My son is in grade 1.
Recently one of the parents in the class sent their kid to school with a Christmas gift for every kid in the class.
There are 15 of them.
I thought it was a really nice gesture at first, and we bought a gift for that kid as reciprocity, but then another family sent a gift. Then 2 families. Now all the families are scrambling to send gifts, and outdo one another. And they aren’t small gifts. Someone gave a beanie with antlers. Another gave a stuffy elf but with each kid’s name sewn into the back of it. Another gave a “12 days of cookies” advent calendar (which was really cool and thoughtful, but a lot of work). Some of those cookies also had his name on it. Meanwhile, my son thinks this is a normal practice and goes to school every day excited about what gift he’s going to come home with.
I care 0% about the cost. But it seems a bit much. I’m all for getting his best friends in the class something, privately, but not every single child.
Plus we’re trying to teach our son about the holidays not just being about gifts, but also about service, especially to those who really need the support. This just seems like consumption for consumption sake.
Am I wrong in thinking this is all unnecessary?
Or is this now a thing that happens in other schools?