Even those individuals who don’t know much about the history of Christmas presents realize that the importance of Christmas presents has changed over the centuries. It was once common even in wealthy families for children to get just one Christmas present. The emphasis many Americans put on lots of presents is incredibly common.
Why Do We Indulge Our Kids at Christmas?
Nowadays, it is common for children to get an abundance of Christmas presents. Prior to children just getting one present, children used to receive a stocking filled with Christmas fruit and coins. In today’s society, it’s not uncommon for parents to spend an entire weekly paycheck on Christmas presents, and sometimes a large portion of those presents are bought using credit cards. It’s interesting to consider what has caused our celebration of Christmas and the number of Christmas presents we give to change so dramatically over the centuries?
Once One Present Was Enough
It’s highly likely that our consumer-oriented society is the driving force behind the abundance of presents we give. We are bombarded with television and magazine advertisements for the latest and greatest products. The number of Christmas presents that you buy to celebrate Christmas is entirely up to you, but it is obvious there is no going back to the once common “one present” mentality.
Some Still Keep It Simple
A small percentage of families, even today, still adhere to a pretty simplistic celebration at Christmas time. I know some families who give their children three Christmas presents each: a small gift, a medium-sized gift, and one larger gift. I know other families who set a modest budget for Christmas presents and have their children write down their top choices and buy within the specified budget.
Perhaps the trend towards buying a lot of Christmas presents is not as common in other parts of the world as it is in the U.S., but it certainly seems like this trend is here to stay.
