toys and most of the times I got them all... But I always felt really grateful for having every single one of them, because I've been taught to appreciate them by understanding the effort my family made to get them for me As time went by and I didn't want/need something anymore, I would always feel really happy because those toys would go to charity and to kids who would be delighted to have them So it was a win-win situation in a way. This still stands to this very day, although I re-sell things on Ebay now to make some extra xD

I don't know the circumstances of those kids and as someone who went by something quite similar, I can't really say much. I DO think it is a bit too much of the same thing, but I can't be sure of that either. I was mesmerized when I saw the pictures, but then I remembered I was the same with Barbies when I collected them !

[xelli]

They all (dolls and kids) look wonderful but I think getting this much at once will make the kids loose interest in the toys really quick - maybe I'm mistaken but it always happened to me (though I never got this much).
It's their parents decision but it's quite sad to see: " A MH School set bought for this year's Christmas by Santa and selling because it became boring already" adds on local auctioning sites before December ends...
On the other side I remember getting a fake Barbie doll house for one Christmas and I was constantly playing with it (even when the cardboard items were tearing apart

[zannid]

I was quite spoiled when I was a kid - and still am ! I used to ask for a lot of toys and most of the times I got them all... But I always felt really grateful for having every single one of them, because I've been taught to appreciate them by understanding the effort my family made to get them for me As time went by and I didn't want/need something anymore, I would always feel really happy because those toys would go to charity and to kids who would be delighted to have them So it was a win-win situation in a way. This still stands to this very day, although I re-sell things on Ebay now to make some extra xD

Same here. I tended to get the newer versions of things before others, but I always gave away the older version or traded off something. I'm still a bit the same way nowadays. While we're not as well off as when I was a child, I do still try to give back. Keeping an eye on sales can help you save money, and if I save enough, that goes to buy a doll to donate or to send some money towards a charity.

I certainly don't think being "spoiled" is harmful. It's a mixture of how the parents and children view things and what you're taught. As much as I adore collecting, in the end, they are just dolls. Dolls I love, yes, but they're not as important to me as the people I care for. I've felt that way ever since I was young.

I won the full, I believe it was 50 burger king Pokemon toy set when I was 10. They sat on display for a few years, then we knew a family whose younger kids liked pokemon and I decided to give them my full set along with my console and games as I hadn't been playing with them that much lately.

Getting all I could ever want as a child didn't make me a demanding adult, imo. I think everyone is different and that how you live or what you are given isn't an automatic scale for how selfish or spoiled you must be.