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Original poster

£100 per child at Christmas. Fair?

40 replies

Tattandthis · 29/10/2018 08:44

I have 4 kids and have saved up £100 each.

Usually I just get them as much as I can but this year is tough.

DS3 wants a nintendo DS and I'm getting a used but boxed one for £40. He also wants a £20 board game.

I'll only have £40 left then and 3 or 4 presents is going to look pretty crappy compared to the pile they had previously.

I'm feeling a little down.

They aren't granny kids at all and I know they'll be happy with whatever but just feeling a bit crap when Dsis sent me a pic of a MASSIVE pile of things to wrap for her son

OP posts:
Original poster
Tattandthis · 29/10/2018 08:45

Grabby! Not granny!

OP posts:
dangermouseisace · 29/10/2018 08:51

I’ve found in the past if I’ve warned them that they will get less gifts in total because what they have asked for is expensive, and you or Father Christmas has limited funds, then they’re fine.

If you’re kids are like mine they’d rather have 1 thing they really want rather than lots of things they are less bothered about.

OutPinked · 29/10/2018 08:59

I aim to spend a maximum of £150 per child and I have three (although currently heavily pregnant with dc4).

I hate feeling like a materialistic consumerist and I really despise seeing hundreds of presents under anyone’s Christmas tree, it sickens me almost. I feel like many presents get wasted and end up in landfill, the waste really sickens me too. I try to just get them things I know they will use and appreciate but family are another story...

£100 per child is more than adequate. Only ever spend what you can afford.

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BifsWif · 29/10/2018 09:01

Your children will be more than happy with that I promise.

We’re really cutting back this year and I intend on doing lots of nice free things in the run up - winter walks, board games, making mince pies etc.

I don’t remember the gifts I got at Christmas, I remember the ‘feeling’ if that makes sense?

KeysHairbandNotepad · 29/10/2018 09:04

That's exactly what we budget for our children. I think it's absolutely fine and they don't seem to mind. Two of them are 11+ and either want the money to go shopping (with a token gift to unwrap) or ask us to buy something specific. The baby is obviously happy with a few toys.

It was actually a few years ago we decided to budget for Xmas gifts instead of just buying randomly. I would ask the kids who bought them such and such but they couldn't remember as they had so much. Lots of things were left at friend's houses or lost etc.

Also (and I know this isn't festive!) kids do need to know they value of money as they grow up.

SnowyMountains · 29/10/2018 09:15

£100 is fine...

I agree with danger if you pre warn them that they might receive less they will not have high expectations.

My DD as a kid only got £50 spent on her, we had a few tight years when she was late primary / early secondary (during the recession) and she knew that we were skint not made of money, but she seemed fine. Its all about the memories and the experience etc

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 29/10/2018 09:15

That's more than sufficient.
Please stop second guessing yourself. Some poor children will be lucky to wake uP to a selection box Even after getting your ds the main things he wants you'll still have £40 left over for stocking fillers.
You'd have a field day in the poundland with that.

nomilknosugarplease · 29/10/2018 09:22

Completely fair OP please don’t worry. With the remaining £40 you can get lots to bulk it out. That’s what I usually do when the kids have picked one big present so they don’t have a lot to unwrap. I’m sure DS won’t expect loads to unwrap anyway as he’s gone for a DS which is a big present. With the left over money, get some chocolates and sweets as they always pad out the presents. I always give the older ones some shower stuff, cute socks, a bath bomb or two. Gives them much more to unwrap but really only cost about a tenner Smile

loubielou31 · 29/10/2018 09:49

I totally missed the comma and thought you meant to spend £100 per child at the school Christmas fete!!! I was going to tell you that you (or whomever suggested this) were bonkers!!
In comparison yes it is £100 per child is completely fair. And actually quite generous compared to many so well done for saving that up.

AdoraBell · 29/10/2018 09:56

Perfectly okay if you can afford it. Don’t worry about the number of presents.

formerbabe · 29/10/2018 09:56

It's fine...my DC have about 3-4 main gifts from us...then their santa stocking and gifts from relatives and friends...it's plenty. I find this trend of huge present piles under the tree grotesque.

If you feel their present piles look small and you want to bulk it out, get some selection boxes, toiletry gift sets for a fiver...etc

dingdongdigeridoo · 29/10/2018 10:15

I’d say 3-4 presents is the norm. Kids are much happier with a few quality things than a massive pile of tat. They get overwhelmed with stuff otherwise and don’t appreciate it as much.

SillySallySingsSongs · 29/10/2018 10:17

Perfectly fine. I'm sure tgey will love what they get Smile

AamdC · 29/10/2018 10:21

£100 is fine if thats what you can afford i have the added pressure of having a child whose birtjday is boxing day Hmm

LittleBookofCalm · 29/10/2018 10:24

its rather a personal choice op. it is absolutely dependant on your own personal finance and circumstances.

minivampsmakebloodwork · 29/10/2018 10:26

It's fine. Honestly. We have 4 dc and a similar budget. The dc know we want to go on holiday next year and that is where most of our funds will be going. We aim to get one thing they really want from us and a smaller really want comes from Santa. Plus stocking then a few extras like new books, pjs etc.

We don't buy unless they need throughout the year so they don't expect huge piles either.

I've found as they get older their gifts end up seeming smaller and costing more anyway. It's easy when they are small to have a huge pile that probably costs the same. But when they start wanting consoles etc, they have to learn that it's not about the quantity.

siakcaci · 29/10/2018 10:28

We’re really cutting back this year and I intend on doing lots of nice free things in the run up - winter walks, board games, making mince pies etc

Don't people do this anyway? I mean it's lovely, but it's not a replacement for gifts!

OP I think you are doing just fine. I have spent more this year, other years I have spent less.

NWQM · 29/10/2018 10:30

We were in our butt financially last year & I did feel awful. Totally my own fault for going over board in previous years but.... We got round it by saving things up to wrap, buying items and splitting them plus.... and these were the top tip I'd got I thought was worth sharing.... if you have any plans - or can make them and places often doing deals - then frame cheap presents round that do I did a count down to going to x on a big sheet of card and I made a jigsaw out of a picture of another place. To get round the lack of a big pile of presents the other tip I was given was to make it a treasure hunt.... the last naughty act of those pesky elf's on a shelf was to hide the presents Santa had brought! Kids loved it and it made the whole opening of presents last ages.

Phillipa12 · 29/10/2018 10:34

My 3 have a £150 limit, my eldest has asked for a certain item which is the full £150, have explained that he will just have that under the tree and hes fine about it. Might get him a tub of heros too!

DaysDragonBy · 29/10/2018 10:43

Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read!

That's what I'm doing for mine, and I'll be spending max £100 on each. I'm certain they would rather have something they want over as much as you can get, wouldn't you?

slappinthebass · 29/10/2018 10:45

With 4 kids though their will be a sizeable pile under the tree won't there. It won't be pitiful. I find the more kids you have the less you need to buy as the pile still looks exciting.

I have some friends that deliver all their Christmas presents to friends and family on Christmas Eve. That means they also pick up the presents for their own kids at the same time and can put them under the tree that night. An option for you possibly.

Pinotwoman82 · 29/10/2018 10:45

Lol I originally thought it was £100 each for the Christmas fair. That’s more than enough, as suggested what I also do is get some bits and pieces from Poundland to bulk it up a bit

FinallyHere · 29/10/2018 10:48

Please don't allow anyone to suck the joy from your family Christmas by comparing the size of gifts DC in a different family will receive. Yours will have company, love and presents. Enjoy.

InflagranteDelicto · 29/10/2018 10:48

That's what I work on, including stockings. 3 DC, 2 DSC and not much month at the end of the money. DC know we have a budget and ds is already working out how to supplement it to get the camcorder he's eyeing up, which is fine by me.

Christmas for us isn't just the presents, it's the doing stuff together. We have a grandparent or several over, we go hiking, with a hot chocolate in the pub after (we hardly ever go to the pub or buy hot chocolate out). We watch films, encourage dh to do the odd but of DIY and eat cheese until we are sick of the stuff.

Make it yours. Enjoy your DC, and do free stuff with them 🙂

PlayingForKittens · 29/10/2018 10:49

Sounds like you've done some great bargain hunting. Imo it is plenty. I've only ever bought one present per child plus stocking which tends to be books and a few fun bits. Kids don't need piles of stuff. We usually get a family present too of a board game so we have something new to all do together.
Some years the budget has been miniscule (one year I got them the £15 Ikea play tent as a joint present!) But the kids have never noticed.