How much do you spend on your child’s birthday?

I’m doing one main gift for LO.
some of my friends think it’s tight But we have lots of relatives who also give gifts.
plus it means when they ask for something expensive like a switch or they won’t be expecting anything else on top of that. (That is the hope )

This mentality of buying a child every item they put on a list and feeling guilty if you can’t is crazy!

It isn’t crazy. Money and children are some of the most emotionally charged issues in people’s lives- it’s be expected that where the two converge feelings will become created.

In my experience it is the less wealthy (although not necessarily poor) who spend the most. PP above who talked about using credit card to pay for birthdays is a classic example.

We are lucky to be financially comfortable - can buy most things without thinking twice, have a decent house, regular trips abroad, children get taken on days out most holidays etc. This is very much the norm in our social circle and none of us give particularly extravagant birthday gifts. The children do not go without - but neither of my children have had upwards of £100 in birthday or Christmas gifts yet. This mentality of buying a child every item they put on a list and feeling guilty if you can’t is crazy!

I rest my case.

DD is 5 in Sept. She’s having a party with an entertainer £150, plus a few pizzas £5. She’s obsessed with playing dolls so will also spend about £20 on a few bits to open on the actual day.

It’s probably tallied £300-£350 for my 15 year old. Easily builds up with the price of hoodies, lego and video games 😂

Usually about 200-250 but we're the only ones who buy for him. One of his aunts might give him a tenner once in a while but that's it.

Prob about 300 if doing a proper party. Saying that I’ve just been quoted £290 for dd3 birthday and I’ll still need to get cake and balloons/ party bags so that’ll be creeping up to £400

A couple of hundred usually.
Main gifts so far have been outdoor things over the years like bike, climbing frame, mud kitchen etc. All which aren’t particularly cheap but give excellent use for outdoor play for several years, so well worth it imo.

Actual party not huge amount, more casual event at home

We’re lucky that we don’t have to think before spending money but some of the amounts mentioned are eye watering. Most of what is mentioned is stuff which has a limited amount of interest over a long period. Some children must spend a lot of time indoors to play with all this stuff. Sounds like some parents don’t think their child will have a happy birthday unless a lot of money is spent.

OK, I misunderstood the intent behind your question. I thought you were asking what £50 buys that is worth having. Personally, I think all those gifts I mentioned are worth having and make a good birthday present.

Even if I could afford more, I'm not sure that I would think it was worthwhile buying more stuff for the sake of it. My children live in a nice house, and most of my income goes on the mortgage, council tax, utilities and upkeep. They have all the clothes they need and they are well fed. They don't need endless toys and activities. We have lots of board games already, so we don't play the same ones all the time. What is the purpose of spending more? Is it simply to have more stuff? Because I don't understand that. We've accumulated the toys/games/sports equipment we have over years of getting these things as presents or perhaps buying a new card game to take on holiday.

I feel slightly queasy when I think about all the stuff being manufactured and produced when there is already tons of stuff in the world. It's not just about the cost, for me it's also about waste and the environment and consumerism.

My daughter recently asked about iPads. If she really wants one, then I will probably find a way to make it happen (secondhand, definitely can't fund a new one). But it would be a one-off and probably be her only present from all my side of the family as I'd get my parents and brother to chip in. I wouldn't set out to spend e.g. £150 on presents every birthday because I've decided that a birthday has a value of £150 and anything else is cheap. That just seems daft to me.

Is a day out as a gift only a decent gift if it costs £150? I don't understand the idea that it's the cost of the present that counts more than the enjoyment it brings.

Besides, if it makes you feel better, I did previously comment upthread that I split the cost of a meal out with my ex because the DC like seeing us both on their birthdays, and I also pay my half of (and usually host) parties if they have them. So my total spend is more like £150 per birthday.

Why do you think she should receive exactly what she has asked for? Do you always get what you want? Most people don't. If you think £300 is ridiculous, then maybe think about not spending £300 and teaching your child about life in the process, which is one of your main roles as a parent. It doesn't mean she will have a bad birthday "only" receiving £100 of gifts.

It varies but probably too much...last year DD was 6 and got a new bike, so quite a bit. This year we met the meerkats at London Zoo which was less (although not cheap with zoo tickets too). I normally get one big thing and some books/ stationery/ little toys. She doesn't have a big extended family so it's mainly us.

Well this month £800 but that is a one off as he is 17 and he needed a computer before university! His party is organised by friends at so no party cost as such except cake and treat dinner !

ordinarily for

It depends what they ask for honestly. At six they might ask for an iPad for example in with case I'd possibly spend £500 on gifts (and iPad plus case and a few small gifts like books, sweets) and then £20 a cake.

If they asked for a £100 Barbie house then I'd buy that plus a few other things - books, clothes, sweets etc and spend maybe £200.

For me it's more that they are happy and if possible (within reason) get the gift they've asked for.

We don’t spend much on presents, not because we deprive them or competitively underspend🙄. We buy things for the children as they need - if they are growing out of their bike in April, I am not waiting until November birthday when the peak time of riding it has passed to buy it. Likewise with anything else that will be worn/used in the summer for the Nov birthday. So unless they happen to want or need something specific at the time of their birthday, the present itself is small and inexpensive. They are gifted pretty significant amounts of money by grandparents which they go buy one thing with them and rest goes to savings.

Birthdays are a day out of their choice, we host a party every other/2 years and have family celebrations. The presents themselves are not a big part, we do everything to make them feel as special as possible (as I’m sure all parents do) but without giving a pile of gifts.

So the cost of presents/cake/balloons etc is usually max £50 but the day out, parties, hosting family add upto significantly more

From looking at this, a lot more than most on parties and about the same for gifts.(£150-250). We have a family party, and if we didn't see family for a birthday then we'd want to host another time so I don't count it as a gift for him but for all of us; there are a lot in our families so it can be £200+ to host. Then he also has a friends party at a venue with quite a lot of kids (always end up with some siblings too), cake and decent party bags. Lots of his class have been doing quite small parties, and some kids as a result don't get invited to many at all. So we deliberately aren't too strict on cutting back numbers. We are a social family and can afford it, so it's nice to invite people.

Too much I suppose... we celebrate the youngst this week.

To be fair she does need a new bed for her room and she would go to girl guide camp abroad/ summercamps despite of her birthday. Easy to sort it as birthday gifts.
Her older two siblings paid a summer camp for her birthday gift.

We have bought her a phone, clothes, books, a soft toy, scout's stuff, a bag, earrings and €70 for girl guide's camp. She would need most of it anyway.

Her party? Around £150.

The oldst two get £300 cash. One is at university and one works abroad.

200-300 each, Ages 5 and 9. Wounder is the birthdays are within 3 days of each other 🫠💰

Some people. But I feel like for the majority on MN it’s some sort of weird competitive under spending thing when it comes to birthdays/xmas

So you spend £50 total on presents and a day out??
If that’s all you can afford then that’s great and as you said, kids are generally happy with what they get. Personally I just couldn’t do it, I’m far from well off, single parent part time job but even saving £10 a month is £120. I would and have used interest free credit for presents which obviously isn’t advisable but it’s hasn’t put me in any difficulty paying it back so it’s not an issue. I just could not have only one small present.

not sure if it has occured to you that this is really all some people can afford 🤔

£300-£400 for my DS1 birthday party. I have 2 sons so its a lot 😅

I budget £350 for my DS's birthday. He's six this year.

But, that includes everything, even the party/day out.

So gifts, cake, etc. is whatever is left out of the £350 after taking into account the day out/party.

This year, he wants to go to a theme park place local to us. That's seven people theme park entry. After that, there's not a great deal left to play with. He wants a KFC for his birthday tea, a Colin from M & S for his cake. Plus balloons, card, wrapping paper and a few gifts. We'll be pushing it at £350.

How do you spend £50 on presents?

I sometimes cheat by trading in reward points for activities. One year I took DD for afternoon tea. It didn't cost actual money because I used rewards from my bank account to pay for it. Then we went shopping and she had £30 to spend. She loved it.

DS is into football shirts. I look for them on eBay/Vinted. One year, when he was massively into a certain period of history, he got a big box of secondhand books on the subject. Mix of factual and fiction. He thought it was great because he loves reading.

When younger it was e.g. one Playmobil set or a scooter (these cost more now) or a doll's house or a whatever. One thing costing up to £50.

I booked an animal encounter for one of them last year. It cost £90. My parents paid half. Birthday child was delighted.

I'm also aware that these things might be beyond the budget of other families, and someone else might only have £20 to spend on presents.