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

jane130

I have 4 , the elder 3 ( 17 , 13 and 11) have a budget of around £100 but i always tell them put everything they want on their lists so they don't know what they are getting. I usually end up going over though by the time I've done stockings and extra little bits its usually more like £150

the youngest is 3 and he just gets what i think he will play with . this year he has asked santa for a castle and a "garage with a lift " when i told him santa only brings one present he told me " ok santa can get me the garage you buy me the castle " luckily i managed to find both within budget at argos . I suppose in total this year I'll spend about £70 on him.

Keiss_21

Hya folks, just thought I would drop into this thread, isn't it fascinating!

Normally we allow our two boys (now 17 & 14) choose a main present for about £40 and then we get them a few extras (book, CD, clothes). We do this for both birthdays as well as Christmas.

This has worked well for a few years, but since they have got into playing guitars, things have changed somewhat!

My oldest will be 18 on Dec 28th, and lately has been using it to his advantage. He wanted a guitar for his 16th so we asked all the family to send money for both Christmas and birthday, so we had a big pot of money to go and get a fabulous guitar. He has since traded it in for another guitar (and then another!) and paid off the difference with his pocket money, and what he earns in his jobs.

Last year was a biggy though...both boys found their "perfect guitars" in November, each less £300 than anywhere else, and on a 12 month interest-free deal. Again family chipped in with us and the boys have just paid them off with their pocket money, work (in our garden as well as 'proper' jobs with oldest). Both have really enjoyed having their guitars...though yet again eldest has traded in for a 6-string bass and 300W amp (paid off by December). He knows that this will be the last guitar we will be helping him with before he heads off for Uni next year.

It may have been a lot of money for the guitars (£1600 all together), but DS1 was doing AS Music last year, and DS2 has just started out on GCSE music. If they were playing classical instruments, then we would have been spending so much more!

Both boys can't wait for January when they get pocket money back again!

So although my boys have had big presents recently, they have paid for most of them themselves.

This year I am heading for a cheaper time...money is disappearing fast at the moment! Hence I am looking for ideas for HM pressies for family and friends.

DS1 wants a laptop to take to Uni, combined with bday, should be able to get a decent one...except he would rather have a Mac! A friend suggested we get him a cheaper one for the first year, so that if it does get lost/stolen/broken, it won't be such a loss(!). Then he can earn money during the summer and save up for the laptop he wants. Haven't broken the news to him yet...!

DS2 wants money so he can put it together with his birthday money (Feb) to buy an I-touch...£199...he should have enough by then, if he hasn't spent it on something else by then. I already have the Spiderman 3 and Jeremy Clarkson DVDs for him, so he will have something to open on the morning.

This summer we didn't go anywhere, apart from a few days to Scotland to stay with MIL. Went to Scotland vs South Africa rugby match...fantastic, and caught the last day of the Edinburgh Festival...saw boys' cousin perform and visited a couple of art galleries...brilliant!

I would love to take the boys on a big holiday, but can't see that happening for the next few years...especially as DS1 will be off to Uni next Sep.

Thanks for all your thoughts and ideas...will go in search of craft ideas later.

lynneand1

Hi i thought i would add a bit as well:) My son is 8(birthday 13th feb)and i too am a single parent!Since he only has me my parents and my little bro he does get spoilt!last year i kept thinking i hadn't bought alot but by the time i looked it all out and got it wrapped it was ridiculous over £300 and that's not including prezzies from my mum & Dad and the Nintendo DS he got from my bro.This year i said to myself it would be £200-£250 but then he anounced he wanted a wii which i managed to get at RRP of £179 but i feel i can't just give him that on it's own!He has also discovered named clothes/tracksuits so i will get him a trackie hopefully for £25 or so!On top of that he also wants DS games,PS2 games and yu-gi-oh cards.
I've got to say he does save his pocket money for his own treats during the year and i give him the odd £5 towards something but apart from that he doesn't get that much the rest of the time(do magazine subscriptions of £8pm count:o)I only work 22 hours a week but i save from August for xmas my fund is at £500 just now and i've bought the wii already.
I'm not sure what to do for the best he doesn't ask for alot and understands saving etc but it was me that started the 1 big present about 3 years ago with him!He is not in any way a spoilt brat but i keep trying to compensate for his useless dad that he never see's!(By his dad's own choice.)
Sorry i've went on a bit: I've just read this back and it looks really bad!!Oh by the way Birthday is usually £50 - £60 max.
What do other single mum's do in my situation any advice would be great:D

hannahsmummy1

In previous years i have gone a bit mad over getting my daughter presents at christmas (when there wasnt a need as she didnt even understand what christmas was!), this year my dad decorated her bedroom & i sorted out all her toys, got rid of anything that was broken, sold or gave to charity things that she has outgrown & she hasnt had any toys since then. I sat down with her last night- shes only 3 & gave her a catalgue from our local toyshop (which happens to be quite cheap!) and there was 3 things she wanted out of it- a new toy kitchen (the one she has we got second hand & has seen better days & is probably a bit too big) the kitchen is reduced to 19.99 (from 50 pounds!) she also would like a baby born (which my mum has very kindly said can be from nannie & grandad & her godmother said she will buy some accessories for it) and she would like a dress up stephanie set (she loves dressing up. I think it will mean more this year as she has 'picked' the presents herself- rather than in recent years where i felt i HAD to buy her things just for the sake of it (getting myself into debt in the process) and its just not worth it for one day of the year! Hubby & i are not buying presents for each other this year- and mums 50th is a couple of weeks before christmas so i told her i wont be buying a lot for christmas just a token gift, so all in all it looks like it may be a cheap christmas for us this year! YAY!

scaryfairy

Hi all. We usually spend about £75-£100 on both kids for Christmas but this year it'll be a bit more as last year for both for everything we spent about £50 on each as we were really skint. They were very happy with their presents and didn't complain once bless them. They get a lot from family and friends so they do ok and don't miss out. The one thing that Really bugs me is that the in-laws buy them 2nd hand stuff:mad: - something small but new would be much better i think that some old tatty stuff with bits missing like last year. They are not poor people - very wealthy (probably why they have their money ho hum). DH has been in iraq for most of this year (due home in a couple of weeks:j) so with me working I've managed to save a bit. This year the children will be getting a new ds each which is what they have been asking for, for the last two years at least and i've managed to get some cheap games too which i'm very pleased with. They will also get a few bits and bobs for their stockings and little pressies to go under the tree so all in all we'll probably spend about £150 each on them which sounds awful but well it's what we want to do this year. They had about £30 spent on them for their birthdays so I don't feel guilty about spending this on them at Christmas. They do appreciate what they are given too bless them.

Christmas is what you make of it and all the little traditions that each family has it what makes it special i think.
Be kind, be happy and thankful for what you have is my motto!

patentgirl

Hi All
I spend about £150 each on my three 23,21 and 15 then they have a stocking as well with bits and pieces then the two oldest have partners they live with so will spend about £50 on them, was thinking of get combined present this year with their partners of a movie hamper with Dvd each choccies, popcorn, bottle of wine some nice glasses and a fleecy throw perhaps some cushions to match (all ideas from the hamper thread) then just one present and there stocking will have to get a move on though, OH and myself have both said we dont need anything this year so will probalby just get a token present for each other

crystalsinger

I have 2 kids, and they have a budget of £50 each. I use ebay, bogof and car boot bargains (so much stuff brand new kids never get around to opening) to make their christmas full of treats without going stupidly into debt. I refuse to let Christmas take me into debt, and my kids are always dead chuffed with their presents. One of mine is 12 and as I am very careful with the pre loved presents i get from car boots he does not know they are not brand new.

Ang1981

Hello

I have 2 kids dd will be 4 on xmas eve so i have bought her quite a bit and it will be split in half for her birthday. Were also doing a little party on xmas eve for her i think i might be a bit mad but we try to make her birthday a little more special. so i think on a rough estimate i might have spent £250 on her it's also the first year she has asked for certain things which we have bought her which she will get for xmas as she thinks father christmas is bringing those.

ds will only be 9months old so he will only get a few things.

Also we save up all year so we wont be in debt at the end of it

Ang:xmastree:

Kelly-Anne_3

Hi all,

I just wanted to say that I never get into debt over xmas as I start my shopping early and hunt around for the real bargains.

My children always write a wish list that gets passed around the family. They are very aware that they will not get everything that is on their lists and they never ask for really expensive things.

This year I will probably spend about £100 on my daughter and about £80 on my son. They will have the same amount of gifts but my daughters are a little more expensive. She has asked for an MP3 player but I have told her I can't afford it. What she doesn't know is that I have found a real bargain on Play.com. An MP3 player RRP £69.99 reduced to £29.99 so that will be her main present. I can't wait to see her face when she opens it!!!

I have a big family with lots of children so I budget £30 for Mum and Dad each and £20 at the most each for all of the others in the family.

I love xmas and we do lots of silly, fun but free things when the kids have finished school and when I've finished work(I work in a school) like singing carols and colouring in xmas pictures I print off websites and we make sweets for my Nan and Mum for them to give for xmas. I really do feel that it is not about the money you spend on them that counts, it is the memories that you give them. Even if I had all the money in the world I would still do all the silly things that cost nothing as they love it and thats what counts!

Kelly:xmastree::xmastree::xmastree::xmastree:

hostertlady

i went overboard last year and when i looked what i had got them on xmas morning i suddenly felt very guilty at the piles of pressies all over the floor..
evry year i say that i am not going to go 'mad' and i start off very slowly, then before i know it the pile on xmas morning is there!!

I must say i like the idea of sponsoring someone through oxfam or adopting an animal as a pressie- hmm i will defo look at thisxx