Parents,how much do you spend on christmas presents for your kids?

woollys_super_saver

we will spend £50 on our ds, he is 2 1/2 i think we will continue to spend this amount until he is around 5 or 6 and starts asking for things. Even then though we won't got mad.

I have managed to get him a few things from boots with my points I have saved to get throughout the year so this boosts his pile. He will get something from my grandparents and my sil and that will be about it.

We are also taking him to florida for 3 weeks in March (which we paid for with tesco deals, thanks Mr T) so we are trying to save spening money for that, he will be 3 whilst we are there so will no doubt pick up some treats.

I think the main thing for christmas is spending time as a family, i am happy that my son has a few presents to open then we all have a nice dinner and chill out together, that makes my christmas.

MrsE_2

shelovestobuystuff wrote: »

This is my sons last xmas of being treated as a child as far as spending on pressies goes.Next xmas he will be 18 and will get the same little pile under the tree as myself and OH get rather than the big display of pressies across the sofa he is used to.Our spend for him them will probably be about £100.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

You think:rolleyes:

My DD has been saying that to me evert xmas & birthday since she was 16 "go on, its my last big crack at it" & shes 21 & a half now:o

Lunar_Eclipse

DAB1209 wrote: »

Our youngest is a toddler so will have 150 max spent on him.The other three will have at least 500 each spent on them:eek:,heres how...ds-10 wants a bike but he is asking for the latest 09 gt bike costing £229,guitar hero £69.99, some xbox games and some lego.Have got him a mobile and other bits and pieces to fill his santa sack.

I really like your story about sending money to Santa and will bear it in mind should I find myself in that conversation.

We tend to buy one main present for our children, which is what we had growing up too. So I'd be choosing between the bike, guitar hero or the phone. Although we tend to do bikes for birthdays and not Xmas due to the weather; and they cost more than we spend on their Xmas present (but not birthday). Not that we actually have a budget, but mentally it's around £50 on the main gift. Guitar hero is the obvious choice to me since it's fun and would add to the festivities of the day.


This thread is really interesting. But what I'd really like to see is family income alongside the present spend. That would make it fascinating IMO. I just have this idea, based on my situation and friends that we know, that people spending £350 or more on their children must earn upwards of £200k/year. But I know that's probably not the case!

windra

This thread has really shocked me, my parents would never think to spend more than £50 per child on presents, although one christmas we did get a fammily computer.

If i had children that were young i would probably spend less than £50, children who are young do not know the value of money, they can be just as happy with lots of low cost presents than a fancy gadget that costs £100 that will be discarded after a month.

FairyElephant_2

shelovestobuystuff wrote: »

This is my sons last xmas of being treated as a child as far as spending on pressies goes.Next xmas he will be 18 and will get the same little pile under the tree as myself and OH get rather than the big display of pressies across the sofa he is used to.Our spend for him them will probably be about £100.

Thank you so much! I will print your reply and take it home to show DH......

We normally spend between £100 and £150 on each child, depending on how much overtime DH has had, and if there is anything they particularly want. We would never put on credit cards or go into debt for Xmas gifts.

I said the other day to DH that this will be the last year that his eldest (he has 3 from previous marriage) will get as many gifts/as much spent on him, as he turns 18 in Feb and will therefore be treated as an adult when it comes to Xmas pressies - and DH looked appalled! - as if I'd suggested we cut off his head or something!!! I'm not saying we won't get him gifts, but they will be the 'grownup' kind whioch tends to be clothes, smellies, practical stuff & maybe a 'jokey' kind of toy or game gift.

In my family, when you got to 18 (or in some cases 16 if you left school and got a job) you were then treated as an adult, soI thought this was the 'norm'!

Lunar_Eclipse

My parents haven't cut back on the amount they spend on us and we're in our 30's! They are much better off financially than when we were younger and are still working so earning money.

I have suggested no adult gifts for the past couple of years, but my sister (who doesn't have children) was somewhat unimpressed! And my parents have a need to roughly treat us equally, financially speaking especially.

I absolutely love Christmas, but find myself increasingly disgusted with the commercialism of it all. And can't bring myself to waste too much money, especially on my children; who like most children are ridiculously spoilt. I've decided that I'm going to see if we can help out in a soup kitchen or hospice next Christmas.:)

Lunar_Eclipse

Toots wrote: »

We don't have any children myself but buy for the two children next door who are 5 and 7 and we normally spend around £35-£40 on each.

However it was the little boy's birthday recently and he just took the parcels, ripped off the paper, said what it was and just put it down and went onto opening the next. He just has so many prezzies from relatives and friends. Despite his Mum telling him to open it first, he didn't even bother opening his card.

I know they are only kids but I go to loads of trouble to find out what they want and they don't really appreciate it so I'm cutting down to about £20 each this year.

My neighbour recently had to have a serious declutter and she had to get rid of so much stuff, much of it they had never had the time to play with but some things just took up too much space.

I can relate and understand this completely. It's such a sad reality of life for the lucky children these days. I try so hard not to over-materialise my own children, but I'm failing dreadfully!

I have asked my FIL to buy my girls Waterstones vouchers for Xmas this year. He wanted to get them toys, but we have too many already and they will be delighted to actually have the opportunity to choose and buy a book/s, as opposed to my usual 'let's go to the library now' response. So for children who have everything, I think this is a great gift, along with the Oxfam unwrapped presents.

looby-loo_2

Zoeysmum06 wrote: »

My daughter will be two in November and last year for her first birthday and second xmas i probably spent around 700! Disgusting and the worst part was she was more interested in the wrapping paper and boxes! So this year I will probably spend around £300 but thats including a pass for Gambados (one of them big ball places for children) I dont see the need when there small as its so overwhelming just a few toys are better i think. And i think shes too small for a stocking as she doesnt understand!

That is more than my yearly present budget for our whole family of 6

jellyhead

I bumped into a girl I used to work with today. She told me a massive list of what her daughter is getting, and that she got a computer for her birthday! what on earth does a preschool child need a computer of their own for?! lol!

I dread to think what this girl will be getting by the time she goes to school - she will no doubt be one of those who already has a DS but wants a DS lite, and already has a flatscreen TV in her room but wants a bigger one.

lunar eclipse I know what you mean, my kids get too much and are overwhelmed with it all. they do appreciate gifts, and they do play with things but on christmas day I think it's actually quite stressful, the sheer amount of presents they unwrap, and nobody actually listens when you say book vouchers. Children who appear rude and ungrateful might just be totally stressed out by the whole experience, and be on autopilot.

My kids will have presents from a dozen family members in addition to what santa brings. Last year I said it wouldn't matter if santa hadn't come, they would still have enough presents!

DAB1209

I should have mentioned that xmas is the biggest splurge my children get.If they need a new tv,cd player or whatever it will be bought at xmas. My eldest is getting furniture for his room.Birthdays are around £50 and they dont get bought cds,games,toys etc during the year unless they save their pocket money.