Gifts
I’m curious how other stepparents handle birthdays and Christmas when your teenage stepkids are spending less and less time with you as the years go on.
We’ve gotten to the point where stepkids barely spend any time at our house, and it seems like every year we put a lot of thought and money into birthday and Christmas gifts, only for the gifts to either barely get used or never really be seen again because they’re hardly here. On top of that, DH also pays a significant amount in child support, so financially it can feel like we’re constantly spending a lot while also not really getting much opportunity to be involved in their day-to-day lives.
I’m not asking this from a place of not wanting to give them gifts or not wanting to be involved. I genuinely want to know how other stepparents navigate this.
Do you still buy the same amount of gifts? Do you scale back? Do you give experiences (which I don’t see working as we barely see them) or gift cards instead? Do you just keep doing what you’ve always done regardless of how often they’re around?
I’d really love to hear how other blended families handle this, especially when the relationship/time together has changed over the years.