I didn't grow up wealthy but we were well off. Dad was a lawyer who owned his own practice (later elected as county attorney) and mother owned a successful business. So we never wanted for anything. Basically we got whatever we asked for at Christmas and then some. I've always wondered what it was like for those less fortunate. Did you get only one thing you asked for? Did you get nothing? I donate pretty heavily to Toys for Tots or community toy drives. Did you get gifts from them? How did it work out? If you got nothing did it sour you on Christmas as a child? Did you wake up expecting gifts and your parents had to explain why Santa didn't come? Was it basically just another day?

chipotle said:

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This gif is actually pretty funny. My mom looked and acted almost exactly like Lucille Bluth. My sister even just started calling her Lucille.

i dont know about poor, but Christmas morning was usually not fun.

When you're old enough to know you're poor, you stop asking for things for Christmas and that's about it.

Have no idea as I grew up in upper middle class and was pretty damn spoiled.

superunknown said:

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When you're old enough to know you're poor, you stop asking for things for Christmas and that's about it.

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So did you get nothing at all? Like not even some rando gifts from the Dollar Store?

You know what I got for Christmas this year? It was a banner ****in' year at the old Bender family. I got a carton of cigarettes. The old man grabbed me and said "Hey. Smoke up Johnny."

I didn't know we were poor. Always enjoyed Christmas.

Not poor but I learned pretty early that if I didn't ask for anything my dad would usually buy me better stuff.

Bo Darville said:

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superunknown said:

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When you're old enough to know you're poor, you stop asking for things for Christmas and that's about it.

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So did you get nothing at all? Like not even some rando gifts from the Dollar Store?

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Maybe a couple of "family" gifts...something the whole family could benefit from. Candy for the stockings, a couple of hot wheels etc. A "new" jacket or pair of shoes, replacement clothing, or patches for your jeans, etc.

That actually doesn't sound that terrible. As a kid it probably wasn't the greatest but at least there was something.

WWJD?

Christmas for us was usually about family and celebrating the birth of Jesus

Oh boy, this is a surprise Clark. This is just a real nice surprise. Just a real nice surprise.

Not poor but very few store bought gifts other than some clothes. Most gifts were home made or sentimental.

Bo Darville said:

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That actually doesn't sound that terrible. As a kid it probably wasn't the greatest but at least there was something.

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Glad I could help. Let me know if you want to know more.

/the other side of the tracks

My happiest memories were being with my mom's side of the family before my grandma passed away - everyone was drunk, dancing, and happy. I learned early on that it was ****ty for me to ask my mom for gifts that I knew were out of her budget (video game systems, electronics, expensive ***t that were fads). My mom never scolded me for asking, but I could tell how she felt by her reaction when she had to tell me that something was too expensive.

There were four of us kids in my family and I remember one year when we got fruit and nuts in our stockings instead of candy. We thought it was a bit strange since we always got candy, but none of us ever said anything. Thinking back, I'm pretty sure that was the Christmas that my dad was laid off or on strike or something.

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Dad was a lawyer who owned his own practice (later elected as county attorney) and mother owned a successful business.

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Sounds pretty wealthy to me

My mom and dad tried to get us gifts as close to what we wanted but it was always not the "real" thing. But they tried super hard! There wasn't a lot, but we were happy to get something because we knew we were poor.

Had a single mom raising three kids. She always managed to pull Christmas together. Even tho she couldn't afford it.

I was poor but due to the work my Dad did as a construction helper my parents income varied a lot. Sometimes we had really good Christmases and most of the time we got a few things that we really didn't want but it was what my parents could afford and once we got nothing because they were really broke and I think it came down to having electricity and running water or Christmas presents.

I do thinks it sucks to be a poor kid at Christmas time but I think there are some life lessons you learn that kids that get everything don't understand.

During the Great Depression, my dad got an orange and a small ball like a tennis ball one year.

Well, I'm a fundamentally good person, so I was always happy to get any new toy. I was a realistic kid, so I never wrote out a wish list unless my mom pressured me. Whatever new GI Joe or Transformer I might get would make me thrilled. I went to private school, which strained the budget quite a bit, but I never really thought about the toys I didn't get or whatever. At least, not until Show And Tell day when I saw all the amazing **** the rich kids got. Screw yal.

superunknown said:

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When you're old enough to know you're poor, you stop asking for things for Christmas and that's about it.

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This. My mom was single and raised two kids by herself. She probably made around $30-40k/year most of her life (she also put us through Catholic school). When we were little my mom tried to give us 1 Christmas gift that we asked for, usually something relatively cheapish like a video game.

As I got older and realized my mom didn't have a lot of money, I stopped asking for Christmas presents. Some Christmas' I didn't get anything because I insisted my mom save her money. However, my mom usually made sure we got something, even if it was something small like a sweater or new jeans. The holidays were always brutal for me because my friends and family would always brag about all of the gifts they received for Christmas, and I was always embarrassed to say I got nothing, or a sweater.

To be honest, it kind of ruined Christmas for me as a kid, and even now as an adult. I've never really looked forward to Christmas, and Im not much of a gift giver to this day. I would rather someone save their money than give me a gift, and vice versa.

However, there is a silver lining in all of this. I think my upbringing is one of the best things to happen to me because I have a huge chip on my shoulder now as an adult to be successful. I don't want my future kids to have to go through what I went through as a kid, I want Christmas to be special for them and I will shower them with presents. I was never one for material things as a kid (because we couldn't afford it) which has followed me as an adult, this in turn has allowed me to save/invest all of my money when all of my peers are buying brand new BMW's and houses they cant afford. I've always lived modestly and way below my means because my goal has always been to be wealthy.

Holly Golightly said:

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My mom and dad tried to get us gifts as close to what we wanted but it was always not the "real" thing. But they tried super hard! There wasn't a lot, but we were happy to get something because we knew we were poor.

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This was us as well.

We got one Christmas present and only one. Usually a lego set. Liked it because I could build lots of things with it. Never really asked for anything. Parents knew I liked cars and legos and got that for me. Getting a RC car one year instead of the one with the cord was a really big deal. (Think my parents felt guilty that year that they could no longer help me with school work while my peers had parents that were college professors)

Even though we didn't have much money, my parents would give slightly better presents to the kids that had the better grades. The kids with all A's got the $40 lego set, while the others got the $30 lego set. The amount of motivation that extra $10 provided is now embarrassing in hindsight, but it did help to develop a personal sense of motivation that persevered throughout the year that I'm thankful for.

Food wasn't really a problem. Mom would get a Turkey on special for a couple bucks. Big bag of potatoes and sides were relatively cheap too at the grocery store, so we always had a good meal at Christmas. Christmas Eve was a special treat where we got to pick 3 things off the dollar menu instead the usual 2! We didn't eat at the burger place because drinks were too expensive so we ate at home.

Entertainment was going to see Santa at the mall, driving around to see Christmas lights, and watching the Christmas movies that came on TV that the rabbit ears could pick up. Perfectly acceptable to us because we didn't really know how other kids celebrated Christmas other than they got more than one gift.

ea1060 said:

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superunknown said:

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When you're old enough to know you're poor, you stop asking for things for Christmas and that's about it.

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To be honest, it kind of ruined Christmas for me. I never really looked forward to Christmas as I got older

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Same here

I don't know what the measuring stick was for poor or for lower middle class back then, but we were one or the other. Mom stayed at home and raised we three boys, dad worked as a roughneck. Having quit school at 11 and run away from home, his potential for income was somewhat limited. The five of us lived in a small two bedroom house. We always ate well, but we didn't have much extra.

But Christmases were magical at least for us kids. My dad worked for a company that gave their employees a Christmas bonus, something like $200 or so plus $10 per year of service. They spent every dime on me and my two brothers. We would take the Sears catalog and the Montgomery Ward catalog and circle the things we wanted and as I recall we pretty much got everything we wanted. Of course, I didn't know this as a kid, when I found out later in life, it gave me pause. I think his childhood had been one of having so little that he wanted Christmas to be more than what he had had.

I have owned two businesses and from the very first year I have given Christmas bonuses and always will.

"To be honest, it kind of ruined Christmas for me. I never really looked forward to Christmas as I got older, and Im not much of a gift giver to this day. I would rather someone save their money than give me a gift, and vice versa. "

Yep exactly my sentiments.

Reel Aggies said:

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"To be honest, it kind of ruined Christmas for me. I never really looked forward to Christmas as I got older, and Im not much of a gift giver to this day. I would rather someone save their money than give me a gift, and vice versa. "

Yep exactly my sentiments.

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Have you two ever been visited by Christmas ghosts?

We weren't poor, but we certainly were not rich...at least in the 60's. 7 kids,and mom raised us...so we lived on Dad's salary. I remember seeing his 'take home' check when I was around 12...it was $220. We thought we hit the big time on Christmas...we all got three to four ten dollar gifts. We were pretty excited with that.

Parents had money, but after about age 10 Christmas wasn't about gifts. Most years I'd get a bag of Chex Mix or some other snack food, candy, and some clothes items. Really don't remember much in the way of what I got over the years and I'm guessing most of you don't either. The only present I genuinely remember getting was a Nintendo 64, and before that some pedal cars when I was like 6.