Spill the beans..

Sarahbear666

I've thought a lot abuot this this year after reading a previous thread on mse. My parents were not well off and often up to their eyeballs in credit card debt but they used to spend a lot on me and my brother 20 years ago. (We both had Amiga computers and they were £300+ so equivalent to a lot more now). My OH had it very different and we've ended up somewhere in between but consider ourselves generous even though in comparison to some perhaps we should think again.
We budgetted £60 for a main present for each of my DS (3) and step son (9) and then £10-20 on a stocking. They both get bought a lot from other relatives (particularly my parents who still spend too much but no longer on credit cards), so there's always mroe than enough to open and we usually space it out so different sides of the family all get to see the presnt opening joy.
We could spend more but i see it as a parenting choice that we've made. We want them to appreciate what they are given, not just put it on a pile with everything else, and we don't like waste. Even if they ask for something, if we judge that it wouldn't be used enough they don't get it. We also want to teach them about working for things, saving up rather than putting on credit.
Our budget is just a guide though and we take a lot of care choosing what to buy them and everyone else, even down to the stocking fillers, sourcing things that are special and particular to their likes. The important thing is getting the 'right' gift rather than how much it costs. (although i always shop round for the best price!)
The little one gets less spent because he doesn't know any better and he gets as much out of cheaper things. We have also in the past bought gifts from ebay and carboots (a big table football table in 2006 for £5 for DSS - it's great and we still use it now)
We always go over budget because of this - this year £70 on 3yr old (playmobil knights castle) and £165 on DSS for limited edition zelda 3ds (he hasn't asked for this as his list only contains cheap things as he assumes we wouldn't spend as much as we have)
Although we're probably lucky in not havign to be asked for all the games consoles etc as OH and his brother both work in games industry so we've got all of them in the house anyway.

Savvybunny2009

When me and my siblings were children we had £100 spent on us each, which did buy us quite a few toys back back then, we never really asked for anything but we loved the presents picked for us. We grew up knowing the value of money as that was something you are taught , not something that Christmas presents etc ever had an impact on.

When dd was born we wanted to limit Christmas to £100 which was quite simple, you don't get much for your money these days as the shops seem to have learnt to bump up the rrp to much more than the toy value so when you do wait for the sales to buy the toys are at an acceptable price.

This year is the first year where we have paid close attention to Christmas money spending and actively tried to reduce costs as the cost of living has risen quite a bit. Our actual money spend is around £70, however the rrp of dd's presents is closer to £500. This includes a baby annabell, balance bike, childrens laptop, tag pal reader and books, disney pj's and dressing gown amongst lots of other things, a christmas eve hamper and lots of stocking fillers. The £70 was money neutral covered by ebay sales and other items were paid by vouchers made from surveys/panels etc. I must admit the Tesco 90% off toys has contributed to the low spend.

If we hadn't have found so many amazing bargains we would have only gone up to £100, but as there is going to be more than enough (perhaps some will be held back for her birthday) we don't feel the need to spend £100 to make up the underspend.

If it wasn't for al the kind people who share bargains on MSE I would imagine it would be a very different story, so big thank you to everyone who contributes and shares offer, you are all wonderful and have helped so many of us have a money saving Christmas.

kahunababy

Sorry people but I really don't think anyone should be criticized for how much or little they spend on gifts for Christmas. It is an individual’s choice how they celebrate and how they spend their cash.

I know I spend a lot on my children (4&7) however I choose to do so. My kids are not spoilt and do not have a list as long as my arm. They are kind and considerate children who have only suggested a couple of presents they would like for Christmas. For one of their presents they have grouped together to get a big present between them and they even 'down-scaled' as they were worried that it would cost 'Santa' too much money to get them the all singing all dancing version and then other children might miss out. They have both been saving their pocket money so we can go and pick up a little gifts for some close relatives and friends and, when I ask them what they are looking forward to the most about Christmas they both reply with 'spending some time together doing nothing'. That is not the attitude of spoilt children.

My husband and I work hard all year round and I really enjoy seeing my babies faces light up with delight on Christmas morning when they open a present that they weren’t expecting but will really enjoy. That is my personal choice and I don't really care if others criticize me. I could be worse, I could be spending the money on drink or drugs or some other illicit substance. Instead I choose to spend my money on my kids!

I do worry about people that judge others in regards to their spends or lack of! As for people being shocked how much people on this ‘moneysaving site’ spend, that is a ridiculous statement to make!!! Just because I like to save money doesn't mean I don't also like to spend it. I am carefully with my pennies so I can enjoy treats and extravagances and I can enjoy them a lot more now I know how to do it at a lower cost. Not everyone who spends large amounts at Christmas are frivolous with it.

Sorry for the rant, I hope I haven't offended anyone as that was not my intention. I just wanted to voice my opinion in what I felt was becoming a slightly hostile group.

shellsuit

smk77 wrote: »

so you'll have seen that after my first sentence I proceeded to complement the son. Something you also did...

Kids are kids. They discuss what they got for Christmas. If you don't agree then you obviously missed your own childhood...I remember when I was about 7 I went into my next door neighbours house at around lunchtime and saw the living room floor half full of unopened presents for the 2 boys who were too busy playing with the toys they'd opened to bother with the rest. Spoilt sods and they most definitely grew up to be obnoxious.

If you go back to my original post you'll see that I also quoted another member who has spent a grand. I know which of the children of the 2 members I quoted will learn to appreciate value the most. If I was making a negative posting towards anyone it was the other person.

My post wasn't intended to be mean or thoughtless. It was actually a massive complement to the poster and the appreciative son. It was obviously lost on you though...

No, you don't know at all!

You might think you know everything, but believe me, you don't.


I give up.

samphe

I've been reading this thread with interest.

There's been costs of £10-£1000 per child quoted.

None are wrong or right. It depends on what you can afford.

As I said in my original post my kids are getting about £320 each spent on them. An average amount from what's been talked about on this thread. This includes some good bargains that I have shopped around for, so they're getting quite alot for the money.

However I dont spoil them through the rest of the year. They know they have to wait until either their birthday, christmas or save up themselves.

I do agree that you dont want your child to grow up spolit or expecting things whenever they want it.

As long as you dont get yourselves in to debt over christmas.

Christmas is such an exciting time, I love seeing the excitement on their faces when they open their presents. But each to their own

smk77

shellsuit wrote: »

No, you don't know at all!

You might think you know everything, but believe me, you don't.


I give up.

Don't take everything literally. It seems to be your downfall.[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

emuratty

WOW I can't believe how much money some people spend on their kids at christmas. We'll probably spend about £60 each on our 2, plus a few things for the lovely homemade stockings their great-grandad had made for them last year. If we have any spare cash we'll probably get a couple of family games or the like for sharing.

My kids are 3 and 6. The 6 year old has asked for a camera and a build-a-bear, so we should easily manage that on our budget. The 3 year old hasn't asked for anything other than "presents", but we have seen a lovely first bike for £40 in toys r us. By the time they have presents from grandparents, family, friends etc then they should have quite a tidy pile to open anyway.

We try to do lots of christmas activities (free or very cheap) to make christmas feel special for them.

I am very much of the opinion that I don't want them to expect a lot at christmas and quite honesty at their age what do they need. Out of all of their existing toys they mostly want to play with lego anyway.

life_in_termoil

My 4 children (22, 19, 15 and 14 get £100 each plus £20 each of junk in a stocking! I feel quite a tightwad now reading this thread lol.

To me their birthdays are more important so I spend more on them then.

weegie.geek

Don't worry smk77, some of us actually read your post as it was intended...

Just talked to the OH there, and I think we've spent £100, maybe a little more, on our 4 year old. She hasn't asked for much to be honest. It doesn't take much to keep her happy. DS/Wii or some books, or something to draw on and she's happy. I'd like to think she'll always be this reasonable...

hippynikki

Oh dear this thread is like a can of worms........

I think its just to see what money we spend...

Individuals we are !!!!

I aim for £150 each for 3 at home under 18
£100 for 1 at home over 18
and £50 for 1 owns own home

on top I fund younger ones pressies to each other and theres stocking fillers

This year we are having a secret santa style xmas eve present with a £3 limit.. normally we just have the limit.. This always causes the most fun both before and during...

Thanks to MSE staying within budget for the first time