How much should parents spend on a child for Christmas?

happy35

I have a 15 year old son and have spent about £800 which I know sounds excessive but theyare all things that he needs

I have bought a laptop that was reduced to £500, I think he needs a good laptop as he is studying electronics and computer electronics at school, his laptop died and I would have had to buy him one anyway. The laptop I am on is on its last legs so is unlikely to make it to next Christmas so can't rely on this.

I have also bought him the designer clothes he likes, but from places such as M&M Direct so although not cheap are much cheaper than buying them off the high street.

We both work full time and I am very careful with money the rest of the year and have paid for these gifts it isn't on credit.

I didn't spend this much when he was little but knew this Chistmas would be expensive wiht buying the laptop.

I only buy for a few family members so haven't spent much on other gifts

kivsy

I think that the most important thing is to work within your personal budget. I try and save up through the year for xmas if I can, saving any money I get throughout the year, I never get into debt for xmas, dont own a credit card, I spend about £50 each on my 4 kids for their main presents and then get them loads of stocking fillers, I know that I spoil them at christmas but they really dont get many treats through the year and I feel it is the one time of year I want them to be spoilt.

lovebugfamilly

Im not too sure about how much we have spent tbh maybe £120 -£130 each, DD is 2.5 ( 3 in April) and DS is 16 months , I did'nt have a specific budget just bought as I went along since July and for that amount we got loads for them they have about 15 presents each to open from us then they are having loads off familly too , the half price sainsburys toy sale has certainly helped us save a lot of money :T

Mudbath

We always spend Christmas Day night with some very good friends who spend between £300 and £600 on each of their children. We spend a lot less but the interesting thing is that by the time we go round their children are 'bored'. Ours are still playing with some of the silly little cheap presents that [STRIKE]i've[/STRIKE] santa has bought for their stockings. When you ask my children they say the best thing about christmas is the stocking.

We don't have the money to buy lots of things through the year and we do spoil them at christmas - we've spent about £150 on each of them (11 and 9). Saying that, I reckon if we just gave them the stockings they'd be happy. It takes them about 2 hours to open them not because there are hundreds of things but they take it in turns opening stuff and when they come to the beano and dandy annuals they have to read them there and then! I was never that restrained as a child (i'm still not:rotfl:).

Happy Christmas!

ETA - we do what happy35 does too....they get things for christmas that they need like pj's (that's become a christmas eve tradition) and if they didn't get socks, pants and a toothbrush (don't know how the toothbrush got started!) in their stockings they'd be miffed as the tradition is there's moans all round when you unwrap those!

mrs_marty

I have spent this year probably between £200 - £250 on my two elder children (ages 5 & 7) my step daughter who is nearly 17 is only having £50 of goodies as she turns 17 in January so we are giving her a block of 10 driving lessons so that is joint bday & xmas and our 9 week baby £30 of lamaze development toys but it varies each year as it really does depend on there list and what the main big present request is. We are lucky we have decent salaries and we put money away throughout the year. I also look on ebay for pre-owned bargains as let face it kids dont know whats shop new or second hand in all that excitiment.

One thing though our children know even my son of 5 that to have money means you must work and they are very lucky children that we can afford to do the things we do and this is why we work. My children both do small chores round the house to get pocket money or a magazine etc.

My step daughter has no concept of value & worth as she has been spoiled rotten beyond all belief (I mean who needs a Wii, Playstation 3, PSP, DS, and a blooming x box!) due to her parents separating and over compensation for this (hubby freely admits this) sadly this has made my step daughter a bit of an obnoxious selfish madam and I dispare how she will get on at uni. :eek:

pupsicola

I guess I am lucky in that I have a huge family (brothers and a sister and cousins etc) who all gather at my parents house xmas day. So when my boys wake up there is a huge pile of pressies for them. But each of us has only bought them a couple each. I spend £100 each on the kids and about another £100 to cover gifts for all the adults. I look out for sale days in the shops, print off vouchers, buy alot of buy 1 get something half price, use boots 3 for 2 etc etc. Bought my dads pressie by doubling up my tesco clubcard vouchers.

We all chip in about £20 to the xmas budget at my dads to cover the food and drink. He and my mum did fab xmas whilst we were growing up and from a young age we were taught that it all has to be paid for. This way no-one gets into silly debt and we all have a fab time.

charlieann

Although it might not be too Xmasy, when I was a teenager my parents gave me a budget (usually £100) at the beginning of Dec to go get stuff I wanted. If I wanted the expensive brand clothes then I didn't get much else, but I could get loads if I went to the markets and cheaper shops. I soon learnt to wait for the sales and get one or two knocked down clothes then go to the cheaper places to stretch out my money. Most of our clothes throughout the year were hand-me-downs or carboot/ charity shop finds so we loved our Xmas budget. Doing this took the pressure off our parents as the budget was set and they didn't need to worry about if it was enough/ if we liked the stuff. It also taught me to budget for stuff I wanted, and I still only get expensive clothes if its a special occasion, otherwise I will shop around to get more for my money.
They did also get us a big present each year to be shared (cd player/ tv in bedroom/ pc) and there was plenty of gift sets from other members of the family so we had stuff to open xmas day.

7roland8

I too am surprised by what people spend (but if they can afford it - no probs).

My two sons (20&26 now) have always had a budget of around the £60 mark for birthdays and Xmas - but with lots of little things for stockings etc at Xmas too.

If they wanted something large (computer consoles etc) they used my money with gifts from relatives and saved for it.

(re OP - I think spending £200 on such a young child seems like a huge waste.)

7roland8

There's stuff on top of my son's wardrobe from 2 years ago and the boxes are still sealed!

That actually sounds very bad. If he's having that much its doing him a dis-service. He'll never value anything.
After Christmas had a good clear-out and donate stuff not played with (or sell on ebay) - someone else will appreciate it.

I know we like to try and give our kids the best - but excess isn't kindness - it just makes them not appreciate anything. I would be appauled if my son had unopened stuff - for one thing its very rude to the giver (you or another relative).

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Over recent years I have done frugal xmases and they have been great! I buy chocs, tights, underwear, toiletries and stuff they need and we sat and had a game of cards the other night and it was fun and didnt cost anything.

I think its important for us to teach our kids the value of money and sometimes 'doing without' expensive stuff is stressfree and makes them think for themselves and not follow the herd. My kids are teenagers now but they really appreciate stuff i get them, I had a bad back last week and mentioned that i must keep going as i havent any spare cash for the osteopath to which my daughter replied, 'dont bother with my pocket money mum, pt it towards that as i dont need anything' how sweet! They dont get much pocket money as it is but eke out what they do get and manage within their budgets which is what we all have to do.

xmas is pressurised for a lot of people, i have happy memories of childhood but we never got fancy stuff, always had plenty to eat and were brought up decent.

My neice and nephew dont even bother to say they received their present from us let alone say thank you so this year they are not getting a present, i dont see the point.

Last point, I always think that giving kids loads of stuff is like the law of diminishing returns, sometimes its better to scale back and then they appreciate things more. It may seem tight to a lot of people but I have done my best to bring them up decent and to appreciate what they have