For xmas how much to spend on a 4 year old

bella4uk

3 for 2 at boots...loads of toys included...

Chocmonster7

tiff wrote:

Anyone else yearning to go back to a more simple, less extravagant Christmas?

Some of us never left those days.

I find half the excitement of Christmas is using my imagination to come up with presents that will be really appreciated and are tailored to the person I'm giving them to. They don't need to cost hundreds of pounds, I suppose it also helps that I've never wanted to be "trendy" so haven't been influenced by peer pressure/TV/Magazines, etc.

Going to make my Christmas cards today!

victory

tiff wrote:

Anyone else yearning to go back to a more simple, less extravagant Christmas?

Yes tiff,here here!! The stress/worry of money management over the xmas period has ruined it for me!

rebl43

Hi, I never have a fixed amount that I spend on my kids ( 7 and 4 ) - until they start to apprieciate the value of money, I think what they want to see on Christmas morning is a big pile of presents! I tend to buy (cheap!) things I know they will play with and things that won't break the minute they touch them.
Another thing I do is buy presents all year round, whenever I see special offers or sales, so nothing I buy is full price anyway.

lil_me

Like I said the amoutn I spend sounds extravagant but he gets a lot of books, magazine subcriptions for his science magazines, aswell as things like his membership and last year we took him to the one in Edinburgh which is about 300 mile round trip, but was all part of his Xmas present. He's 7 but loves sealife and reading.

As for the Zoo one, unsure what the price of it now is but some do 'Keeper for the Day' which is really special if the child is old enough and into animals.

With clothes aswell they don't get loads throughout the year, only thing I usually buy is uniform stuff, so to be honest they probably get £100+ in clothes, £50 in underwear and PJs, and a new coat, with usually new dressing gown and slippers which we let them have on Xmas eve, that other parents would spend through the year.

I don't focus on what presents cost, more what they will use, no junk that just won't get touched after Xmas day, things they can use and a lot of educational items (ok sorry I am mean but they do enjoy learning) the only way money comes into it is if I can afford it or not.

V.Lucky

I am rather ashamed to admit that we did go overboard last year on my 3 year old, and he still has some stuff he hasn't even played with.

That said, I have learned my lesson, he is now 4 (5 in January) and will be having a big present and a few smaller ones and that's it. Maybe £70 tops, last year it was over £150.

As others have said, he was overwhelmed and it was all too much for him.

I think part of my problem is that my parents weren't that wealthy when I was growing up (one of 4 kids), and I want to give him all the stuff I didn't have, and dh was spoiled as a child and he always had what he wanted anway, so we are both giving/buying for him along the same lines.

Don't want him to grow up a spoilt child though.

ikkleosu

When we were kids, my parents had a great system of only getting one of us a big gift every year, and we took it in turns. So one year brother got a computer, next year other brother got a guitar, year after that i got a CD player etc. We understood the system when we were young and were fine that we would get a nice big pile of smaller pressies probably adding up to about £50 each.

For a small kid I'd probably say around £50-60. IMO I would try to avoid getting into the habit of them expecting something HUGE every year. My friend said yesterday her 7 year old daughter is asking for a Bratz portable DVD player at £130! She won't be getting it, but it shows how soon they get into teh diea that they will get something big nad expensive every year.

Loop

Oh god, I am shocked people will spend so much on small children. When they get older, you feel obliged to spend money on a console or mobile phone, but form the age 0-7 you can spend only a small amount. Its the time you spend with them.

I love christmas, but this sort of over extravagence just really spoils what is supposed to be special family time and not materialistic stuff.

My friend spend hardly anything on her 2 kids, but they have the best christmases I know of!!!

miemie

T
his year i've spent about £60 each on my 2 and 3 year old, but because i bought a lot of things in the summer sales, i got some really good bargains such as My first leappad learning system for £12.50 instead of£25 and bought the games for it from Empire stores when they had that great £20 spend offer so they did'nt cost me anything.
I could not imagine spending hundreds of pounds on toys for them to be forgotten about or even broken in 6 months time, i would rather put the money into their savings account for when their older.

bobsa1

I don't have a fixed amount for the dd's 12, 9 & 2. Little one is getting a bubble and 3 games for it (£28.00), princess alexa doll (£7.99 last jan) a princess alexa cot £10, talking frog £1.99, playdoh £5, art easel £5.00(again last jan) a dora the explorer doll £7.99 (I think bought last jan) a couple of books and bits and bobs so approx £75

DD1 is getting a high sleeper bed £40 from bargain crazy, some amazon sales stuff approx £20 a bench t shirt £2.99 from m&M and a ps2 from Tesco r&R

So again £75 ish when I've added bits of books etc.

DD2 is getting a new bike (3 4 2 on boots so works out about £65) a gameboy advance sp from boots £49.99 and some amazon stuff for about £20 so all in all she is getting more spent on her at about £135 but they both have two big pressies and then lots of other stuff to open.

I think £75 -£100 on a 4 year old is more than enough as you can get loads for that.