My kid never makes a Christmas list
By Sissy15
@sissy15 (13512)
United States
September 24, 2026 9:45pm CST
I have always seen kids making these giant Christmas lists for their parents, heck, I was one of those kids when I was little, but to be fair, my childhood had toy commercials in between every single show, making kids want whatever new awesome toy had just been advertised. They had Toys R' Us catalogs, and honestly, Christmas catalogs for almost every major store where kids went through and saw and circled every toy they came across.
My son is quite the opposite of most kids I know. Every year I ask him what he wants for Christmas, and every year he tells me he doesn't know. When he was smaller, he would tell me a few things, but it was never a lot. He doesn't see a lot of toy commercials or really any commercials at all. We don't have cable, and the ads they show on streaming apps are seldom for anything he would want.
He almost never asks me for anything. He doesn't want much, and even if he did, he doesn't like telling me because he doesn't want me to spend a ton of money. He keeps telling me he wants to get a job so he can help us with things, and I keep telling him that's not his job, and if he did get a job, he would save it because I'm not taking it. He knows things are expensive, and we have always told him he'll always have what he needs, but he may not always get what he wants; he has never gone without. Sometimes he has bigger Christmases than others, but somehow we have always made it happen. He doesn't get a lot most of the year, but at Christmas I've always tried to make it happen.
One of the benefits of being close to my son is that, even if he doesn't make a list, I know him well enough that I can usually get him things he likes. I always try to do one big gift. My son doesn't have average interests, so shopping for him can be fun. I don't mean that in a sarcastic way, but in a literal way. He is actually fun to shop for. He doesn't want much, but he is always happy with everything he gets.
He's an old soul and loves most retro things. He loves old video games, and he loves old movies and music. He loves Dean Martin; he loves hats even though he almost never wears them. He loves learning about wars. He is really into Pokémon and Japan. He loves music. He loves cats. He loves comfy clothes but also likes dressing up a little. He'd live in hoodies and sweats most of the time, but also enjoys looking "Shnazzy," as he says it. He also really loves tiny things like trinkets. His favorite colors are yellow and gray. He isn't your typical teenager in most ways.
Every year, I've managed to get him things he loves. I usually make sure to get him new hoodies and sweats along with some cat shirts. Last year for Christmas, he got a T-Shirt with a cat made like Jaws that said "Paws." This year, I'm looking at one with the cats dressed up like KISS that says HISS. He is all about his cat shirts. He's getting quite the collection. The fact that he never wants anything always makes me want to get him more. He is also a big foodie. He loves food. He is still somewhat picky about vegetables, but will still eat them in different forms. He likes some raw but not cooked, and some cooked but not raw. He's his own unique person. He has always been my little buddy, even now that he's not so little. I love spending time with him because he's funny and sweet. I love how different he is. I love that he likes what he likes, whether it's cool or not. He is one of the very best humans I know, so while he may not ask for much, I will always go above and beyond to try and find things I know he'll like.
4 people like this
4 responses
@AmbiePam (128041)
• United States
25 Sep
He’s such a good young man. I never made a Christmas list either. My parents would tell us to pick one thing we’d most like to have, and they’d try to get it for us. We (my sister and I) were always told Santa wasn’t real (they didn’t want us to think they’d lie to us) so there was never occasions for lists.(We were not allowed to ruin Santa for anyone else though and we stuck to that.)
1 person likes this
@sissy15 (13512)
• United States
20m
My mom had us make lists long after we stopped believing in Santa. It was just so she knew what we wanted. We didn't get anything the rest of the year except for one gift on our birthdays, so Christmas was the time of year she made sure we got things we genuinely wanted. We didn't go on big vacations, and when we did have a "vacation," it was usually us going to a local campground and tent camping. The one big vacation I went on was only because my sisters paid for it to happen since they're a lot older than us; otherwise, I never would have gone anywhere. My mom worked and helped take care of her brother, who was disabled, so we didn't get to go anywhere big, not that we could have afforded it anyway. My dad would take us on day trips to the lake or out hiking. We didn't get to do a lot of big things, so Christmas was the one time of year my mom wanted to give us something we wouldn't otherwise get. She had us make gifts, and it always felt so magical when I was a kid to go downstairs to a tree full of presents. I have a kind of blurry picture somewhere of my brother and me by the tree with our unopened presents in our itchy material pajamas. It was a big deal back then. My dad sometimes made us gifts. One year I got a cradle and a high chair he made for my dolls, and my brother got swords he made. We didn't always get everything we wanted, but we got a lot of things we wanted.
It's good that your parents made sure you and your sister didn't ruin Santa for other kids. I can understand their reasoning, but I'm grateful I did get some years where I believed Santa was real. It made things more magical for a time. I never felt lied to or upset when I found out he wasn't real; I understood my parents wanted me to feel the magic of Christmas. I was also always taught Jesus was the reason for the season, but they still wanted me to feel all of the other excitement too.
1 person likes this
@sissy15 (13512)
• United States
Just now
@AmbiePam I don't think any of us felt lied to, but some kids do react differently to things than others. I had one friend who felt lied to when he found out about Santa, but he's the only one I know who actually felt that way; everyone else I knew understood and also wanted to give their own children the experience of Santa.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (194322)
• Boise, Idaho
15h
Some kids are that way. My grandson is that way too and it's so hard to find things he might like. Money is such a cop out. I think ecards are nice. That way it helps go toward something they want.
1 person likes this
@sissy15 (13512)
• United States
31m
My son isn't hard to buy for, because he genuinely loves whatever he's given. He's always super grateful. I hate giving money and gift cards because it feels less personal, but I will when I don't know what else to give them. I always make it my mission to try and give people something they'll actually want. I am usually a decent gift giver unless I genuinely don't know what a person wants or likes.
@Ineeddentures (46088)
•
25 Sep
I must send this post to my mother.
Thanks for sharing this.
1 person likes this
@sissy15 (13512)
• United States
29m
Thank you, and he's always been my little buddy, even now that he's not remotely little and is taller than me. We spend a lot of time together and have a lot of similar interests, and even the ones that are uniquely him are fun to buy for him. I work really hard to try and get him things he'll love. He is always extremely grateful for everything. I love that he's so unique.





