Godparents-presents for godchild's siblings?

fabforty

I know that there is no right or wrong answer to this, but I am curious to know what other people do.

If you are a Godparent, do you buy birthday presents for your godchild's sibling(s) - assuming that you do buy presents for your god child and don't habitually buy presents for all of your friends children? Or for parents whose children have godparents, do they buy for all of your children and do you think it strange if they do, or rude/thoughtless if they don't?

My 2 have different godmothers one bought a present for the other child on his birthday, whereas one only bought for her godchild. I didn't think anything of it - but it lead to a heated debate between the two of them. As far as I am concerned being a Godparent is not about presents and I for one am just grateful if somebody buys something for my child. They are 1 and nearly 3, so perhaps it will be different when they are older.

I don't want a debate about the role of Godparents etc, (sorry to be blunt, but threads have a habit of becoming derailed), I just wondered what other people think, expect and/or do.

lavalamp

I'm interested to see what others think here - I have a godchild and buy for her sibling, but when it comes to a special birthday (18 for instance), I will want to buy something special and memorable, but probably wouldn't for her sister - I wondered if that might be considered favouritism...

Also, I wanted to leave a small amount of money to my goddaughter in my will, but not to her sister and in the end didn't do either as I felt it may not be considered appropriate and decided to leave some personal items instead.

TeamLowe

If i was close enough to someone that they would consider me as a godmother to their child then i would consider them like family and buy for all their children.

Although having said that, I never spend very much on presents for children as they're fickle creatures lol

But I wouldn't judge anybody for coming to a different conclusion, as long as they're consistent- ie the only reason the godchild gets a birthday present is because of that special connection and other sets of siblings get the same as each other

double_mummy

i do it for siblings too but generally smaller than for godchild

susancs

double_mummy wrote: »

i do it for siblings too but generally smaller than for godchild

Same here, I buy for Godchild and siblings but always get the Godchild something more expensive and my children's Godparents do the same. Having said that I would buy presents anyway as they are either close family or friends children.

dibuzz

Eldest son's Godmother was my dad's 2nd wife so they bought for all. His Godfather bought him a present on his birthday and not the others. At Christmas he bought a present for his Godson and gave the others a selection box.
Son no 2's Godparents lived next door and treated them all the same. This tailed offf after we moved.
My daughter doesn't have "proper" Godparents really. We had to have one catholic and there was nobody available so my mum said she would do it. (Ex) hubby said it wasnt fair so he wanted his mum and dad to do it too so she just gets what she would normally get.
Youngest had 2 of his dad's relatives who have never bothered with any of them since he moved out (they are Sunday school teachers too!)
His other Godmother never forgets him though and is the only Godparent still in touch for any of them. She doesn't have much but always buys him Birthday and Christmas presents and gives the others chocolate coins at Christmas.
Over the years we've had questions about why he gets things from his Godmother and none of the others do and there has been a bit of jealousy at times but they now accept that people are different and she is the only one who takes her role seriously.

I'm not a Godparent but would buy something smaller for the other children just so they weren't left out.

andygb

I have two Godchildren - yes me, an atheist:eek:

I tried to get out of it both times, but the people were very insistent.
We used to get cards and a small present, but then it all went "Pete Tong", when the parents decided that their other children should get something from us as well, because they were feeling left out.

Well now they are all left out - sorted;)

CH27

I have two Godchildren.
I buy for their siblings at birthdays & christmas.
When they are 18 or 21 I will get them something special but not their siblings.

I also intend to leave money & jewellry to both of them.

Idiophreak

fabforty wrote: »

My 2 have different godmothers one bought a present for the other child on his birthday, whereas one only bought for her godchild. I didn't think anything of it - but it lead to a heated debate between the two of them.... They are 1 and nearly 3, so perhaps it will be different when they are older.

Am I the only one that was impressed that a 1 and 3 year old managed to engage in "heated debate"?

FBaby

andygb wrote: »

I have two Godchildren - yes me, an atheist:eek:

I'm godmother to three children and atheist

The older one is an only child and now an adult so not an issue. The second one has a younger brother and I do give presents to both, but now they are a bit older, I do tend to give a bigger present to my Godson. The third one has three siblings! I used to give to all three but stopped when number 4 was born. The other siblings are now older and don't expect presents any longer, so I only give to my Goddaughter.

elsien

Don't the siblings have their own godparents who possibly buy them presents?
Isn't the point that the child has a special relationship with that one individual (that isn't all about presents, anyway).
I'm an atheist and hence a reluctant godparent, but I just think if everyone's buying for everyone else it all gets a bit silly. And kind of defeats the object of the exercise
And if one godparent drops out or vanishes off the scene, or buys smaller presents, life isn't always fair and kids need to learn that at some point.