How much do you spend on your child's Christmas?

winnie81

bestpud wrote: »

Mine have always had new pjs on Christmas eve - then we snuggle up and watch a film before they go to bed.

Same with us our 4 have always and will always have a new pair of pj's under the tree to surprise them when they get out of the bath so we can watch a xmas movie with some hot chocolate after getting ready for santa to come :j

I am another who buys clothes for the kids and if they need it other practical items - does it really matter that much? I have always had clothes and practical bits mixed in with other treats so will my kids too. I don't think it matters what someone spends on there kids as long as they all have a great Christmas full of fun and laughter although I personally don't agree with getting into debt over it.

For my 4 they have presents with a value of approx £400+ if i were to pay full price but I haven't paid the full price for anything. I would say far closer to £150 or even less. What matters to me is that each of them will be over the moon come Christmas morning and they will each love what they have. I have paid for Christmas in cash so will not be having any large bills come Jan and they all know that next years trip to Disneyland Paris is also a Christmas treat as we spent less this Christmas to pay for it as its far more than we'd usually spend

creamcrackers

Giving my children everything a child could wish for at christmas extends from my childhood, when my christmases as a child were very non exsistant. So i give my children the christmases i never had.

My hobbie all year is christmas buying, at the start of this year i managed to work out when certain big stores updated there sales on there website and managed to buy games and toys at silly money ie games normally £15.00 i brought for £3.50 and so on.

My granddaughters first christmas i brought a high chair for her as it was something she needed but i also brought her a lovely designer outfit and designer pram shoes,
we all have our reason for spending too much or just a keeping balance on what we spend.
i'm not a big earner but i'm a big saver in the things i buy which helps to buy alot more for my money.

coco1980

we dont earn 6 figures, far from it actually, we save for Christmas so we dont get into debt. we decide early on what we can afford and then put away a bit this month. ds asked for 2 football strips and a tent for christmas, he got these for his birthday between us and grandparents when asked what he would like for christmas now he replied " i seen a pair of goalie gloves for 5.00, would that be ok" he isnt materialistic in the slightest and im really looking forward to him opening his pressies on xmas day. i have probably spent less than many people but i am only buying for 1 child, if i had more children then he wouldnt have 300+ spent on him for xmas, that 300 would have been split.
we also do pyjamas on xmas eve but ive also bought him a few pairs to open on xmas day.

balletshoes

My lasting memory of childhood Christmases is the Magic - Santa, Rudolph, listening out for the bells, knowing that you had to go to sleep otherwise Santa wouldn't come, then waking up at eek o'clock to see if he'd been.

Sure, I remember some of my pressies, but certainly not all, not even the big ones. In fact, I remember my nephew, when he was about 5 calling me early one christmas morning all excited because Santa had been and left him one of those pens with different coloured inks in them (you know, cost about £1 and you click the top of it to get a different colour). He also got a bike that year, but he never even mentioned that to me :rotfl::rotfl:.

Its the Magic I try to create for my DD, as that was always the best bit of Christmas for me as a child.

skylight

I budgeted £70-80 per child and more or less stuck to it. Spent more on the older ones and less on the younger ones so it all balances out. And surprisingly I have avoided clothes this year!

Everything is bought at the best price, so I do shop around and get free delivery codes etc. Any survey vouchers I get go towards it too so they can get a little more for my money.

Morty_007

Oh goodness me...Christmas isn't Christmas without new Jammies, a new dressing gown, socks, pants, shower gel, shave gel, a toothbrush, a hairbrush and a satsuma in the stocking!! My parents did it for me and my sis, and now my DH now does it for me . We do the same for our boy too. Its tradition. And if some clothes fall into the basket when i'm shopping, so be it!! What constitutes "clothes" because I often get a scarf/gloves/hat too...um ahhhhh is that bad?!? I totally agree with large purchases being attributed to Christmas (eg - holiday) I'm not made of money and sometimes somethings gotta give!!

I rather wonder if the attribution of highchairs to Christmas might be more about the person feeling they have to justify buying the highchairs because maybe they can't really afford them but want their boys to have something nice...FAR from Bigging up what they have spent...think about it. So easy to judge huh?

Probably spent about £80 on our little one, much (most) of it second hand but new and unopened. He is only 3.5 so just likes opening the pressies more than anything. Includes things like books for reading and learning to spell/add up (a necessity so should they be excluded??) playdoh (bought playdoh operation set for £1 at a car boot about a year ago!), All the necessary bits as above (no shower or shave gel ) cars and some track bought second hand, sweets as a treat because he wouldn't normally have them and puzzles. Oh...and a BIG balloon which will probably become the hit of the day to the exclusion of everything else. Would it be "wrong" to put some of the home made sweets he has helped us to make in his stocking?....I do draw the line at his Christmas dinner being in there, though I did consider it

Thinking about it, its probably not that much money wise!

Dora2010

I plan to use my child's birthday vouchers for her Christmas gift - £25. This should buy her a doll and another small toy.

We do not spend too much on birthdays and and at Christmas. One, we cannot afford to and two she is only a toddler. I know in a few years time she will be asking for expensive specific gifts.

Looking at this post I realise that people really do spend money on their children. I mean, the money some of you are spending on each child's present alone is more than our total household budget for Christmas - tree, decorations, food, drinks etc!!

I believe if you have the money, you can spend it as you wish. I suppose the idea of spending hundreds of pounds at Christmas or on birthday gifts is strange to me as I have never had that much disposable income for purchases that are not deemed a neccesity.

Monthly, our mortgage is just under £1k, debt £850 (70% of this debt is hubby's before we married) and nursery fees £660. This leaves us with very little cash after paying bills and buying food shopping.

I will recieve £140 cashback for an overpayment. I planned to buy some flat high boots as the current boots I own (3 and 4 years old) hurt my feet after a while and are too high for all day wear. However, I just discovered that we need to find £120 for an unplanned expense - bang goes my boots!!

I am feeling so fed up and a bit crap. I could use my credit card to buy the boots but this would incur more costs as I am being charged for purchases.

KiKi

Lunar_Eclipse wrote: »

In general, we spend more on birthdays than Christmas, because it's their special day and not Christ's.

Same in my family. I will spend much more on people for their birthday (as it's their special day rather than one mass celebration) than Christmas. But I know families who are completely the opposite!

shellsuit wrote: »

You said...

The kids have everything they want, mobile phones, Xbox360, PS3, laptops, Flat screen tellys, DVD players etc, so it's not mean to just buy clothes and furniture for them as there isn't anything else to buy them which they would want.

and therein lies the problem. if a child of 13 has everything they want, that they have to resort to listing furniture as a gift, then does that not ring alarm bells, as a parent?

I replied, No, why should it and was waiting for you to explain why it should.

And where did I say I only buy clothes and furniture?

There was nothing else son wanted for Christmas apart from clothes.

There was nothing else daughter wanted for her birthday apart from furniture.

If they needed something, I would buy it regardless of whether it was their birthday or Christmas, so what does that have to do with anything?

I don't get the point you were trying to make about my kids not wanting anything else than the above and alarm bells, so perhaps you could explain what you mean?

Hi Shellsuit, I could be wrong, but I interpreted their post not as a criticism of the furniture-buying, but the fact that your kids already had so many things, that there were no 'treats' left to buy them, and so the only things left are practical things.

I'm not saying I agree with them, btw, just that that was my interpretation.

Dora2010 wrote: »

I plan to use my child's birthday vouchers for her Christmas gift - £25. This should buy her a doll and another small toy.

We do not spend too much on birthdays and and at Christmas. One, we cannot afford to and two she is only a toddler. I know in a few years time she will be asking for expensive specific gifts.

You're spending within your budget, and I'm sure she'll be thrilled with her presents! That's all that matters, and like you say, she'll never know.

I hope you get your boots, though...!

KiKi

SingleSue

MrsE wrote: »

I bought DD PJs, an xmas eve tradition. Even though shes 23.

Can I become your DD, I need a new nightshirt Mind you, at 40, I am probably too old.

I have spent a little more on my boys than I did last year but it still looks very stingy compared to others on here. Each of my boys have a total spend of £30 on them but it is things they very much want and which they will see as being huge treats (youngest a limited edition super duper book - takes after his mum, middle a signed set of drum sticks, eldest a range of DVD's and books) and I have liased with their father for him to get equally much wanted presents for around the same value.

For my list, it consists of what some people would call normal things - a deep fat fryer, an electric can opener, an electric knife, new plates and bowls etc but they are things I cannot afford to buy myself but are desperately needed and wanted...and in the case of the electric knife and can opener, would make my life a lot easier (arthritic hands).

But, each to their own.....me and now ex hubby used to go a bit mental at Christmas but then we could afford to, no credit was needed.

alja

I love getting new PJs etc for christmas, I don't have any children myself (I'm 21), but growing up as a child I might have asked for one main more expensive present when my parents asked me what I wanted and maybe figured out a couple of cheaper gifts of things I need such as underwear etc. but to be honest I haven't grown up to be one who asks for everything that's 'cool'
I used to get a little stocking as well which would have little things like impulse body spray, maybe some 'body glitter', hair clips & girlie things like that....ooh and some chocolate!...well to be honest...my mum still hasn't stopped doing the stocking thing for me! and yes! I am 21! lol!