What to do at Christmas when your children have too much stuff already?

The Lego is piling up in drifts behind the sofa. My daughter's notebook collection is well into double figures. There's no denying it – my children have more than enough stuff.

So how to approach Christmas, when the pressure is on to add to the pile? You would have to be very hard hearted to simply say enough is enough, and not buy any Christmas presents. We don't want our children to be spoilt, but neither do we want to play Scrooge with them either. And while I know that the point of Christmas isn't about the gifts, let's face it: they're very much part of the season and I think many parents will be facing this situation.

What to do when you're trying to minimise the stuff in Santa's sack?

• Cut back
  Simply buy less. Go for a few decent gifts that your child wil enjoy and stop there. Make your Christmas less about the presents and more about the time your family spends together.
• Give them an experience rather than a bulky gift
  How about: tickets to a pantomime or a West End show; tickets to see their favourite pop act; a trip with friends ice skating or paintballing. Or you could splash out on yearly membership to your local attraction: as long as it's somewhere you'll go to at least two or three times, it'll be worth it. Or there's the Merlin Pass that gets you into a variety of attractions for 12 months. Or maybe your child has been asking for music, dance or acting lessons – wouldn't they rather have that than a plastic toy that'll be broken by the New Year?
• Do a pre-Christmas clearout
  The charity shops will be glad you did. Talk your children about this and get them to help choose what to donate. Help them understand the benefits: that the charity will get some money, and whoever buys their donation will enjoy it too.
• Give a charity gift
  Either do your Christmas shopping via a charity catalogue or website, or look for charity gifts like sponsoring an animal from the World Wildlife Fund. My son got a WWF sponsored turtle for his 8th birthday and was very happy about it, and I was happy that at least I didn't have to keep the turtle in the bath.
• Give consumable gifts
  In our house, Father Christmas gives the chocolately cereal that Mummy is too mean to buy. This year he is going all international and bringing jars of marshmallow fluff. It's an an exciting treat, but once it's gone it's gone so it's not going to add to the overall mess.
• Give practical gifts
  I know new socks, toothbrushes, an umbrella or clothes might not be the most exciting things in themselves, but you can jazz them up with fancy wrapping paper. Children get so excited by the anticipation and the fun of having something to unwrap, so if you veer towards the useful stuff they'll still get this and you know the present won't go to waste.

Nicki Cawood of Curly & Candid's son is a shining example of pre-Christmas decluttering:  "Kieran has sorted through a load of jigsaws etc he doesn't use and is giving them to charity for 'other children to enjoy'. It's lovely when they can do it for themselves and understand that what they are giving away can help and be loved by others. We also try not to go mad with buying and mix in some educational stuff rather than even more toys."

Other parents I asked were less certain. Some went for the blunt 'bung 'em some cash or a voucher' approach, whilst others wouldn't contemplate this: blogger @littlestuff said "We've thought about lessons/experiences, but it's not much to unwrap – not sure the joy is there", to which mother of two Heidi Scrimgeour countered: "Is there joy in giving them stuff they don't need?". Amy Finlayson has opted for lessons rather than stuff: "Last year my daughter had acting lessons and this year it's piano lessons for Christmas – more useful than crap she won't use!"

So how do you approach Christmas if you know in your heart that your children have already got plenty of stuff?