How much should parents spend on a child for Christmas?

laisbojar83

I think it all depends on the age of the children, younger ones will be very happy with cheaper presents that they will forget easily within a couple of weeks anyway. I must say £200 for a toddler is a lot.
I have 2 sons, one is 4yo ( 5yo in March) and younger one is 2yo (3yo next month). Their main present was the Wii console ( I have been putting it off for a while now, btw ) + Super Mario and Mario Kart games (I got those pre-owned). Then I spent another £140 between them, board games, some Ben 10 bits and lego bricks. When wrapping the presents I realised how much I had bought and decided to keep some for DS2 birthday, its less than a month away.

Christmas shouldnt be ONLY about presents or how much money you get/spend. I am trying very hard to decrease the amount I spend on Christmas with my children, which is money we could use to go on a holiday for a week or could go into their trust funds.
And I have realised they will still be happy and wont miss a thing.

The same works for my grocery shopping. I thought the more I bought the better we would eat and I was very wrong. Nowadays I spend half of what I used to and we eat much much better and never miss anything.

Merry Christmas everyone xxx :beer:

L

Tixy

I would think a child under 2 would not know/notice the difference between having say £40 spent on them and having £200 spent on them. They might like the unwrapping of gifts but really are unlikely to 'want' any specific thing.
I also don't think its necessary to feel you have to spend the same amount on each child.
For a 12yo and 16yo well then of course they probably can work out how much you have spent on them (and each other) so I guess it falls to what you can afford. If you can afford £250 then fine but if you cannot then I would see no harm at that age in explaining that you are having some money problems and can only afford say £100 each (or less if needs be). I don't know your financial position OP as I haven't read your other thread but I would consider if you can afford the amount you have budgeted for without reducing your debt repayments or without putting in on credit.

I appreciate it might be too late to change it for this year unless there are any presents you have bought that you could return to the store for a refund?

daviesalie_2

ciscokid wrote: »

Wrap those presents up and stick them under the tree this year, see if they notice!

Lol, he probably wouldn't!!

Polly_Wolly_Doodle

Interesting topic!
I have three children and thankfully my in-laws and BIL have sent money and vouchers so we'll be getting them more than we alone could manage.
TBH so far i've just got stocking fillers and that's just chocolate coins and selection boxes, my sweet deprived children will appreciate that more than anything!
I'm not keen on consoles and games so i don't feel any guilt about that and i don't intend getting them TVs etc for their rooms either, although i know at some point they'll need pcs for homework.

I normally spend on books, but we've joined the library this year! I would love to be buying them a pony but i NEED to be debt free first and that is more important for my family than loads of plastic junk that'll end up in landfill.
They could do with bikes but again not at the moment, they need a stress free mum and actually with two full time working parents just having the time to play cards and board games and bake will be great - honest!!

Ohh sorry for the rant!

PWD xx

daviesalie_2

I'm ashamed to admit I can't remember half the stuff I've bought and I'm sure that will be the same in a few weeks time when someone asks my kids what they had for Xmas! That's a good idea about keeping stuff back for their birthdays. I'm sure they're not gonna miss it. My youngest is 2 in April, I reckon his birthday is covered now.

Thanks guys, you're amazing!

ryantcb

Give your children all you can afford. But dont buy rubbish. Once you have your list shop around for the best prices. Dont borrow to give them presents youll be paying for the following year.
Have a very merry christmas

anxious_mum

I always used to go over the top for my two boys at christmas, maybe it was something to do with being a single mum and wanting to make sure they didn't 'miss out'. When I look back at all the rubbish I bought, stuff that they unwrapped and then never looked at again, I could cry. That contributed to the mess I got into. Now I am out of that mess, this is the first christmas I haven't gone near a credit card, everything has been paid for in cash, and I have spent that cash on stuff that they have asked for - 15 year old wanted some books (£14.00) and some craft things (£20.00), 17 year old wanted his provisional license (£50.00) and phone credit (£20.00). I have spent about £50.00 on small things so they have plenty to unwrap, but those days of overspending are long gone for me. Anyway, that's what grandparents are for!!!!

jamespir

ive spent 70 pounds on ds and i think thats more than enough

jakes-mum

I dont have a set amount I spend on my 2 kids, it really depends on what they have asked for and what I can afford. This year has been a bit of an expensive year as they both asked for a bike DS (9) has had the same bike for 3 yrs now and bless him, theres no tread on the tyres and all the padding has finally given up the ghost in the seat so he has got a BMX which was £90, and DD (nearly 3) has never had a real bike so she has a halford half price at £60. Their nanny gave us £50 each to buy them something for xmas, so we put £30 toward each of the bikes and will give them £20 in their hand (well bank acount with regards to DD).

Anyway, due to the bikes, they have both had about £150 spent on them by us, but normally we dont go above £100 on each

pjcox2005

Presumably it also depends what they get in the year.

Presumably for some kids they may get regular treats/presents for things they tend to want - maybe the odd video game, or a laptop etc if they begin needing it for education.

I assume if you can't do this then perhaps some people spend more on Xmas as a one off present for something bigger they need.