I think it’s far more than that though. I think a lot of parents would agree with me that Christmas morning and birthdays are probably the most exciting time of the year.
Debt is debt. It is nothing compared to the joy your child gets. That joy you see in your kid is worth more than most could ever earn anyway.
And I’ve seen the poorest families happily dip into that debt. They know it doesn’t make things easier.
And honestly, that present two days a year is a drop in the bucket of debt if you’re already dealing with debt.
I’m not saying putting yourself in $3k of credit card debt to take your kids to Disneyland is totally worth it, but if you’re several thousand in debt and scraping, that ~$100 present twice a year won’t be the thing that breaks you, and is worth cutting costs elsewhere on a regular basis.
That and a gift doesn’t have to be expensive. It doesn’t even have to be bought.