How much should parents spend on a child for Christmas?

jane130

can I just add I know that my son will have a firm favorite gift and it won't be the blasted buzz lightyear that he has been asking for for months and thinks hes not getting - it will be the homemade superhero cape that cost less that £5 to make

Caroline73_2

My boys have £150 each, which is big present and stocking. DS1 has lego and a computer game, DS2 has lego and kung zhu hamsters.

I don't think anyone should accuse people of spoiling their children without knowing the family, just because of the amount they spend. I know some people will think what I spend is excessive. Surely spending £300 cash is better than £30 credit?

My boys know the value of money. They sell trade in old computer games, sell toys at car boots in the summer and my youngest sorted out his old toys after his birthday and asked me to give them to children who can't afford any toys.

cat04

:)I haven't yet added up what I've spent on my 2 DDs (ages 3 and 6) but I know I've spent no more than £75 each (probably less), including stockings and Christmas Eve 'hamper'. They have the presents from the top of their list to Santa, plus a couple of the others and other bits that I know they will like. DD2 only had 3 things on her list, and all she really wants is a Peppa Pig kitchen. They have quite a few joint presents, which I know a lot of people don't do, but they are both girls and all their joint pressies are things I know they would both appreciate and like to play with together
I got married at 18 (:eek:) and for the Christmas's before that I know that even though my parents could have afforded to spend a lot (to me a lot is £100+) on my brother and I, they never did, not that I minded of course. I can remember a lot of the presents I got over the years, a cassette player/recorder, bags, clothes, those big 1kg bars of Dairy Milk choc and the little things like tights (!), diary, hair brush, pen, books etc. We didn't really have main presents as such, apart from one year, when I think I must have been about 14/15, which would have been 1994/95, and my brother and I got a TV as a joint present. It was only one of those small ones but for us it was fab because we had no idea about it and we knew it was a major thing for our parents to buy us a TV! Although friends had them, we never had TVs in our rooms, games consoles (aprt from the N64 my brother won in a Dandy comp lol), video or DVD players etc and it never bothered me.

I loved Christmas with my family, and have grown up knowing the value of money and not just buying things for the sake of the kids having lots to open on Christmas Day. I hope it rubs off on them too

finaniciallyfitforfortys

when DD young (0-2) usually 20-30. my 5 yr old gets £60-80 depending but that includes wee stocking fillers. My 13 yr old usually £100 but this yr she needs a laptop- starting GCSE so we have spent 200 on that plus asked other relatives who give her money to chip in.

padd_bear

My OH and myself set a £150 budget for main presents and a small budget £30.00 or stocking fillers etc, i start mine in january for stocking fillers, so have ended up with loads!

I have spent £50.00 on my dad and £150.00 on my mum and £50.00 on my sister. Friends and lil people together probably add up to about £150.00.

I buy presents throughout the year!

OH spends £20.00 on each of his family members (he has a large family) and gets tins of chocs for his aunts/uncles.

robpw2

jamespir wrote: »

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

no woner jo is complaing on facebook she has no money lol

robpw2

i think you should spend what you can afford ..within reason
i think wether you buy one gift or a 100 its up to the individual but children can only play with one thing at a time ..

robpw2

yummy.scrummy.mummy wrote: »

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

£1000 a child .. how many kids do you have ...
surely thats a rediculous amount to spend ..

padd_bear

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

toontron

Mine comes in at thousands for my two (aged 10 and 8), amongst the things ds is receiving this year are a full size drum kit, Gibson guitar, Marshall amp. DD has only 13 things on her list (mainly Hello Kitty) and she will get all of those plus a new pink portable dvd player and a pink laptop. We tend to buy them extra things too so they each have a 32" tv, dvd player, and digibox for their bedrooms too. Plus they have stockings and bits and pieces too, the only other person who buys for them in my Father, and we can afford it.