How much should parents spend on a child for Christmas?

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Trow wrote: »

What about things like games consoles? Do you not have them? Or do you make them buy their own? How do you manage on such low limits?

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I go for used, 2nd hand, sales and older technology!

Hopeless_Case

I've got 3 children, all teenagers, and I've spent about £100 each. I've stuck to that even where I've been spending Amazon vouchers or Boots Advantage card points rather than actual cash, and I've found that by buying online and finding discount codes and bargains on here, I've got more for my money, and come in on budget for the first time ever, with no credit card spending.

I agree that how much you spend depends on the family's budget, and also traditions, but I do think that by being organised and starting early you can save a lot of money and get better presents

yorkiegirlie

Desperate_Housewife wrote: »

Trow wrote: »

What about things like games consoles? Do you not have them? Or do you make them buy their own? How do you manage on such low limits?

Both sons have ps3 consoles, and both sons work- the eldest obviously more hours and during school holidays. they also save up their birthday money from other family members, spending money etc to buy expensive things they might like.

The boys also go on nice school trips too - skiing, USA, Iceland etc - which we pay for - and the boys will often say they don't want us to buy them anything for xmas/birthday as we have paid for their school trips.
The eldest also worked hard over summer before going into the 2nd yr of 6th form to finish A levels and bought himself a little car, had driving lessons and passed his test really quickly. He is a real grafter - long may it continue! and guesswhat, he doesn't get EMA but that is another story! lol

both boys really value the meaning of money, hence the reason we pay tfor the school trips. they also happily sell things when they have outgrown them - eg bikes - and put the money towards something else.

Nenen

yorkiegirlie wrote: »

Some of you have made me feel sooooooooo bad! We spend £75 max on our kids - 15 and 17 - at xmas. We are both in well paid jobs but don't agree with spoiling the kids. At birthdays they get £50 each spent on them. Am I being mean????????

IMHO definitely not!

I work in an independent prep school and the parents of most of the children I teach are very well paid (some exceedingly so). On the first day back to school after the Christmas holidays, I ask the children to describe their favourite present in detail and explain why they liked it. Although a few will describe the expensive games console etc they received, the vast majority choose something that cost less than £10, often a small present from a friend or relative rather than a 'main' present from their parents.

When I hear children chatting about what they got for Christmas I am often struck by the fact they usually struggle to name more than 5-8 items, when I am pretty sure they would have received at least double this number. I often have an inward chuckle to myself whilst wondering what the parents would think if they realised their child barely remembers receiving gifts worth hundreds of pounds but can describe a small box of Lego vividly.

**dancingbutterfly**

we have one 5 yo son and we spend £150 on him. (less when he was very little!)

me and other half spend £150 on each other. our first chrimbo together we only had enough to spend £10 on each other! we'd just moved in together and i was 7 months preggo!

I have a very large family, 3 brothers step mums and step dads and christmas costs me about £600. thats for prezzies, wrappin, extra decorations if needed and the big food shop. I start saving this money when we come back off our summer hols.

merry christmas!!

mummyof2girls

I have spent around £200 each on my 2 girls....that is including a new bike each and all the stocking fillers etc. It is all items off their Santa lists and a few extra surprises from us.

I know this may seem expensive to some, but we start early to spread the cost, they don't do any expensive activities or go on school trips, so we feel fine with spending this amount on birthdays and Xmas.

They both know that any big items like consoles, phones etc are always bought at birthdays/xmas, and that they get a little less to balance out the cost. They are starting to appreciate the value of money and my 11 year old certainly knows that money doesn't grow on trees and is quite thrifty with any money she gets now.

I must admit I would find it hard to make £50 look like a good pile of pressies, but I think you just work with what you have, and if some years it's less, then so be it. It's up to each individual as to what budget you have and what you choose to spend.

bigmomma051204

Trow wrote: »

I try and spend the same on each child, although the actual amount does vary from year to year. Last year there was nothing really big they wanted or needed, so it was less. This year they both want an ipod touch. I can afford it, so decided to splash out on them, plus a few other things as well (dressing gown, hot chocolate from the whittards offer, a calendar for my dd etc), so I have probably spend in the region of £300 each.

I would find it really difficult to just spend £50, especially if they needed something specific eg. new bikes - I know you can get cheap-ish bikes, but then they need new decent helmets, bike lights and locks etc - so just the accessories end up being over the £50 limit.

What about things like games consoles? Do you not have them? Or do you make them buy their own? How do you manage on such low limits?

Edited to add this is not a criticism - I'm envious really, and would genuinely like to know!

My 6 year old doesnt have any games consoles etc... no wii or ds or psp or xbox or any of that. The only thing he has (and has limited use of!) is a Sega tv console handset thingy .... he loves it but when he plays on it (or plays occasionally on cbbc games etc on my laptop) he gets very aggressive and shows off when we have to turn it off... so it is obviously not doing him any good! He probably will get a Dsi sooner or later as i don't want him to feel ostracised from his peers..but he certainly isnt having one just to "keep up" at his age! So thats how i only spend £50ish lol... my sisters kids have an average of £1000 each spent from just my sis and her hubby and then they have cash up to about £800 off lots of relatives. My little boys christmas is just as fun and happy.... he doesnt know the difference at the moment... so for now, i plan to make the most of his naive nature!!!!!!!

Fang_3

As others have said - it really does depend on your budget, and probably the age of the children. Gift giving is very big in my family and I can remember the Christmases when the you couldn't see the carpet for presents. I still look back really fondly on those times, but likewise I struggle to remember what most of the gifts were. I couldn't tell you how much was spent then, and it didn't matter. I don't remember a time when it did matter how much was spent to be honest. Though I have to say that post-16, when I first got a proper part time job, Christmas hasn't been the same. Since then if I've wanted something, I've bought it myself which I'm sure makes me hellish to buy for and so cost became more of an issue because I had everything I wanted.

I'm 23 now and my parents still insist on spending a fortune (to me, not to them), mainly because they can, but because they enjoy giving, but the number of presents has decreased but the cost has probably gone up. Then again I guarantee that come Christmas morning there will be any number of pointless gifts for us all. That said I do know two of my presents after my mother went to great lengths to stop me from going to a book auction and bidding on some books that I've coveted for ages, which then completely coincidentally turned up via courier at my dad's office while I was there. I do appreciate the effort! And I bought the other to save the inevitable Christmas shopping breakdown when my dad goes to buy one thing and comes back with seventeen completely different things after not being able to find the original. The original item which he has the make and model number, as well as price and the name of the shops stocking it. Seriously - just one example - last year he bought my brother some software from the Apple shop, or was meant to, he actually went to PC World and bought two different kinds (for PC, not Mac) AND A PRINTER. So you can see why I've bought the camera and lenses myself rather than risk getting three puppies and a Boots Giftcard.

I think as long as it's in proportion to what you can afford with your lifestyle then you can't be judged and you should be happy with that. I wouldn't worry about peer pressure either, the memories of having a fantastic family Christmas will outlast any feelings of inadequacy brought on by another child trying to make everyone else jealous. In my experience it's the children that brag the most are the ones that have had the worst time. Also someone mentioned 'need' before and I think they're missing the point - no child needs a present, so it's a bit rich to be complaining that another child has more presents than your own, and it just smacks of trying to make yourself feel better. Christmas isn't about need, it's about indulgence.

jane130

My teens get told their budget is £100 but we always go over so we know its £150 LOL- thanks to tesco clubcarrd vouchers my dd got her £150 camera this year and ds has had £140 - 3 xbox 360 games and the wifi network connector thankfully i managed to pick up bargains on most of the things he wanted to keep within budget .

my 7 year old has had about £50 this year he's got a camera , buzz lightyear ( again thankyou clubcard) and a few other bits and I know he will be happy

My 19 year old who has moved in with her boyfriend and works full time is getting £20 as is her boyfriend

I usually point blank refuse to get in debt for christmas ( though this year I have had to use the free overdraft - but it will be cleared within 2 weeks of christmas) and pick bits and pieces up throughout the year

My 19 year old who has moved in with her boyfriend and works full time is getting £20 as is her boyfriend

yummy.scrummy.mummy

id spend thousands on one of my kids if there was something they really needed like a new car. nothing can replace their feeling of happiness on xmas day when they get something they really want x x but generally i try to stay under £1000 for each child unless its a special occasion like buying a new car x