You know I've been out a lot this weekend and I've seen a lot of

"In the olden days" they were all for a doll or a toy truck or toy airplane. Or something small. Maybe a specific doll, like a Betsy Wetsy or Chatty Cathy. Most expensive thing I ever saw was "a new bike for my sister cuz somebody stole hers". And most of the kids were orphans or foster kids, or maybe on welfare because the mother was a widow with a low-paying job.

My favorite is parents "registering" gifts for kids' birthdays. WTH? I (well, my kid) once got an invitation to a birthday party with a link to her registry, and underneath that noted, "PLEASE, NO GIFTS OTHER THAN FROM JUSTICE" (A kid's clothing store). 👀 This was not the only experience, just the first. I remember my dad saying, "What, 6 years ago she was sitting in her own s*** and now she's Paris Hilton?" 😂😂😂 I got her a toy from Target with a $5 gift card to Tutti Fruiti.

SarcasmWins : I had a Baby Thataway who crawled. My sister used to position her at the top of the stairs and hit the crawl button just to torture me. On second thought, I should probably thank her for protecting me from eternal damnation at the little hands of this tiny white serial killer in a pink jumpsuit.
😅😅😅

brightlights : The position of that dolls head is just creepy Dolls scare me anyway, so that one would make me poop my pants

lynnsgirl : I think this kind of plays on the giving of Halloween candy to the parents that Trick-or-Treat with their kids and bring their own candy pails. I don't mind giving candy out to teenagers who are out Trick-or-Treating. But parents who come expecting candy is not something I'm cool with. I buy candy to give out to kids. If I'm giving it out to the parents too, it takes away from the amount I have for kids.It's all a sense of entitlement. The parents are passing this down to their kids. It's gotten ridiculous.

Catmae : Dolls, clowns and antique furniture. 👀

Catmae : Prrrreach. That schnit is wild. Most of the culprits look at you like, "Go ahead. Make my daaaaay."

brightlights :

lynnsgirl :
I feel you. Story time. I once worked for a small Catholic college. Most of the staff had low salaries. The college was constantly asking us to donate money for various causes. I've never had an employer to hit us up like they did. Then, they sponsored an Angel Tree project. We all fought to get the "easy" (reasonable) stars so that we wouldn't get stuck with some of the ridiculous ones. They had requests for PS3 stations and the like. It was enough for me to buy one clothing outfit, 1 or 2 toys, plus whatever else was requested without donating an expensive video game. I am actually upset most with Salvation Army for not putting a price limit. There is nothing wrong with getting kids to select something more reasonable. Our sheriff's office does a Xmas toy giveaway. I donate to that. No way will I do Angel Tree when SA won't reign in the absurd requests. Sheriff's office tells parents $75 MAX limit for gifts. And no gifts cards will be given. I buy basic stuff and donate and try to focus on older kids since they don't usually get much. I bought a soccer ball, a few Nerf footballs, inexpensive arts kits, etc.

brightlights :
I don't like clowns neither. Those painted on smiles just creep me out. Although, actually, the whole clown creeps me out!

I remember Christmas when I was a child. I was really happy to receive Barbie clothes that my Mom made for my dolls. She had such patience because she would sew these very small buttons on the blouses and each outfit was well finished with very small details. The clothes looked like they came from a boutique. The woman was truly talented. I did receive a store-bought Barbie doll plus a new softball every now and then. (I liked dolls, but I was also very much a "tomboy." I don't know if the term "tomboy" is used so much anymore. We did not have laptops, smartphones, desktop computers, and all these electronic games when I was a child. We did not have shoes that cost several hundred dollars. We got shoes that were reasonable and within the budget. And I was lucky because my Mom was a very good seamstress. If I wanted a particular outfit, she was quite good at copying it and sewing it. I had some very cool (lol) outfits because of her!