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

mrcow

My children have loads of stuff already. Enough toys/books/games etc for a small nursery school, let alone three children!

I'll be spending well under £50 each including stockings and I'll bet they'll still have more presents than they can handle. Unless there is a specific large item you're buying (I guess for older children it's more relevant) then £50 is more than enough if you buy from the right places and at the right time.

I've already got over 80% of my presents (have just under 50 people to buy for this year) as I aways try and avoid any nasty money surprises by year end.

We earn a very good joint salary and I'm certainly not tight, but the sorts of figures on this thread so far have been :eek:

SAV3R

Just found this thread, what an interesting topic.

It is a question I find unanswerable.
My eldest is after his 2nd guitar so unfortuantely it will be rather a dear year for us. (OH and I will more than likely not buy pressies for each other). DS already has a 3/4 size, which we bought a few years back quite cheaply, he has a continued interest and really is now ready for a proper one. The one he has his eye on is £229, but will also need a good case at £30-£50 I believe. I usually limit to £200 for Xmas, trying to keep as low as possible. It really depends on what they want, so far DS2 has not requested anything, I hate not having ideas early on.
We do not give pocket money so Xmas is their main treat. They do not have much off others and we do not buy for many either.

Birthdays we usually spend approx £100 each child. They are both into DS and Wii games so it doesn't take long to get to £100.

crapwithcash82

I've voted £101-£150 because last Christmas was my daughters first Christmas. I was determined not to go too crazy because she wasn't really aware of what it was all for, plus with gifts from Grandparents and Great Grandparents, Aunties and Uncles, she did alright for herself! I'm sure it'll increase as she gets older but while she is still so young I'd rather get her practical gifts like clothes, shoes, books etc. I can see how it would be easy to let your spending spiral out of control but while I'm still paying off my debt we'll be sticking to a reasonable budget!!

I think its also dependant on each individual families financial circumstances!

big_gay_kirk

well, firstly, as a pagan, I don't do christmas.. but I do do Yule and birthdays... and i tend to spend less than 100 quid on everyone... last year I engraved glasses for everyone (14 quid for the engraver four years back, and about 20p each for the glasses...) and i treat them to a big fire, home brewed ale and (if i can scrounge them) fireworks... as for my son. well, he's always been happy with what he gets... which last year was a book about polar bears and a couple of Nat Geo vids from a charity shop.... i don't have a lot, annd i try o be generous, but i've never seen the point of going into ebt buying stuff no one really wants....

aaranj

i'm too young to have kids myself but i try to keep to a £25 limit each for my neice and 2 nephews.

shazrobo

well when my sons where little, i tended to spend less than £100 each, then as they got older it got more expensive computer games, tv's etc. last years was the most expensive, as i got them both a laptop, well worth the expense to get my computer back lol:rotfl:
this year i have said to them that they have most things, and as you get older you get less presents, so all they are asking for is one ds game, and a toy, so will prob spend around £150, as i usually buy new clothes for xmas, which they would need any way

minimacka

shazrobo wrote: »

well when my sons where little, i tended to spend less than £100 each, then as they got older it got more expensive computer games, tv's etc. last years was the most expensive, as i got them both a laptop, well worth the expense to get my computer back lol:rotfl:
this year i have said to them that they have most things, and as you get older you get less presents, so all they are asking for is one ds game, and a toy, so will prob spend around £150, as i usually buy new clothes for xmas, which they would need any way

This sounds exactly like me and my 2 d/s they have all the gadgets they could possibly have in their bedrooms computer, game station, flat screen tv freeview so this year i ve told them that they are not getting lots of things for christmas, they said that it was fine.

I think its easier not to spend much on kids when they are small because they are happy with toys but as they get older computer games are so expensive and i always think oh that doesnt look like much when in fact a couple of games and cds can cost £100 easily.

elektra-2007

How do people stick to a budget when things kids want are way over for example my 7 year old son wants a psp and games ive brought a bundle thats £179, I cant just give him that so I know i will end up spending bout another £100 on games, stockings, a man utd kit(£30) ect...hes an only child so he cant share with bro and sis' how do u draw a line?
Any help with ideas will be gratefully recived!

Bennifred

I'm finding it more and more difficult to keep the Christmas budget down as my three (boys) get older:o We do the "one main present plus a book/ DVD/game/clothes and toiletries/novelties in a stocking" thing, and in recent years the main presents have generally been things like external hard drives or computer music keyboards. These kinds of things don't come cheap, but we feel that as we don't give pocket money (they all have part-time jobs along with being in education) and the things they request are not really frivolous, but used in their studies, then if we can afford it..........:rolleyes:

Purple_Sparkles

I guess I'm lucky as I only have my son to buy for, I don't set a limit as some years I have more money available than others and I get what I can afford. My son does not mind if something is second hand as he knows it's had less impact on the Earth than buying something new. Having said that most of the gifts I give I've made myself, I think it's nicer to give somebody something that you have made yourself and given thought to than spend money on the same old boring stuff the shops are full of and selling off cheap a few weeks later.

I'm Pagan but the rest of my family are Catholic and it can be hard to find a balance. My son and I celebrate Yule together. For Christmas my ex and I take it in turns as to who has my son with them on that day, my son gets the traditional Christmas with my ex and his family, if he's with me we usually help out at an animal shelter or something, followed by a walk in the woods, then back home and any gifts he may have he will open then.

We do visit family and friends as normal, it's a festive time of year regardless of what you do or don't believe and it really does not matter how much money you spend.