Keri Russell Limits Her Son's Gifts, Do You?

December 19, 2008

Keri Russell makes sure her lil guy River Deary knows the true meaning of Christmas. When asked about their plans, the Bedtime Stories star said:

We’re having all the parents at my house this Christmas and we told the grandparents, “No one go crazy. One gift for the kid,” which translates to like five. They don’t understand that. My gift is being home. It’s been so nice to be in our house in Brooklyn.

Do you try and limit the number of presents your kids receive, too?

Pacific Coast News

19 Comments

Kimpossible 4 years 21 weeks

lickety split that is so beautiful what your 7 year old said!Our middle daughter said something similar when we went to Disney World. She was also around 7 at the time, she said, "it's so magical, dreams really do come true." You can't put a price on stuff like that.

Kimpossible 4 years 21 weeks

lickety split that is so beautiful what your 7 year old said! Our middle daughter said something similar when we went to Disney World. She was also around 7 at the time, she said, "it's so magical, dreams really do come true." You can't put a price on stuff like that.

Kimpossible 4 years 21 weeks

We had to set a limit with my mother in law. She always used to go overboard. But it really became a problem when she started giving duplicate gifts and totally random stuff that we couldn't figure out why it was given. We later found out that she has this closet that she keeps things in that she will pick up while out shopping and she'll think "oh this will make a good gift for so and so in a few years". She literally had things in this closet that were 10 years old. That's one of the ways we ended up with duplicates alot of the time Plus she'd send the free items she'd get from other purchases as gifts (ie: the totebag she got from the humane society from her donation, etc. - another way we ended up with duplicates) So we finally had to tell her no more than 2 gifts per child (we have 4 children). Now she shops according to the children's wish lists. But for her it's about giving alot of stuff, it's not really about the person receiving the gift(s). We don't necessarily set limits on what we get for the children but they don't ask for alot either. Plus as they get older the gifts change and they become more expensive. So it's possible they'll only get a couple of items from us and then they get one big item from Santa. Our children are spread out quite a bit in age and thankfully the older ones know that they may not get as many items as the little ones but that their items may cost more so that's why they don't get as much. They're very understanding and appreciative, and we're grateful for that.

Kimpossible 4 years 21 weeks

lickety split 4 years 21 weeks

no. we still have santa so he goes a little nuts. i love the magic and excitement on my youngest daughters face on christmas morning. we get the same type of thing at disneyland. my 7 year old said last trip "you know you forget there is real magic and then you come to disneyland and you get to take a piece of it home in your heart". we have 2 other daughters, one of which is severely disabled and will require life long care. my 2 typically developing daughters have ugh reality, christmas gets to be magic as long as we have santa, after that disneyland will be on it's own.

lickety split 4 years 21 weeks

luv2blazy 4 years 21 weeks

We set limits, but to get around it they buy something really big. I would rather have many small, easy to put away gifts then one really big one that I don't have room for.

roxtarchic 4 years 21 weeks

We have ALL agreed this year to limit the gifts to the baby AND that they can only do one... we're also trying to do a "homemade holiday" making gifts instead of buying... i recently lost my job & no one really has the means to go crazy this year. i also try and take a toy away for every new one... and donate it. we still have things from his BIRTHDAY (oct) that we've yet to put into rotation... so we'll see how it goes. i'm actually excited to MAKE christmas decorations w/his handprints together w/my family on christmas eve... we'll maybe start a new tradition... (or kill each other in the process check the news) hahaha

roxtarchic 4 years 21 weeks

macgirl 4 years 21 weeks

We had to tell the grandparents to settle down. They bought my oldest so much last year that he still hasn't gotten around to playing with it all. He just doesn't have the time and I think it's wasteful. They were not happy about the limits so I had my father in law help move my sons bedroom to the new house and I think he got it.

skigurl 4 years 21 weeks

nevadamtnbear - i agree with not wanting to diapoint. i feel so bad when parents skimp on holidays and the child is disapointed compared to what they were expecting and envisioning. christmas comes but once a year. i like a child to have a great holiday and enjoy presents! as long as they say pleases and thankyous, i think it's pretty important to maintain a status quo and also make sure your child is provided for compared to his friends

MissSushi 4 years 21 weeks

Thats we we do it too, its how it was done for me as a child, and how I do it with my daughter now. She gets one big gift for christmas and on her birthday, and a few smaller gifts. i want to make sure we raise my daughter how I was raised, with the focus being on the celebration, not just the presents. We did gingerbread houses last night and it was so much fun!!

nevadamtnbear 4 years 21 weeks

We don't directly set limits, but it is understood that we don't want them going overboard either. Both sets of grandparents are respectful of this. For us, we do it very similar to Greggie - we get one "big" item for each celebration (Christmas, birthday, etc.) and then we pick up a few smaller less expensive items which we know will be enjoyed as well. We don't want to set our children up expecting LOTS of carp under the tree every year and getting stuff being the focal point. And, some years are more lean than others, and my hubby remembers being disappointed on those lean years when there wasn't as much under the tree as he had expected (even though he knew he shouldn't feel bad), and we don't want that to happen with our kids. And, I don't want to feel anguish over not being able to give my kids the type of Christmas I've established as the status quo, like many of the news stories today of parents torn up because they can't get the stuff their kids want.Now, does anyone know where I can find a "Boy" My Little Pony? Heheh, my son informed DH last night that he want's a "BOY" My Little Pony for Christmas. Hahaha.

nevadamtnbear 4 years 21 weeks

We don't directly set limits, but it is understood that we don't want them going overboard either. Both sets of grandparents are respectful of this. For us, we do it very similar to Greggie - we get one "big" item for each celebration (Christmas, birthday, etc.) and then we pick up a few smaller less expensive items which we know will be enjoyed as well. We don't want to set our children up expecting LOTS of carp under the tree every year and getting stuff being the focal point. And, some years are more lean than others, and my hubby remembers being disappointed on those lean years when there wasn't as much under the tree as he had expected (even though he knew he shouldn't feel bad), and we don't want that to happen with our kids. And, I don't want to feel anguish over not being able to give my kids the type of Christmas I've established as the status quo, like many of the news stories today of parents torn up because they can't get the stuff their kids want. Now, does anyone know where I can find a "Boy" My Little Pony? Heheh, my son informed DH last night that he want's a "BOY" My Little Pony for Christmas. Hahaha.

momma tikita 4 years 21 weeks

We don't go crazy at all. Our limit is money-wise. We spend a certain amount for them. They get so many presents from other people that it would be ridiculous for us to get them EVERY SINGLE TOY they want.

luckyme 4 years 21 weeks

I'd like to hear if she is actually successful with this. We have certainly tried, especially since our daughter has no idea what's going on. Being that she is my parents first grandchild, they have a hard time holding back. Her other grandparents have one more, but they also find it difficult to limit themselves. Let's get another quote from her AFTER the holidays and see if grandma and grandpa were really able to just buy one gift...

luckyme 4 years 21 weeks

Greggie 4 years 21 weeks

Other - we don't set limits but we don't go crazy and get everything they want either. Sometimes that means one expensive gift and two or three reasonable ones, sometimes it's eight reasonable ones, same total cost. This year they each have about eight plus stocking stuffers, with most of those being "cheaper" items they'll go crazy over.Neither set of grandparents has ever gone overboard either, and we don't set rules for them. They do what they can and what they want.

Greggie 4 years 21 weeks

Other - we don't set limits but we don't go crazy and get everything they want either. Sometimes that means one expensive gift and two or three reasonable ones, sometimes it's eight reasonable ones, same total cost. This year they each have about eight plus stocking stuffers, with most of those being "cheaper" items they'll go crazy over. Neither set of grandparents has ever gone overboard either, and we don't set rules for them. They do what they can and what they want.

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