So glad I don't have a brother!

According to this BBC article, parents spend more money on their sons at Christmas than on their daughters.

Some 3,500 parents with children under 16 were surveyed by the retailer in the first week of November.

The poll found parents spend an average of £223 on presents for boys, compared with just £127 for girls.

The top five boys' toys for Christmas add up to £428.95, but just £162.45 for girls.

The Beeb thinks that this is because dollies and board games and books cost less than video games and electronics. I dunno, I think there are just as many girls who want an iPod or an XBox360 as those who want a Pink Glow-Doodle Bear.

In my experience, my parents and my friends' parents generally had a budget for each kid, and if Kid #1 got a big ticket item (like a Nintendo or a bike), the other presents were smaller or there were fewer of them than the other kids got. So they spent roughly the same amount on each kid.

In one foul and evil case, budgets being what they were, a friend got a Nintendo for Christmas, including 2 controllers and the obligatory Super Mario, but the siblings got all of the rest of the games, so the SuperNES lived in the living room and he had to ASK one of the others if he wanted to play a different game :)