One of the reasons Christmas isn’t that big of a deal in Japan is that the real presents come in small envelopes on New Year’s Day.

I’ve mentioned before how part of the New Year’s tradition is for relatives to hand out envelopes full of cash to their nieces, nephews and random cousins. The tradition is called otoshidama and can make discipline rather problematic at the end of the year. After all, it’s hard to threaten “no Christmas presents for you this year” when your kids know their grandparents and the aunt they only see once a year are going to hook them up with loads of cash just a week later.

Although traditions vary from family to family, it’s generally understood that the older the child, the greater the cash reward. For example, our in-laws dealt out 15,000 yen ($124) to three young relatives: 7,000 went to the oldest child, 5,000 to the middle and 3,000 to the youngest. With immediate relatives the amounts get larger. Our girls both got 10,000 yen ($83ish) from their grandparents (and that’s only the money we know about).

Our youngest’s early takings: 22,000 yen or about $182. More came later. 

After the otoshidama is handed out, our girls have become masters at disappearing the money so that we cannot find it. However, they understand that the bulk of the money will go into savings not stuff. Mind you “understanding” and “following through” are much different things and we usually have to “encourage” them to hand over the money. (We also know most of their hiding places…)

The cut off date for receiving otoshidama varies from family to family. Some stop giving the cash when the kids start university; others when they turn 20 (the age of adulthood); others after the kids graduate university. I’ve had at least one 24 year old student in her second year of her first job claim that she still received otoshidama from her parents and grandparents.

At this point, all the envelopes have been received and our oldest has 47,000 yen ($389) and our youngest, I suspect, has well over 35,000 yen ($290). From what I’ve heard from students at the school where I work and the other school where I work this is about average.

This, of course, means that drinks are on our girls when we head home.