The 5-gift rule taking the mental load out of Christmas.

One of the evils of social media is that comparison can truly be the absolute thief of joy.

One of the other evils, is the reality that if you linger for a millisecond too long, those sneaky algorithms listen and suddenly that thing you are comparing yourself to is everywhere, dammit.

For me at the moment, it's Christmas present hauls for kids.

Signs to use when celebrating Christmas. Post continues below.

I have watched video after video of parents showing the camera the bounty of toys they've bought their kid this year, and I am not just talking a sprinkling. I am talking an entire bed-full of clothes, electronics, games and books.

It definitely had me second guessing how much to spend, and how many presents I should be making sure my kid has to unwrap under the tree.

I am at the start of the kid-gifting journey — my son is only two. So firstly, I reached out to some Mamamia parents to sense check how much we're spending.

Eliza has three young boys and has spent $600 all up.

Megan has two primary-school aged kids and is on the more exxy end of the scale, spending $1000 on each child.

Bev spends $400 on each of her adult daughters every year.

Ruth is spending $250 on each of her three adult kids.

Eve has two littlies and is spending about $600 on her haul.

My son is getting spoilt with gifts from both sets of grandparents and his aunt and uncle, so I am only spending just over $100 this year — I plan to increase that as he becomes more aware of Christmas.

But it's the five-gift rule that's given me the most structure as to how to tackle the challenge of Christmas gifting, and I love that the formula will work with my children no matter how old they are.

The 5-gift rule for Christmas presents.

It's pretty simple; my son will have five gifts under the Christmas tree from his parents — a want, a need, something to wear, something to read and something to share.

It's a structure I've seen floating around for a while, but it's popular for a reason.

It removes the mental load for parents having to try and work out if they've got enough variety for their children to open, and for kids it gives them a routine to expect. I love that it gives them clear expectations and takes away the 'chaos' and the pressure to go over the top.

This rule makes it about the intention and the act of giving, not so much the amount spent.

So, how does it work?

Want.

A toy, electronic or game your child has been asking you for and wishing for. This is the gift they'll be most excited to open.

Need.

Something that they need could be a new backpack for school, a new helmet, headphones (because they're last ones broke)…you get the drill.

Wear.

This doesn't have to just be clothes, this year my son is getting his first pair of Crocs with all of his favourite 'Jibbitz' (the fun little charm things) to decorate them with.

Other ideas could be hats or sunglasses.

Read.

While my son might not think so, this is my favourite of the five. I love the tradition of my son getting a book under the tree every year. Perhaps it's the journalist in me — but I think reading is such an important thing to foster in my children from a young age.

Share.

Once his sibling (who I am currently cooking) comes along, this will be a present he can share with his sister. But for now, my son is getting a gift under the tree he can enjoy with his extended family.

This year I've bought a pack of foam water pistols for a Christmas Day water fight, which I know will be a huge hit with my water-obsessed toddler.

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Once my son cottons on to the idea of Santa presents, I will do a separate 'Santa sack' for him to wake-up to at the bottom of his bed. This is a tradition I am stealing from my parents, and one that filled my childhood with so much joy and excitement.

The sack usually had one chunkier gift and lots of fillers — while he's little, there will be things like chocolate, bubbles and fidget spinners.

The thing I love the most about this tactic, is it kept me and my sister entertained for a few hours in the morning, so we didn't have to drag our parents straight to present unwrapping at the crack of dawn. A win-win for everyone.

I can get overwhelmed by the idea of 'what to buy' and 'what's appropriate' so for me, having this structure to lean into is ideal.

I love that in time my kids will start to understand the categories and request within them, and it makes me feel way less guilty as the enormous Christmas-gifting-hauls continue to flood my feeds.

How do you tackle Christmas gifting for your children? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature image: Getty.