What age do 'kids' start buying presents?

It’s largely family dependent but personally I don’t think you should buy for aunts and uncles. Neither mine or my DH’s family buy for anyone other than parents, grandparent, siblings and young children. The gift giving list is never ending if you start with extended family. For a lot of people it becomes too expensive. I also think your DP is being overly generous but if he’s happy to continue that’s fair enough.

Ugh my partner spends hundreds of pounds on his DN’s (late 30s) and now his D(great)N’s (<10 years) for birthdays and Christmas, and he’s just received a single birthday card from all of them, and not a single token gift in sight. There will be no Christmas gifts for him either. There never is. I said earlier that it’s starting to get a little silly. He feels stuck as it’s become expected now. They also don’t buy anything or send cards to me or our children either!. My advice to your DH would be to start to pull this back and reduce the value, then he doesn’t end up where my DH with great nephews and nieces to buy for, on top of the nephews!

My dneice and dnephew buy for grannie, their parents and my 2 kids. Smaller gifts but from their own money. Both have part time/weekend jobs. They are 17 and 15.

We stop buying for nieces and nephews at 21 unless they want to start reciprocating. As yours have full time jobs and have no interest in giving you a card or present it is fine to stop. I wouldn’t give them anything this year or any year going forward.

I’ve never bought any of my aunts and uncles a Christmas gift… they also stopped giving me gifts when I turned 18.

First few years after I left home I bought for aunts and uncles as well as cousins like my now ex-partner did. Then my Mum's youngest sister and her husband had a baby (they had no children when I was growing up) and said not to buy for them so I only bought for my younger cousins until my own nieces and nephews came along and I bought for them instead of cousins.

Varies wildly by family. We never did unless they were with us for Xmas (but equally I can think of two occasions where one aunt/uncle bought us Xmas presents if they weren’t staying and DDad was one of seven). I do now send cards.

Exactly the same here…x

I think I was expected to for parents and sibling from about 14ish? Never any expectation to do so for grandparents or cousins or aunts and uncles etc.

Found it massively stressful and was delighted when we stopped all adult presents on my side. I don't want DC to ever feel obliged to come up with ideas for us and have that stress or waste their money. DH is much more normal about presents than me and wants to encourage them to take some money each and start picking their own things out for us and each other.

I wouldn’t expect nieces and nephews to ever buy presents for us, unless we had a very close relationship more as friends than typical aunt and uncle. Aside from parents and grandparents, I wouldn’t expect the younger generation to buy for the older. And even for parents/grandparents I would expect to spend more on the young ones than they do on us, even when they’re adults.

But I also wouldn’t expect to spend £100 each on them! And generally in our families, present buying stops for “kids” when they turn 18.

I don’t think they do start, could your DH spend less on each family member, give a family present, ditch the gift exchange or suggest a secret Santa?

I don't buy for my uncles and aunts. I never have. I do send my own card but wouldn't be suprised if my parents still put me on cards, I know my uncle and aunt put my cousins on theirs to me despite them being in their 40s and also sending their own cards.

Thinking about it, I have never sent uncle and aunt a birthday card but I do my GPs.

Uncle and aunt don't give gifts to me any more but do to my DC.

My DC now 9 sometimes choses something for one of her aunts but not the other uncle and aunt as she isn't close to them.

My neice and nephew are primary school age but I'm not expecting them to get me anything when older either.

I think it’s family dependent, I have always bought presents for my parents but my DH would rather give his parents a bottle of something and take them out for a meal instead. My teenage dc don’t buy gifts for family but they’re not materialistic really and are thoughtful with their time which is more important. Do they make time for your DH in other ways?

I was about 12 and I’d get things for my mum, dad & brother, using my babysitting money as I got older I would buy for close friends. Prior to that my dad would help me choose something to wrap up for mum and vice versa right from early childhood. I bought for close friends and when they started to have children up until about 30 when we decided to stop as it was getting expensive. I have a huge extended family so if we bought for them it would break the bank so we don’t do presents as an extended family and cards will be from a whole family so mum, dad, brother, sister and their partner/kids if they have them there can be about 12 names on 1 card we don’t do separate ones. These days I just buy for my parents, brother and his family and my dog.

I personally don't want to ever receive presents from nieces or nephews. Where does it stop. At that age you're potentially not earning much at all. I remember being 20 and nearly having nothing left over to pay for the bus to work because I'd tried to buy a token gift for everyone. I had to tone it down. Its surprising how much it all adds up. I tried to make home made gifts but that isn't appreciated by everyone.

I don't buy for any adults now with the exception of my mum and Inlaws. Just a token biscuits/chocolate. More so my young children dont think my mum has been forgotten by father christmas.I am very happy to receive nothing but other still want to gift me things I can't use/don't like and feel put out I havent done the same pointless unwanted gift back to them.

Its all become ridiculous.

My ds15 has bought his own token gifts for everyone this year with money he’s made selling old clothes on vinted 😂

only small max £5 and some are homemade but I’m proud of the thought and effort. He’s not bought for aunts uncles though just parents/grandparents/sibling and step siblings

I think it’s fair enough not to buy for uncles and aunts - my dc have bought for each other and us from probably about 12 or so, but don’t buy for anyone else. They are students so cash poor tbf. I’ve made clear to family on both sides they don’t expect presents now although most of the uncles and aunts still buy for them as they have younger kids. I’d anticipate presents dying off from uncles as they reach adulthood rather than adding another round of additional present giving.

I wouldn’t expect adults to buy for aunts and uncles unless very close?

We stop for all except our own at 18. My DC buy for us and their grandparents only (all agreed). They bought for me and their dad from birth - from 3 onwards they were taken to a charity shop, given £1, and picked something independently. Seeing what they picked was amazing - DS once got DH a superman thong! Second hand! 😂

I’ve bought my aunties and uncles since I was 18. My sisters don’t but for them at all though. Thinking about it, my auntie still puts my cousins names in my cards and buys a present to me from them. They are 28 and 26.

Stopped buying nieces and nephews after age 21 as never received a thank you, they're now in late 20s, early 30s, never send a card or present back. Symptomatic of whole family apathy unfortunately.

But why do they have to fit in with what you want? If you aren't happy to give presents without receiving one back, just stop, you can force them to.

To OP, all families have different dynamics. I personally would never expect a present from my nephews, I'd rather they spent their money on getting themselves set up, but I'm happy to buy for them. I also think Christmas presents get a bit out of hand and stressful when you get to cousins etc.

We solved this by stopping presents for adult relatives once they left school, when they went to uni or started work.

I don't want my kids to start buying presents for family! Uncle, aunties, cousins, neighbours, where does it stop.

WHEN we are invited somewhere for Christmas, we bring a gift to the host family, that's basic manners.

That's enough. They can buy something for their grand-parents if they want, they can buy for their parents if they want (me! They do buy gifts) and they have to buy for their siblings for now.

Extended family is a no for me, sorry