I can totally relate. We are incredibly blessed to have a large network of supportive friends and family all living very close by. The benefits would be hard to

I can totally relate. We are incredibly blessed to have a large network of supportive friends and family all living very close by. The benefits would be hard to even quantify. But ... the kids get spoiled in every sense of the word. It is hard to manage allowing everyone to be as generous as they want to be, but trying to ensure the kids show as much enthusiasm as you hope they do and remain grounded and have realistic expectations about materialism and possessions. We frequently do house sweeps and donate neglected items to keep clutter to a minimum. And it helps them to use and appreciate the items they keep. More so, and now that our kids are getting older, we have been focusing more on putting money, time and energy into experiences, such as family vacations and activities. I find that the buyer's remorse I get with buying stuff for me or my kids doesn't really exist with experiences. It can be hard to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars planning a weekend getaway to the ocean or a day in the mountains, but I never regret it later. And when asked for gift recommendations for the kids, we try to push them toward things that will help us do these things or experiences of their own to have with our kids.