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

MrsE_2

vik6525 wrote: »

And MrsE....
I hate to disagree with you my darling, but young ginger gets clothes and shoes as presents!
Its his birthday 5 days after Christmas, and every year, without fail, we go to town the day before, and he gets to run wild and play 'supermarket sweep' in Schuh and Animal! Its what he wants, so who am I to argue!

Hes his mothers child

My DD often asked for clothes. I think their is a difference between treat clothes & essentials (you know what I mean - without the london accent:p). I think new PJs must be as much a part of xmas as chocolate selection boxes, but there was a lot of threads that smacked of people bumping their spends up with everything from school uniform to highchairs to other essentials. I wondered if it was being done to make people who don't have much to spend feel like they weren't spending much. Probably me being over sensitive

Lucy1973

thatgirlsam wrote: »

well what else would you call someone who filled up a shed with brand new toys then chucked them??

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

balletshoes

vik6525 wrote: »

Under Pressure.
I 'get' what you're saying.
I contributed to this thread initially, because Im really pleased that Ive been able to save up enough to treat my son beyond his wildest dreams this year.
But reading the rest of this thread has made me feel pretty yukky, because the implication from certain posters seems to be that if you spend a lot on your kids at Christmas, you're 'spoiling' them and raising little brats. Which is SOOO far from my situation its unreal.

I hope I didn't imply that all kids who get hundreds and hundreds spent on them are spoiled or brats - I've said several times on this thread that I don't mind what anyone spends on their kids at Christmas .

vik6525

balletshoes wrote: »

I hope I didn't imply that all kids who get hundreds and hundreds spent on them are spoiled or brats - I've said several times on this thread that I don't mind what anyone spends on their kids at Christmas .

Oooo not you personally!
Dont worry

Poly,put_the_kettle_on

MrsE wrote: »

My DD often asked for clothes. I think their is a difference between treat clothes & essentials (you know what I mean - without the london accent:p). I think new PJs must be as much a part of xmas as chocolate selection boxes, but there was a lot of threads that smacked of people bumping their spends up with everything from school uniform to highchairs to other essentials. I wondered if it was being done to make people who don't have much to spend feel like they weren't spending much. Probably me being over sensitive

There's is an underlying tone of one upmanship- and I'm not slating people for doing it as a lot of the time I don't think they realise they are, or realise the significance. Just look at the amount of times brands are mentioned on this thread.

MrsE_2

Poly,put_the_kettle_on wrote: »

There's is an underlying tone of one upmanship- and I'm not slating people for doing it as a lot of the time I don't think they realise they are, or realise the significance. Just look at the amount of times brands are mentioned on this thread.

But the people who spend a small amount are just as bad.

Truth is we all think our way is the right way:p:p:p:p:p

JC9297

vik6525 wrote: »

Im going to jump to his defense here (Im assuming its a he!) because this is all getting a bit out of hand.
I dont think, for one minute, that 'Under pressure' is slating people who simply cant afford to spend a lot of money on their children. You'd have to be pretty hard hearted to do that, and I dont believe he is.
What hes (rather cackhandedly!) trying to say is that on MSE, theres a terrible culture of 'One upmanship' when it comes to spending almost nothing on things. And with that culture, comes a lot of sneering at the people who do spend money.
Its almost like its becomes the 'Anti 1980s' in that way

I understand that he is aiming his main complaint at people who CHOOSE not to spend much when they can afford to, however he uses the word failure in several posts when talking about not having much to spend e.g. your children will think you are a failure because you can't afford things or he would feel a failure if he didn't have money.

But to go back to the original thread, there are threads like this every year and they always go the same way. I am intrigued as to why the OP wants to know anyway, if you are happy with what you spend why do you need to know how it compares to others, who will never have exactly the same circumstances anyway.

SingleSue

MrsE wrote: »

But the people who spend a small amount are just as bad.

Truth is we all think our way is the right way:p:p:p:p:p

I personally feel the right way is to buy to what we can afford...whether that is £1000 or £10.

Neither is better or worse than the other (as in being spoilt or being neglected).

On a personal level, I DO feel a failure for not being able to buy more and it is certainly not a case of one upmanship on my part for the small amount I spend. In fact, I feel embarrassed by it.

*Probably why I am so ultra sensitive about the issue! :rotfl:

Poly,put_the_kettle_on

MrsE wrote: »

But the people who spend a small amount are just as bad.

Truth is we all think our way is the right way:p:p:p:p:p

Actually, I'm always open to persuasion. But I do have strong feelings that there are deep rooted problems in society that will only get worse whilst people believe that their worth is centered around material goods.

It's the parents being labelled as "failures" when, in fact, they may well have made a conscious decision to opt out & live a little differently I take issue with.

Dora2010

VIK6525 - I suppose I did not look at it this way. Point taken.

Under pressure - 'down and out'? I find this quite offensive. No, this forum is not only for those 'seeking financial advice/support'.