Because as a kid it wasn't my money being spent, it was my parents'. And my parents knew that the answer of "we're saving money for your future" wouldn't be nearly as enticing to a kid.
"Waiting till it's on sale"? Maybe. But if you're young enough that you still believe in the Easter Bunny and you're waiting to see what the Easter Bunny brought you, then that answer doesn't really work. :P
Like I said, it's just a fun thing that parents do for their kids. I totally understand that your way of doing things is more economical and I don't blame you for it -- but, at the same time, I can't blame people for buying into consumerized traditions like that of Easter and Christmas when it means spending a little extra money to do something special for the people you care about.
All I'm saying is that the people who buy into these things aren't all blind sheep who are spending money because they've been brainwashed by the media and big business. Many of them are people who do understand how over-commercialized these holidays are, and perhaps even dislike that over-commercialized nature on some level, but participate in these money-spending traditions anyway because we like giving things to our friends/family, as well as doing special things that people don't normally do on other days of the year, because it's fun. But, you know, like I said -- I totally understand your way of doing things. I just wanted to chime in from the other end of it. You said that these traditions seemed nonsensical and you didn't understand why people did them -- so I offered a reason.
