People could save so much money if they bought used instead of new more often, especially toys. It's crazy how much garbage we produce basically just because we literally don't share our toys.

I have come away from Christmas with almost the opposite conclusion. I have 3 young kids, and I notice almost an inverse correlation between the number of toys around and how contently they play.

The ideal number of toys is non-zero, but my experience suggests that it is pretty low.

Toys/gifts are important, but you'll find most of what you need (baby toys to bicycles) for pennies on the dollar at your local yard sale, estate sale, or free as hand-me-downs from an older family.

I would hesitate to include the retail prices for these kinds of goods to a CPI type metric because the price are incredibly flexible.

Only when you can afford them.

Why does your child need 34 or 35 toys? She can be happy with just one or two toys.