Re: Gets earlier every year?
Posted: 22 Nov 2017, 18:44
generally, most kids get a lot more than my generation used to get for Christmas. We also got a lot more than my mom's generation - who would often only get books, apple, orange, some nuts, a penny, etc.
I'm only going by my own experience - my sister and I wrote out lists, sometimes with 15 or 20 items on them, but we knew we'd only get one 'main' present - back then the top price we were allowed was £8 - but that was quite a lot in the late 1970's.
My nieces, when they were children, seemed to get a lot more - such as a mobile phone for £100 + or the latest toy which was usually fairly expensive (maybe £80 - £100). Their two boys now get loads of toys - many more than we ever had - so that they are almost swamped by them, and don't know what to play with first. While we would play with the same toy for days after Christmas, my great-nephews seem to get fed up and move on to older toys after a day or so!
Makes my Action Man, or a game, look rather meagre!
I'm only going by my own experience - my sister and I wrote out lists, sometimes with 15 or 20 items on them, but we knew we'd only get one 'main' present - back then the top price we were allowed was £8 - but that was quite a lot in the late 1970's.
My nieces, when they were children, seemed to get a lot more - such as a mobile phone for £100 + or the latest toy which was usually fairly expensive (maybe £80 - £100). Their two boys now get loads of toys - many more than we ever had - so that they are almost swamped by them, and don't know what to play with first. While we would play with the same toy for days after Christmas, my great-nephews seem to get fed up and move on to older toys after a day or so!
Makes my Action Man, or a game, look rather meagre!
That's a bit much, eh? 
) so done with India right now. Like Christmas is my favorite holiday of all time, I mean, I like it more than my birthday, but the last time I actually got to experience it properly was like 2006. I mean, here in India if we're not particularly busy we get a smallish tree and me and my parents get each other a few gifts, we decorate the tree and that's IT. Last year we didn't get a tree coz we were just way too busy, and now I'm too afraid to ask for one coz I mean they just get it for me, and I'm pretty sure they're gonna give me a "you should've grown out of this by now " look. I mean who in their right minds should grow out of Christmas?!. In US we used to celebrate coz everyone around us was doing it and as you guys know it's really festive and fun and the whole mood is different, but here, it's just like no one cares. My school used to have a camp every year from the 25th to the 31st of December, so the first year I told them that I couldn't come on the first day coz it was Christmas, and the teacher just gave me a calm fake smile and said, "well then don't celebrate it, the camp is mandatory." YES. No Christmas holidays, no trees, no decorations, just the cold that isn't really cold and no, don't celebrate it coz you have a stupid camp that you HAVE to have right on Christmas day coz who cares about other people and what they like to celebrate? Ooh and Diwali? The Ganpati festival? Wear uncomfortable Indian clothes when it's hot outside and go stuff yourself with food that's all sweet and sit in front of pandits who sing in scratchy voices and don't complain, it's God after all. I DON'T EVEN BELIEVE IN GOD!! I don't care about the traditions and what God is gonna do to me if I don't go there. I don't want to watch my poor dog whimper with fear every time a darned firecracker is set off by some uneducated idiot who thinks it's ok to pollute and to cause noise that can harm your hearing. I just wanna enjoy my holidays. And then the one festival/holiday I actually care about isn't even a holiday!! I'm getting out of this place in two years and I'm not coming back any time except JuLy-August coz that's the only time when it actually rains. And yes I love all the processions during Ganpati and the drums, and the pretty lights in Diwali but I don't like it in general. 
, we find the charges a bit eye-watering for our friends and relatives further afield but are very grateful they continue to think of us! Sorry to hear the current Indian Christmas celebrations leave you less than euphoric! It was many years ago and a different era when we had a festive season there, and "traditional" items were probably much easier to get. I remember a 6' tree and all the decorations, don't know if you'd have enjoyed the mealtimes though!!, we girls all sat round in velvet dresses buttoned up to our chins, and the boys and men in suits, and consumed a large chicken, considered a very special treat at the time, and all the trimmings, followed by Christmas pudding & custard and boxes of crackers to pull, in extreme heat; don't think anyone actually fainted away and everyone remembers the celebrations with nostalgia! Hope your festivities this year are more enjoyable! 
I've just dug out my copy of The Teacher's Treasury Vol 3 which has instructions for home made decorations - I shall make a list and hit the craft shop early next week. Knowing my creative skills (or lack of them), I might have something passable made for next Christmas.