Christmas spend for each child this Christmas

butter_peanut

candygirl, and earth mother, that's double awesome!
My post here about wrapping I think I changed subject a bit.
Family spend for this year is £1 each. I set a challenge to family as a bit of fun. Money is super tight this year.
I'm amazed what you can get for a pound when looking. I found a brand new watch for a penny (postage is £2 mind you, but postage cost can be ignored if no more than £5) on a famous online shopping website sounds like a rainforest. (I'm not sure to mention name as I'm new and not sure if this is like BBC when they let slip a shop name or brand name by mistake live on air then quickly say, "Other products are available".

aa28

My son's 8 and we've spent around £650-700 this year, once you've picked up a few new games and larger presents it quickly adds up. Anybody else spending this much or more?

Domayne

I don't have children but I am spending around £120 for each of my two nieces and god daughter.
Youngest niece who is 3 is getting sylvanian families beechwood hall and a bunch of the sets and figures, the 6 yr old is getting a playmobil doll house and a bunch of the sets and my goddaughter who is 14 wants faber castell polychromos so I will get her a full 120 set of those.

Kim_kim

BBH123 wrote: »

I spend a lot at Christmas and none of it is ' tat'


However I do agree there are some people out there who wrap any old thing up just for the sake of giving.


If you only have a fiver to spend then spend it wisely eg a story / reading book rather than seeing how much plastic you can buy for a fiver.

Absolutely - I much prefer to get and I much prefer to give, one small quality item than a pile of cheap stuff. All this “looks like you’ve spent so much more” mentality. I’m not bothered about that, it’s is it an item they will love.

I always say to anyone buying me a present, I’d much rather a £20 lipstick than a £20 set of makeup.

It’s also about how you spend it, a small amount can be spent on a quality item. I think food/drink is also a great gift at Christmas, we all eat!

Kim_kim

earthmother wrote: »

Not newspaper, no, but plain brown paper (an iron to the stuff you get as packing in parcels works wonders) with a nice ribbon, yes I do that - with plain brown parcel tags as gift tags (a christmas ink stamp and a bit more ribbon, or mini bauble, makes them look quite classy).

I did this one year, I think it looks lovely.
I’ve moved onto “giftmate” bags now, as I’m lazy!

butter_peanut

What are giftmate bags? Are those similar to those faddy surprise nerd boxes/sweety boxes by post?

Rosemary7391

Not sure, but my family always collect pretty Christmas boxes and bags. We swap each year :P


Rather than tat, my parents always used to fill my stocking up with boring but needful things - socks, toiletries, etc. She still wraps a few of those things up for me now. All the fun of opening and it's useful on my limited budget.

happyandcontented

butter_peanut wrote: »

What are giftmate bags? Are those similar to those faddy surprise nerd boxes/sweety boxes by post?

They are xmas bags which you just put the gift in and then there is a drawstring ribbon which just pulls up and which you tie into a bow. No tape needed. They come in various sizes.

They also do birthday bags and other plainer bags for gifts all year round.

Kim_kim

butter_peanut wrote: »

What are giftmate bags? Are those similar to those faddy surprise nerd boxes/sweety boxes by post?

https://www.qvcuk.com/Giftmate-36-Piece-Gift-Bags-%26-Tag-Collection.product.708495.html?sc=PSCH

butter_peanut

Ahh gift bags. Cool.
I'm not sure if I should ask, did everyone had a nice Christmas? Or is there a specific topic thread thing for that?
Merry Christmas (just in case)