Is This Cheesy? or Tacky? for Christmas.

Updated on December 20, 2012
P.S. asks from Chicago, IL
29 answers

My son is 4, and his past Christmas's he's had any where from 6 to 12 presents under the tree on Christmas morning. This year he got two very expensive gifts, (I feel they are) He Got a Kindle Fire. And a Kinect for our Xbox 360 (used more as a media center) but with the Kinect came 3 games. My question is would it be a horrible thing if I took out the games that came with the Kinect and wrapped them separately? Or would that be tacky and cheesy? My son and I also go to my mothers for Christmas we go a few days before and spend a few days after. So he will most likely receive a gift or two from her as well. I just feel because he doesn't know the price value he may feel cheated? Because he does remember a whole bunch of gifts last year. I will be doing a stocking as well. But I was just wondering what you all think about it?

Oh by the way the three games that come with the Kinect are advertised on the box so I'm not sure if he will put two and two together? He's not a greedy kid by any means and never asks for anything muchless wines about things he gets. I guess maybe I'm more worried about him feeling like I didn't care enough? I'm not Rich at all and I'm a single mom and very lil help from his dad and I don't have a steady job I work when there is work. And when I can't I babysit to catch up on things. I just want my lil guy to be happy on xmas morning. So like I said... My question is would it be a horrible thing if I took out the games that came with the Kinect and wrapped them separately?

Please don't give me any comments about buying things I can't really afford, I have been saving for about 7 months to get these two items for him and I have gone without things I needed for myself to make him happy. I feel as long as he isn't suffering it's ok.

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So What Happened?

Thank you everybody you all made my decision very easy. I just wasnt sure what to do! But everybody gave suck great input so far and im actually excited to readin more coments! Just to let everybody know we live with family my sister her hubby and two kids and my father. I dont stay here for xmas because her kids are so spoiled and what my son gets just would never compare. I have never bought him anything this expensive and the only reason i did this year was because he has been asking because his cousins have these things and very rudely let him know he is not allowed to touch their belongings. Parker never asks me for anything so i figured just once financially i would try to come thru for him!

Thanks again everybody!

To KERI F YES HE LOVES TO PLAY HE IS A VERY ACTIVE LIL GUY HE PLAYS FOOTBALL HAS 2 TIMES A WEEK PLAY DATES WE EVEN HAVE PICNICS AND BUBBLE PARTIES IN THE COLD JUST BECAUSE LOL... HE WAS JUST TEASED WITH THESE ITEMS FOR SEVERAL MONTHS NOW JUST UNDER A YEAR AND HE IS VERY INTERESTED IN THEM. WE HAVE A RULE FOR 45 MINUTES OF GAME TIME BEFORE LUNCH (IF HE CHOOSES TO AND DOESNT ALWAYS) AND A HALF HOUR OF GAME TIME BEFORE BED. THEN HE GETS 2 HALF HOUR TV SHOWS A DAY. THE REST OF THE DAY WE PLAY FOOT BALL JUST HIM AND I OR WE PRACTICE WRITING OUR NAME AND WRITING WORDS LIKE ONE TWO RED THINGS OF THAT NATURE. HE IS A VERY WELL ROUNDED CHILD AND DOES A LOT OF THINGS THROUGHOUT EACH DAY. HE IS BY NO MEANS ANY KIND OF COUCH POTATO :). BUT I GENUINLY DO APPRECIATE ALLLLLLLLLLLL THE FEED BACK THANK YOU LADIES!

Featured Answers

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B..

answers from Dallas on

Does he even know what a kindle and kinect is? I mean, he is 4. Can he really even use those? I mean, my 13 year old niece is actually getting those things for Christmas. (I'm not saying that to be rude or snarky, I have a 3.5 year old...it's the only reason I ask.) Oh, and I don't mean that in a "you can't afford it" way. I hope it didn't come across like that. I don't assume anything about another person's fiances!!!

You can wrap the games separately, if you want. He's only 4, and he has no idea what tacky or cheesy means! I think kids are happy to open presents, no matter the quantity. BUT, it's always fun when there is a few more :) I vote wrap them separately!

7 moms found this helpful
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B.F.

answers from Dallas on

Wrap them separately.

Sweety, my kids don't have as much as him. You need to spent about half that amt on YOU.

7 moms found this helpful
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M.S.

answers from Portland on

Yes, I would wrap them individually. I have done that in the past. Also if you are worried about not enough presents under the tree, then maybe a few small things that he might enjoy, colored pencils, paper, etc. even from the dollar store can be wrapped and make it seem like a lot more. One year we went all out second hand shopping and the kids thought they made a haul, but we didn't spend much at all.

Don't feel bad for only 2 presents, right now, my kids don't have any from us, but, grandma, aunts, and uncles are taking care of it for us this year. Money is tight, and life is hard right now. Good job saving so much for so long, I don't know if I could do it!!

6 moms found this helpful

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A.M.

answers from Dallas on

of course wrap them separately! he will like opening as many presents as possible and at 4, I don't think he gets the "bundling" of the kinect. I think it is great that you put so much into his very nice gifts, he will love them!

7 moms found this helpful

J.B.

answers from Houston on

oh yeah girl, wrap it all up and let him rip into it! I am even considering wrapping what I put in the stocking this yr, bc the unwrapping is so fun :) And FYI yy five year old loves the games that came with the xbox kinect and I got him and his little brother each another for christmas as well I am wrapping those bad boys up for sure, have fun!

6 moms found this helpful

V.W.

answers from Jacksonville on

Of course you can wrap them separately. I even wrap Tshirts and underwear and put them under the tree. They need new ones, so I just buy them and wrap them and put them under the tree---pretty much every year. If they need some in between, fine. But at age 14, my son will not be surprised to find Tshirts wrapped under the tree this year, and my 11 yr old daughter will be delighted to find yet another set of PJ's.
Even the most mundane things that you have to buy anyway can be wrapped and put under the tree. Kids love to open presents!

6 moms found this helpful

L.A.

answers from Austin on

Remember at this age.. Unwrapping presents is the fun part.. so we always wrapped everything..

6 moms found this helpful
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K.F.

answers from Salinas on

Seriously? Doesn't he like to actually play?

A four year old won't see anything as "cheesy" or "tacky", wrap them separately if you think he'd like more to open.

Wonder what you'll get him when he's 12. My comments have nothing to do with the amount of money you spent. Good luck in the future.

6 moms found this helpful
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R.P.

answers from Salt Lake City on

I see no problem with that. I wrap everything I can, even the stuff for the stockings!

6 moms found this helpful
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J.W.

answers from Detroit on

Wrap them separately! Guide him to open the Kinect before the games or he may be confused :)

If you want him to have more to open they have some fun things at the Dollar Store. Avenger blow up sword a shield, Coloring books, art supplies, things like that. He won't care what they cost, the surprise and the opening is the fun part :) Or scour the local resale shops and Craigslist. That is what I am doing this year since money is on the tight side :)

Have fun!!!!!!

6 moms found this helpful
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A.T.

answers from New York on

Ummmm....he is 4.... he will not judge you. You can take the pack apart and wrap individually or leave it in tact. He may not always get to have 12 presents. Why are you so worried about being judged by a 4 year old? If this is your concern now at 4, you will be a wreck when he is 15 and truly judging you because there arent 12 or more gifts for him alone....and "as long as he isn't suffering"....????? From what....not getting 12 presents?? I think you need to get a grip & put things in perspective Parkersmoma, Christmas has nothing to do with the amount of presents you give, expensive or not.

6 moms found this helpful

L.L.

answers from Rochester on

I don't think "cheesy" or "tacky" is in a four year old's vocabulary. :) I think it would be all right to wrap the games separately...at that age, they know nothing of value or price but they know plenty about quantity.

And good for you for saving to buy...I am poor, and I do the same thing. I hope no one gives you grief...why would they? As long as the bills are paid, who cares how you spend the rest? Every cent of "the rest" goes to my kids buying them a lot of stuff they don't need (video games, etc) and people sometimes wonder how we can be so poor and yet have a bunch of toys. My answer? I save my butt off for those things!

Have a Merry Christmas!

5 moms found this helpful

S.G.

answers from Grand Forks on

Definitely wrap them seperately! The more packages to open the more fun it will be. It doesn't matter what's in the packages, my guys have fun opening them.

5 moms found this helpful
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M.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I would totally do that!

5 moms found this helpful
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B.

answers from Augusta on

um holy molly , a 4 yr old with his own tablet pc and his own kinect?
Now with my jaw off the ground . .

Yes wrap the game seperately or he will notice that he had more gifts last year.

hun, stuff doesn't make kids happy.

On a side note: Anyone else seeing that scene from Harry Potter where Duddly is counting his Birthday presents?

5 moms found this helpful

A.W.

answers from Kalamazoo on

Yes, it's a great idea to take them out and wrap them separtely - he's only 4!!!LOL! My kids usually only get 5-7 gifts - a couple of pricey ones and then some less expensive ones, like art supplies, journal etc. Especially at age 4 he'd have fun just opening up more gifts, so I would think it a good idea to wrap them separatly!!!! Cheesy with a 4 yr old is the LAST thing you should worry about! :)

5 moms found this helpful
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A.S.

answers from Boca Raton on

He's so young I WOULD pull the games out of the box and wrap them separately. Heck one of my sons is 18 (years) and I would do the same thing. My older son loves to unwrap stuff and I have been known to wrap batteries. And underwear. :P My son loves it!

You could even go to the $1 store and buy some little stuff and wrap it.

I'm teaching you all my tricks. :)

5 moms found this helpful
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M.2.

answers from Chicago on

Definately wrap them all seperately! My 3 year old daughter is getting a dollhouse for Christmas and the one we bought her was the 'mega' set which simply means it came with five rooms of furniture and since that's her big gift this year we've wrapped each room seperately so she has more to open Christmas morning =)

5 moms found this helpful
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D..

answers from Miami on

What I would do is get some little books (cheap ones) and wrap them individually. A lot of little gifts are nice for a child this age. You don't have to spend much money for this.

Dawn

5 moms found this helpful

S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

definitely wrap them separately!
my dh was awful about wanting our kids to have a pile of prezzies to open every year. now that they're grown he's gone in the opposite direction<G>.
but there is something viscerally wonderful about having several gifts to rip into. just make sure he opens the games AFTER he opens the kinect.
:) khairete
S.

4 moms found this helpful
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M.C.

answers from Tampa on

He's 4...he likes to unwrap presents. Go ahead and wrap the games separately. I can't imagine a 4 year old viewing that as cheesy even if the pictures of the games are on the box....my son is also 4, almost 5 btw. Not sure about your child, but the past few years, after opening 3 gifts, he wanted to not open anymore for a long while because he was too excited to play with what he opened already and wanted to play for a bit before opening the rest. If your son is anything like that, you will be fine with just a few packages (like if you wanted to wrap all the games together even). Merry Christmas.

4 moms found this helpful
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N.S.

answers from Philadelphia on

Why not do it? Just get him to open the games first. If he gets around to asking why you wrapped them separately , then can give him an honest answer. But since he is four , he may not notice. It's worth a try.

I'll bet he will be happy. You obviously do care. It will work out fine. If you can play the games with him right away, even better!

4 moms found this helpful
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K.S.

answers from Detroit on

Your son is four years old. I do not think he will know about how merchandise is packaged or its cost. Wrap your gifts as you see fit. Consider taking it out of the box, setting it up, and putting a big bow on it (Santa's stuff doesn't come in boxes at my house!) Then wrap the three games separately.

I do, however, detect some uneasiness about the presents concerning their cost, quantity and how others will react to them. Breathe deeply and reflect on the cause of that. Don't worry, just acknowledge that.

4 moms found this helpful

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

wrap them separately.

3 moms found this helpful
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C.B.

answers from San Francisco on

I don't think it's tacky. He probably won't care even if he does put two and two together. Kids love to open gifts so go for it. And if he does mention it, just tell him you were trying to give him more presents to open since that is the excitement of xmas morning.

Just read your SWH. It is tough when other kids get more than yours and are rude about letting your kid know that! I'm glad you and he will be elsewhere and I'm sure he's going to be so excited to see his gift. Good for you for going the extra mile. I was a single parent also with no help from the dad so I know how hard xmas can be.

Have a very happy xmas!

2 moms found this helpful

R.H.

answers from Houston on

Angeles T. you are gonna be my new BFF. Maybe she doesn't want to seem cheesy to her family members. I had a MIL who scrutinized gifts and gift-giving to the highest degree!

2 moms found this helpful
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M.P.

answers from Peoria on

Not cheesey at all! What if you wrap them individually and then stick them back into the big box?

1 mom found this helpful
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B.M.

answers from Chicago on

I look at it this way...the more he unwraps the happier he will be. I would do the same. Wrap up the games.

1 mom found this helpful
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E.B.

answers from Chicago on

I wouldn't take the games out of the box and wrap them separately - I would use the opportunity to teach a lesson. IF your son says something about the number of gifts under the tree this year vs last year, just sit down with him and talk. Tell him that Mommy works hard for the money to buy Christmas presents and that this year the gifts he wanted were more expensive than what he wanted last year, so that means fewer overall. Get pennies or buttons or something and give him a visual explanation. if the budget is 10 pennies and each gift costs a penny, then 10 gifts. If each gift costs 5 pennies, then just 2 gifts.
Ask him if he is happy with what he got and when he says yes, celebrate him having a good day and don't worry about the rest.

1 mom found this helpful
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