Do You Play Favorites With The Kiddos At Christmas?

Over the past few weeks I have been getting a ton of call about Christmas.  What should we get your son for Christmas?  Or this is what I got so and so.  With all these phone calls I’ve noticed that my family is playing favorites!

I grew up in a kind of big family.  There were five of us, but my mom always had extra kids.  Foster kids, live-in cousins and kids who adopted us.  But around Christmas time, I never really felt like my mom played favorites.  We all got a stocking filled with fruit, candy, and small trinkets.  We also got one big gift and a few smaller ones.  I never remember feeling like she had a favorite.

But times have changed.  I have noticed that all my sisters have that one kid that gets more gifts or their gifts are little better than the rest.  This year it really hit me.  First my oldest sister called.  She said that she was going to be getting all the nieces and nephews the same thing, except for my son.  She wanted to get him something special.

I was kind of shocked.  Why should he be any different?  Then my mom called.  She said she was going to be getting all the grandkids the same things.  Except for my son, of course.  And all the phone calls from my relatives were the same.

Why are they playing favorites?  I understand that we are the only ones that don’t live in the same town, but we still see each other as often as we can.  I think my son is special because he is my only child, but he shouldn’t be any different than the other cousins.

How are the kids going to feel when they open up their gifts on Christmas and his gifts are not only different but better?  So unfair!  They refuse to listen to me, but I firmly believe that he too will feel singled out.  No child wants to be singled out.

Maybe I’m crazy, but I don’t feel you should play favorites at Christmas.  What do you think?