How much do you spend on each of your kids at Yule/Xmas.

SpanielsGalore

blue_monkey wrote: »

The other thing I have found, when you have a spare hour or so, go to Toys R Us, they have lots of bits that are reduced but just stuck on the shelf and they will be silly money like 1.99 or 97p but it means you can get lots of stocking fillers, they are not really advertised but you can get quite a few bits this way and I always go get stocking fillers this way. I hope this helps. Remember, Xmas is not just about what you get under the tree at the end of the day, it's an old cliche I know but it is true. oh and yes, I start buying around May time, bits of this that and the other but I do get them in the sales and stock up and if you spend £20 a month on cheap stuff while in the Supermarket it all adds up at the end of the year. My kids do not have any real crazes that they are interested in so I am making the most of it while I can!!

This is exactly what I do. I have nearly all the pressies for my 3 sons, my niece and my parents. I guess I have gifts worth about 400 pounds hidden away but I have spent no more than 150. Another 75-100 then hubby and out laws sorted.

I love sales !

SG

sarah*a

ktflosspot wrote: »

:j
Oh & to get them to bed Christmas Eve ( sorry it is going off on a tangent)
Santas Elves deliver pyjamas whilst we are sprinkling reindeer dust in the back garden and as soon as the pyjamas have arrived it is bath and bed time !!!!!!

Oh - we used to do that - but last year DD just kinda looked at me like I was crazy. :rolleyes: Guess she's too old now. I'm gonna miss it though.

:cool:

a66y31

I spend £150 each on my 2 girls and my oldest birthday is in dec ...so birthdays I spend £50 each on them...im a poor mother..:rotfl:but they get far too much at xmas they are spoilt of our families..they dont go without...I have ran out of space to put there toys...its mad!!!:rotfl:

curlylocks_2

I have 3 children and when they were small we struggled, over the years this situation has improved and I suppose in theory we could buy them anything they asked for (within reason) BUT we don't. They have always been very happy with everything we have chosen for them, sometimes they got their 'dream present' sometimes they didn't but I don't remember them ever saying they were disappointed. Now they aren't really children anymore (16,22,24) but the one thing they won't let me stop is the Stocking tradition, they say they would rather go without a bigger present than go without their stocking!!

I fill them with bits and pieces I have bought throughout the year, in the sales even from car boot sales (a great source of unused niknaks) The stockings are only small but its a challenge to find little things to fit......they say nothing beats the feeling of waking up on Christmas morning and feeling that bumpy stocking in the dark!!

I think it really is the traditions that count:D

loobylou2

God I wish I"d read these posts earlier. Every year I find it really stressful because my children ages 10, 8 and nearly 2 want more and more expensive presents( well the youngest one dosen"t but the older 2 do!!!) and not only am their mum I"m also the main breadwinner in our house because OH is retired and only gets basic state pension. I try to budget really carefully but even so still manage to massively overspend. This year the 10 year old wants boatloads of Lego which isn"t cheap in itself, a PS3 which means I"d have to buy both him and his sister televisons for their bedrooms as well because they don"t have them at the minute and a mobile phone!!!. I reckon If I get them everything they are asking for I"m looking at a final bill of around a thousand pounds for the 3 of them!!! They seem to want everything that their friends want and I hate to disappoint them, but if I get them the things they"re asking for I"m running the risk of getting further into debt which is something I really want to avoid. Does anybody have any suggestions on how I can deal with this? I don"t want to have to deal with crying, whinging, disappointed children on christmas morning but I don"t want to rack up a load of debt either!!! Help!!!

sukysue

I think you need to tell them well in advance what will be realistic for them to ask for and what they will likely be getting.If you explain to them ,kids are usually really good about not having things, also if you could just find out what the other parents are buying for their friends. I bet you will find a lot of them will not be having anywhere near 350 quid spent on them.

piratess

When i was a kid me and my sister used to get a main pressie (bike or pram etc) and then new jammies slippers and dressing gown, apple orange selection box, new teddy and coloring books and pens ! ... My friend was one of 4 and her mum would scrimp all year to get them what she could but when they went to their dads he would spoil them rotten and at the time i was jealous! ....
she has since admitted that she thought more of what her mum bought because she knew how short she'd gone to buy them things, and that her dad was just trying to outdo her mum! ........

I spend around £150 on my kids and around £50ish on the toddler .... My partner thinks this is way to much but i tend to feel guilty when there not a big pile under the tree ! lol ... And it gets worse as they get older! as they want dearer pressies lol

Money doesnt buy everything though...... xxx memories are the best! but unfortunatly kids dont think so until they have their own families!

chardonnay_2

loobylou2 wrote: »

God I wish I"d read these posts earlier. Every year I find it really stressful because my children ages 10, 8 and nearly 2 want more and more expensive presents( well the youngest one dosen"t but the older 2 do!!!) and not only am their mum I"m also the main breadwinner in our house because OH is retired and only gets basic state pension. I try to budget really carefully but even so still manage to massively overspend. This year the 10 year old wants boatloads of Lego which isn"t cheap in itself, a PS3 which means I"d have to buy both him and his sister televisons for their bedrooms as well because they don"t have them at the minute and a mobile phone!!!. I reckon If I get them everything they are asking for I"m looking at a final bill of around a thousand pounds for the 3 of them!!! They seem to want everything that their friends want and I hate to disappoint them, but if I get them the things they"re asking for I"m running the risk of getting further into debt which is something I really want to avoid. Does anybody have any suggestions on how I can deal with this? I don"t want to have to deal with crying, whinging, disappointed children on christmas morning but I don"t want to rack up a load of debt either!!! Help!!!

a ps3 is a major present for just one kid not including the rest of it. can you afford to spend all this? does everything have to be new? does your daughter even want a tv? could they share a ps3 and tv? i would explain that they can't always get everything they want or only one major present and they should put it in order of what they would like the most so santa / relatives can choose.

do you have family who are also buying them presents - could they chip in for a big present instead of buying them individual presents?

people at car boots are always selling lego.

portable tv's check your local papers free ads - people are selling second hand portables from 5 pounds. join your local freecycle group and ask or look out for ads for lego / portable tv's etc.

mobile - do they need these? if so asda / tesco have some from 20 quid.

some mobile phone contracts also give you a free games console.

how about a cheaper console such as ps2 / xbox new or used -there are loads of bargains to be had.

good luck and don't stress

buxtonrabbitgreen

loobylou2 wrote: »

God I wish I"d read these posts earlier. Every year I find it really stressful because my children ages 10, 8 and nearly 2 want more and more expensive presents( well the youngest one dosen"t but the older 2 do!!!) and not only am their mum I"m also the main breadwinner in our house because OH is retired and only gets basic state pension. I try to budget really carefully but even so still manage to massively overspend. This year the 10 year old wants boatloads of Lego which isn"t cheap in itself, a PS3 which means I"d have to buy both him and his sister televisons for their bedrooms as well because they don"t have them at the minute and a mobile phone!!!. I reckon If I get them everything they are asking for I"m looking at a final bill of around a thousand pounds for the 3 of them!!! They seem to want everything that their friends want and I hate to disappoint them, but if I get them the things they"re asking for I"m running the risk of getting further into debt which is something I really want to avoid. Does anybody have any suggestions on how I can deal with this? I don"t want to have to deal with crying, whinging, disappointed children on christmas morning but I don"t want to rack up a load of debt either!!! Help!!!

Try freecycle for TV's and keep an Eye on your local paper for lego for sale.

Smiley_Mum

About £300 total between the two of them. Fairly restrained throughout the year when it comes to buying toys etc for them so have a little bit of a splurge at Christmas. Birthdays they get about £40 spent on them. The Christmas shopping is done throughout the year so no major bills come January. More or less sorted now, just got a few bits to get and groceries for Christmas come December. My eldest recently got some money for his birthday and he gave it to me and said to put it towards his winter boots. He said it would help as I've got to pay out on the house insurance this month. The little bit of pocket money he does get (just loose change I have from day to day split between them), he asked if he could buy some flowers for me. I've given them a wee list so they could pick one thing that they could nip in and get when we are in town and I'm not looking. It really gets me sometimes, as although they don't get a lot of pocket money, for the most part they want to spend it on me rather than on themselves.

I keep them in the picture when it comes to the household income and outgoings. They don't demand things, they ask if we might be able to afford it and if not then they pick something else, or I just say you have this much and that's it. They pick things within the budget and they are happy with that. I realise when they get to secondary school it mightn't be that easy but I've got a while yet.