How much should parents spend on a child for Christmas?

nuttyp

My kids get around £150 spent on each, but this year we have spent just over £200 on each. The younger 1 has a wii fit, as requested but it is used from ebay, i too try and buy throughout the year. My eldest daughter and her fiance live at our house and he will be given around £50 worth of gifts, but we have also agreed to £50 towards a part for this car. We also do ajoint gift for the 2 of them, they have no intention of moving out at the mo, living at home is just sooo cheap £20 each a week!!! lol

I am very grateful this year, both me and OH have got very nice jobs, and OH is now working fulltime so we are comfortably off. At last the tide is turning. Have just done the annual trip to the dogs home with lots of treats and dogfood. Felt very nice being able to do my bit for charity.

Hope everyone has a lovely christmas.

laurenjs88

Ours will change every year but the mantra for us will be no more than we can afford!

toontron

LalaGomay wrote: »

Cool! Is she an actor?

Yes, she is only 8 but has had a very busy year this year, she is in an S4C series, has done Les Mis with Gareth Gates, Nickelodeon, Morrisons Christmas Advert, Burger King ad, some more live shows. She did a film last year that Ben Stiller produced which we are waiting to be released, Casualty, Dr Who, some photo shoots, plus she does dance competitions and has Championships coming up next year. Just heard today she has a hand modelling job in the new year, plus the new McDonald's commercial. I think her "look" is "in" at the moment!

yummy.scrummy.mummy

padd_bear wrote: »

Well if you can afford to spend £1k on a child, goodluck to you but it teaches them nothing...

why are people judging how much you spend? the amount you spend doesnt bring up the child, its xmas and its a rare occasion which comes once a year. the rest of the year they get the odd few treats, its not I WANT I WANT I WANT I GET, they have to wait for things they really want every xmas and i want to treat them as its the one time of the year where its justified to be spoilt. i dont see why people judge at xmas, if people have the money to spend on their children then they can do so how they want. implying that a child will be spoilt because of how many presents they get is rubbish, you get children on council estates who get barely nothing but still go around stealing with bad manners. my children are all well mannered and polite and i am happy with how they are and they are very grateful for what they receive. money isnt really an issue when we have a rent free house and i am very happy with how we live and the fact we have spare money to put onto our children. i want them to live a good life so when they grow up they can work to aim to have the same life when i eventually kick them all out into the real world! (a lot of what they have got has been from bargains on asos aswell though i mmust admit i do try to save where i can so the money goes further!)

i also am not happy with how you stereotype toontrons children acting as if they have a tv in their room they MUST be anti-social. my children have had tv's in their rooms and it barely gets watched an hour a month... and the video consoles barely get used either because theyre always out socialising or theyre busy studying!

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi, I agree with others that there isnt a correct amount but it definitely should only be what you can afford. I worked as a Payroll Manager until recently and you wouldnt believe the amount of people asking for wage advances so they could buy their kids presents at Christmas.

I also think it depends on family circumstances, the age of the children, how much they get spent on them during the rest of the year etc.

My children have to cope with a lot as the eldest has heath problems but we try not to compensate for this with material things. Having said that they have been little angels all week, spent most of today amusing themselves by drawing and watching tv together - have just told them they deserve their presents this year.

Happy Christmas to all, whatever your budget for Xmas Presents!

moomoomama27

padd_bear wrote: »

Well if you can afford to spend £1k on a child, goodluck to you but it teaches them nothing...

Wait until you have children. I guarentee your views will change!

I spend about £200 on each child, including stocking. I get almost everything in sales, or on offer - so they usually end up with £350-£400 worth of presents.

Its impossible to say how much a child should have spent on them! It all depends on the family finances. As long as 'you' can afford it, and don't go into debt, or without essentials, then it's up to the family to decide.

toontron

yummy.scrummy.mummy wrote: »

why are people judging how much you spend? the amount you spend doesnt bring up the child, its xmas and its a rare occasion which comes once a year. the rest of the year they get the odd few treats, its not I WANT I WANT I WANT I GET, they have to wait for things they really want every xmas and i want to treat them as its the one time of the year where its justified to be spoilt. i dont see why people judge at xmas, if people have the money to spend on their children then they can do so how they want. implying that a child will be spoilt because of how many presents they get is rubbish, you get children on council estates who get barely nothing but still go around stealing with bad manners. my children are all well mannered and polite and i am happy with how they are and they are very grateful for what they receive. money isnt really an issue when we have a rent free house and i am very happy with how we live and the fact we have spare money to put onto our children. i want them to live a good life so when they grow up they can work to aim to have the same life when i eventually kick them all out into the real world! (a lot of what they have got has been from bargains on asos aswell though i mmust admit i do try to save where i can so the money goes further!)

i also am not happy with how you stereotype toontrons children acting as if they have a tv in their room they MUST be anti-social. my children have had tv's in their rooms and it barely gets watched an hour a month... and the video consoles barely get used either because theyre always out socialising or theyre busy studying!

Obviously I completely agree with you. Let the bitter old op stereotype my children as much as they want if it makes them feel better. They are both top of their classes, very well mannered, loving and successful in their (junior) fields. I can afford to treat them and therefore do. Yes my kids are priviliged, but its because they deserve it, and I worked really hard before selling my business, and made shrewd investments. I can hardly help it if my Christmas does not conform to the "£20 and grateful" approach. As I have said before, no credit cards, no loans, not even catelogues, all paid for in CASH. Who is to say that somebody spending an amount more to the ops liking hasn't got it all on credit? And who's business would it be anyway? I will never apologise for my children being "advantaged".

Everyone believes their Christmas is "right", may you all have a Happy one, and a Peaceful Healthy New Year:D

Anglea

My recollection of my children very young is that they found the packaging boxes more attractive that the presents.

They tended to get a lot from the family, often had a present overload but always settled on a few. I've still got some of the toys from back then, one was a plastic wind up music box that looked like a tape recorder from about 20 years ago. That was a favourite for one of them but drove the rest of us mad.

So for the original poster, I was wondering what you bought for your youngest child for £200? Was it toys or a mixture of things?

domestic_goddess

Some people are obviously filled with the joys of Christmas spirit on here aren't they....

I ca't afford to spend £1000 on my children but I can tell you that if I could, I most certainly would. Spoiling them one day a year will not harm them in any way - it's the year round parenting that shapes a child imo.

Everyone is different and the main thing is that everyone enjoys their Christmas, with that in mind -

MERRY CHRISTMAS :xmastree:

penelopedee_2

I don't care what people think, but if we had more money I would buy a few extra bits for DS too.

You just have to keep within what you can afford, otherwise you only feel bad looking at the pile under the tree which spoils the whole event.