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

Buttercup.x

i have two dd's and they are at the age where they sit with the argos catalougue and choose what they would like:rolleyes: (4 &7)

anyhoo they have each choosen stuff that will come to about £90 each so shouldnt be to bad, when they were younger though i could spend £!50 + each

jane130

we tend to spend about £100 per child (we have 4) sometimes a little more or a littleless.this year eldest ds wants a xbox 360 but its his birthday just before christmas so he's combining the two to get what he wants .

Eldest dd is working full time now so a bit of me wants to spend a lot less on her this year ( she has £600 a month disposable income which is so muchmore than we have its not funny) but I'm not sure I'll be able to get away with it.

2cats1kid

I've voted £51 to 100. I've just bought her birthday present, which came to £65 and I thought that was a lot - I wouldn't normally spend that much (she will be turning 11). I'll probably do similar for Christmas and then a few stocking bits. She gets a lot of other stuff though, like music lessons, etc. and we've just had to buy her a new violin as she outgrew her old one, so overall I don't think she is deprived.

pennyocs

after reading this thread i think i spend way to much usually about £300 each child i have 3.
other people mum,dad nephews and neices get about £20 each dont buy for brothers and sisters anymore just kids ,
me and oh usually get something between us for house this year we are thinking of a lcd tv.

DaisyFlower

At the end of the day its personal choice, as long as you arent getting into debt because of xmas then cant see it really matters.

We only have the one DS and xmas time is a big occasion in our house so we spend a lot on him. Some friends spend similar amounts, others far less but we are all happy with our choices.

As long as the little ones have the present they really wanted off Santa, it doesnt matter if it cost 50p or £500.

amandada

Up until now, they've both probably ended up with about £300 worth, but this year, this is getting cut back drastically (dd is 11 and ds is 6). We've been able to spend that comfortably without getting into debt, but I'd like to cut back a bit so we can save towards next year's holidays.
They haven't started to ask for anything (yet!) but they both have a Nintendo DS, dd has an iPod Nano, along with all the usual "stuff" so what else can there be for them to have!!!

We have a Wii, but it's a family toy, so there aren't any issues about "it's mine you can't use it", and we'll probably add a Wii fit to that for the family.
There's a pc for the children to use, TVs in all the family rooms (we don't do TVs and computers in bedrooms) and they both have bikes which will do them for a couple of years yet, scooters, blades etc....when I read that I'm starting to wonder if we could have a "retro" Christmas and stick an orange and a penny in a stocking!

Zoeysmum06

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!

WartimeScrapingofMarmite

How odd, I was wondering this myself the other day!

I have spent around £150 on each child this year - that's for their present from us and stocking gifts. We don't have credit cards so I buy throughout the year as and when we can afford it.

My daughter is 8 and she has asked for things like magazine subscriptions and animal adoptions, which are great as neither will take up excessive space in my house and the subscription is a gift which lasts the whole year

betterlife

hi, this is a frightening question really. i always go over board, christmas is a big thing in this house and we totally spoil the kids. we have 4 , 6wks, 2yrs, 4yrs and 8yrs. with the 2 eldest they no exactly what they want! and with the price of the average toy its probably about £300 each (the baby will be about £20), i no this is like £900 but me and my husband never buy anything for ourselves as we much rather leave it to the kids, and also we never get in debt for it, its something we save for. we dont buy much thoughout the year for them and its our way of treating them for good behavour at home and school. they know the value of money and save there wkly pocket money in the bank accts or for something they really want. i dont think money should be there problem, after all they are only children once. x

TheDoolallyDilly

Well, our excuse is we don't spend that much on other people! We spend £300-£350 on average. They are 16 and 13 now, when they were little, we spent only about £50, if that, on them, I really couldn't spend hundreds on a two year old, they get overwhelmed with stuff!

Particularly now they are teenagers, the things they like are more expensive. One of my sons had a laptop for Christmas last year (to save him dominating the PC for his homework, and MSN chats) and the other had an iPod and some computer games. They do use and appreciate these things, so I am happy to buy them. We can afford it, and don't put Christmas on credit cards.