How much do you spend and what do you get for your childrens Birthday presents???

eklynne

iamana1ias wrote: »

the OP's daughter is 4.

I know, I can read
Was just putting in a perspective to help people see that it actually gets harder as they get older.

keys_2

globalds wrote: »

Just throwing this one out to help me work out how much I spend on my kids.
If you bought something like a computer ......would you count that as part of the money for Christmas /Birthday or would it be classed as other money ..Family type money for buying say a TV set ?
It is a bit different for me now as the kids both have a pc and me and the misses get a laptop ...What about phone contracts ..are they present money or not?
My kids are in there teens now, so not quite the same as the OP ( sorry for thread stealing)

Its okay Globalds , This also adds to what I spend as even though my daughter is only 3 now , she likes watching dvds and let me add now before someone has a go That most dvds she does like are educational ones where they help her spell / learn ABC / count etc . So at Xmas part of the money I spent was on a portable DVD player so she can take it out travelling / bedroom / grandads house etc . I spent £110.00 on it off ebay and it does other things on it too like play games and view televison channels . I paid this amount because I wanted it to outsatnd knocks and bumps and also las tlong as it is a present. So along with this I bought her dvds to watch . I know plenty of people out there that class buying a dvd player for there childs bedroom a nessecity - Which is up to them .
So in my opion I do count electricals for them be it pc / television / mobile phone etc included in their presents as it is something they want and the ycost alot of money and the big advantage is that at whatever age they are you know they wil luse it and also appriciate the gift

I also thought this when I posted the thread , but I didnt want to bombard any more with more questions to read at first

SingleSue

Christmas is £15 each (I have 3 boys aged 11, 13 and 16), birthdays are in the region of £30 each.

They don't have a party each year, eldest had one last year for his 16th but the last party before then had been his 10th, youngest's last party was 3 years ago and middle son was a joint one with the eldest sons 11th birthday party (so he would have been 7).

patchwork_cat

Same amounts as OP £150 each for birthdays and £200 for Xmas. Birthdays does include party if they have one ( if having party will prob go up to £200.) I budget throught the year we have a web saver for Christmas - incidentally also have one for clothes and DIY. It is about your priorities and budget - we spend more than some on presents, but that is higher up our list than some other things, perhaps. As someone else has said my kids work hard and the results show and I treat them with what I can at pressie time.

bugbabe1970

I suppose it comes down to how much you can afford really.

My kids are 8, 13, and 15. I spend about £400 each on them at xmas. I suppose it is a lot really but thats what me and hubby work full time for.

I save monthly for xmas.

chloe99_2

I think maybe a lot of this comes down to disposable income - whilst the differences in what people seem to spend are quite huge, perhaps as a % of disposable income they are not so dissimilar.

I can't in all honesty help but think that Andy's spending is huge (extravagant?) but on the other hand, if he is wealthier than we are (and he obviously is) then why shouldn't ALL of his outgoings be higher? Why should we expect people on higher incomes to spend the same as those on lower incomes? It wouldnt make sense and there is no reason why they should.

My children dont have partys and their seasonal gifts total £100 max a year between them. On the other hand we buy "gifts" or "stuff" for them during the year as well, so gifts are not limited to special ocasions, but a gift ON a special ocasion goes a long way in making it feel special if you are a small kid!

minimoneysaver

I find it so amazing how judgemental people are on this site..... and it seems to be getting worse. It may be money saving, but that doesn't mean that you can't spoil your own child if you want to. The OP had already said that her presents are the main ones and that there are only a couple of others as it is a small family, but that is by the point. If the OP decides to spend £100 or £1000 on her daughter, then that is her business. I personally like to save some money for my daughter, for when her wishes extend to more than a nintendo DS. Most Christmas and birthdays I do spend a lot of money, but that is my choice. I love to spend money on days out and weekends away. My daughter is cultured, well travelled and aware of what is out there for her to experience. Children are only young once.

headoutthesand

it's my wee ones birthday tomorrow and I have spent £15 on his 2 presents then about £35 on food for the party with his cousins tomorrow after school.

I took him to the car wash yesterday and told him that was his present. His face lit up and he exclaimed that it was just what he always wanted :rotfl:

Janepig

I wouldn't criticise anyone for what they spend on their children for Christmas or birthdays, it's up to the individual parent. Although it is foolish to get into debt by overspending on them and gives them all sorts of wrong messages. Some people seem to find it impossible to say no to their children and I've never been able to understand that.

I know I probably spoil my children, but I work hard, as does DH and I love to treat them. And DS especially makes such good use out of everything he gets. Poor thing has his birthday on Boxing Day so he has to wait all year for his prezzies.

I'm going start buying very soon though for Christmas and his birthday this year. I don't normally start until about September, but he's big into Toy Story and there's lots of new tie-in toys out at the moment which I know he'd love, and with the new film coming out in the summer I can see them being impossible to get hold of come Christmas.

Jxx

SingleSue

chloe99 wrote: »

I think maybe a lot of this comes down to disposable income - whilst the differences in what people seem to spend are quite huge, perhaps as a % of disposable income they are not so dissimilar.

I can't in all honesty help but think that Andy's spending is huge (extravagant?) but on the other hand, if he is wealthier than we are (and he obviously is) then why shouldn't ALL of his outgoings be higher? Why should we expect people on higher incomes to spend the same as those on lower incomes? It wouldnt make sense and there is no reason why they should.

My children dont have partys and their seasonal gifts total £100 max a year between them. On the other hand we buy "gifts" or "stuff" for them during the year as well, so gifts are not limited to special ocasions, but a gift ON a special ocasion goes a long way in making it feel special if you are a small kid!

Agree completely.

I only spend what I do because that is all I can really afford (and yes I feel the guilt) but it hasn't always been like that. We would go pretty mad (for us) on Christmas and birthdays for the boys and really push the boat out, although it would never be new games systems or laptops.

I also do a treat system during the year for any achievements they get...an excellent school report, an achievement award at school, a higher than expected grade in an exam etc to reward them for hard work and attainment, the treats aren't huge (generally £5 and under for a smaller achievement, eldest recently got £20 for an absolutely awesome school report, his best ever and being accepted for 6th form). It's not everyones cup of tea but works wonders with my kids and they really respond to that particular carrot!