Dilema of being fair

I don't know how my other friends with 2 children have found this year, but it's the first one where I really feel strongly about being fair with the Christmas gifts for our children. I mean, I always feel that. But last year, Evie was still so little, and well, it was a bit different. For her and Josephine's first Christmas, we got them toyboxes with their names on it, so that they could keep that for their lifetimes. No child is seriously interested in a toybox, but at a mere handful of months old, they don't notice that you're giving them anything so why not give them something to remember their first Christmas by, I thought? Anyway, this year, Evie is exactly 18months old. She's still not appreciating Christmas fully yet, but it's a lot more than last year. And her and Josephine on regular days are already wanting what the other has. The competition has started between them. And being "obviously" fair is getting more necessary and important.
Some basic rules I've already learnt (super fast!), even for teeny weeny things are:
**always buy something roughly the same SIZE and certainly the same COLOUR.  Children aged 0-4 (maybe more?) do not judge things they get from a money value - rather from what it APPEARS to them to be fair and square. And, don't set your hopes on sharing. Rather buy something small and then 2 of them. (only apply where reasonably possible though)**
That way, there can be no discussion "No, I want pink!! Evie can't have that one, dat's MY favourite colour!!"
This even goes for a balloon you may give each of them, or a juice cup at the breakfast table.  "NO! My plate is BLUE! I want da BLUE cup. Da LELLOW one doesn't match!!"   Yes, yes.  "EVie will you swop your blue cup for Josephine's yellow one? " .....""AAAAAAhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!" and some seriously strong toddler fingers in full grip of those blue handles...not gonna let go of something she now believes to be HERS!
Sometimes, they have to deal with it - the way it's dealt to them. Othertimes, I do consider my own sanity and relent to not always challenging their stress levels.
Now, preparing for a birthday or Christmas, with the older child, there is always something new to get as they reach new milestones, need new challenges, stretch their playing boundaries. There are stacks of things that they're outgrowing; there are stacks of things that they don't have, that would be educational and fun for them, that would be new and interesting....   In the same breath, the younger siblings are also growing....but everything they need, want or can even dream of is already under the roof, in the playroom or bedroom, things all well used (!) by the firstborn - who is now partly bored with those games and shows a lack of interest in many of those "little baby" things - making them (perhaps?) less appealing to the younger one who notices the "not-so-interesting-look in the hero/older sibling's eyes". So, in actual fact, other than appeasing one's own conscious and being "obviously" fair, it's a question of buying things one doesn't technically need.
8 months ago (already) when we knew we would move to Japan, we decided to get her a bicycle and keep it in storage till Christmas. We've had such good experience with the "Puky" bikes which are really sturdy and good bikes, that we decided to buy it in Germany and ship it with us to Japan.
For Evie, we've been thinking this way and that about what could we get that would be "equivalent"? Since neither of them truly pack much clue about money value, but are more interested in size and fun-factor, I thought:  let's get her her a doll's pram (Josephine's one died when she decided to sit in it herself oneday...crrreaaak, snap )and some other odds and ends to fill some gaps.
Come 24th, my conscious was still gnawing at me. How could I spend 1/20th of the price on Evie's present (which was on sale too)? I felt personally bad. Michael said that it probably didn't matter, but that we could get something extra for Evie to make it more fair. Even if it is for the sake of explaining some family photos of Christmas 2010 in the year 2020 when they surely (and hopefully) do understand it better.
So, off I went, with Evie (!) to Toys R Us at 10am on 24th. Parked, grabbed trolley with a few potential ideas (an indoor climbing frame thing for little ones or maybe a push scooter that she could use with Josephine outside or some musical instrument type thing). Anyway, within 10 minutes, I had scanned the aisles and due to me only having Evie there, some adrenalin to find something, I spotted several options. I finally chose a keyboard on a stand with a little microphone and a little barking puppy (she loves dogs and anything fluffy).
With that, I went home, wrapped, packed, re-decorated our Christmas tree which was looking a little wierd after some little fingers had gotten to it and knotted the lighting and tinsel. So, finally, after our lunch, we got the kids to wait outside the lounge. They were actually both being really patient. Not "super-hyped" as I'd have imagined children to be at this time, despite understanding that they were going to get something.

We decided just to open our family presents on Christmas Eve and then other family and friends' presents on Christmas Day....just to spread it out a bit.

Anyway, here are some photos of the moments that followed. And I do just realise that there is a serious lack of photos of Evie here. After all that. I think it was a question of saving Evie's life, our lives, the TV and Josephine's motivation. Once she saw she had her bike, she just wanted to ride it...immediately. And she did! Off she went. No support wheels. She went off immediately, thanks to her pushbike (former Puky which Evie has now inherited, but is still a little small for still). She has perfect balance and looks as though she's been at it for months. We were sooooo surprised!!!