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Christmas budget 2023

65 replies

Fatcat00 · 23/10/2023 06:58

Inspired by two recent threads RE gift limits, reselling etc. genuinely curious to know what the average person spends on their children at Xmas.

I know it is very much dependent on income (generally). But I’ve seen lots of posters saying they spend £100 for example and would find it ludicrous to spend any more regardless of income.

where I live, well off or not, people go to town on gift buying - and obviously post it on SM which is something I never do.

I have noticed some people that do this don’t go all out on their food, which for me is the peak of Christmas. I’m very much into an elaborate tablescape, top top quality food and amazing presentation. Which can cost quite a bit.

So what do you tend to spend on kids, partners if you have them, family, and food?

OP posts:
katienana · 23/10/2023 18:37

I imagine you'd use all the table stuff again though? Only the crackers you'd need to replace. I got chair covers from ebay and wrap silver material that Wilko (rip) used to sell around, it makes the table look so special

OUB1974 · 23/10/2023 18:53

£25 on DH. We set this as a budget and do stocking for each other.

Aim for £100 each child (I have 2). It was a bit more last year as they wanted a Switch.

£20-25 each on parents, siblings, partners and kids.

£10 on godchildren, although this year we're doing reciprocal vouchers for somewhere the kids will enjoy, so spending more but will get a day out outif it.

£5 on token presents, mainly aunts and uncles who spoil our kids. I'm thinking of making them this year.

I'm budgeting £800. It seems a lot but I don't think we're extravagant. We got a new tree for about £50 in the sales last year. Decorations have built up over the years, we started off with some we found in the cupboard in a rental 20 years ago.

I hate loads of stuff and spending too much, but love seeing the kids enjoy Christmas. I'm a big fan of getting experience presents or vouchers.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 23/10/2023 19:26

Tablecover is probably 6+ years old
I use the everyday white crockery with white servewear and some random Christmas plates I’ve collected over the years .
I use mySainsbury Nectar points to buy the big shop

No present for DH ( or him to me) but if we see something we like we’ll buy it from the joint account

adult Dc and DS has a December birthday , probably £600-£800 each but that will be tech, branded clothes or cash

3 of us are vegetarian so no big turkey , only DS and the cats eat chicken.
table settings are ivy from the garden and LED candles (cat safe)

DH likes beer and whisky. The DC not bothered and I don’t drink

i plan and buy ahead so no last minute panics and I can think “ do I really need this?”

Donation to Cat Protection League

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MintJulia · 23/10/2023 19:43

Only buying for DS(15) and several dsis. I'll spend £200-£250 on DS and about £50 on each dsis. DS is going abroad with the school at the end of term so I'll spend extra money on him beforehand.

Christmas food, I home cook, so spend money on nice ingredients, but tend not to buy much alcohol. I'd spend £120 for the two of us for Xmas week. Christmas will cost about £500 in total.

Lunch will be cream of chestnut soup, roast venison & all the trimmings, followed by home made Christmas pud, mince pies & ginger ice cream.

I'm not sure I could spend £250 on a table setting. Our table will be laid with elderly damask tablecloth, matching napkins with rings, hurricane lamps with candles, holly & ivy from the garden.

IsThisIt2021 · 23/10/2023 19:44

3 DC here.
I buy for the DC, partner, 2 x friends and their kids (3 in total).
I used to do teacher gifts etc but it became too expensive once all 3 were in school.

I buy for the children when I see things on offer that I know they’ll love, they put 3 “most wanted” things on their letters to Santa. I don’t generally tend to have a budget as such, all depends on what the DC want that year.

So far on the DC I’ve spent £650ish. I’ve still got a few things left to get, doubt what they’ve asked for will change between now and then but we’ll see!

Food is quite expensive throughout the christmas period but that’s because we’re snackers and I love baileys!

asterel · 23/10/2023 20:13

We’re quite moderate on both! We never go hugely to town on presents - used to spend around £120-150 on DD (only child), and now she’s about 10 it’s probably around £200 including stocking gifts, a few smaller gifts, Christmas tops/outfit and main present.

I have a few siblings and niblings and probably spend up to £300 on relatives and friends - that includes around £30 per niece/nephew, between £30-40 on my siblings & partners (together - eg a small hamper type gift); plus around £50 each on my parents.

I then probably spend another £100 on presents for close/family friends and a couple of their kids, plus teachers/TAs/music teachers/cleaners/work secret Santa etc. Not expensive gifts, normally £10-20 at most!

DP and I spend about £50 on each other, usually just a few small things. We also probably spend around £50 on charity gifts / toys for Women’s Aid or another similar charity.

We spend around £200 on the big Christmas food shop for the few days over Christmas, including all food and alcohol - but we don’t go massively overboard either, eg. none of us like turkey, so we usually just get a good quality free range chicken. I normally use the nectar points I’ve built up over the year to pay for around half of this at Sainsbury’s.

So that comes to around £900.

I know we are lucky to be able to spend that much and lots of families can’t, especially in this economy. Equally many families seem to spend way way more! I know one of my siblings spends massively more than I do - like £400-500 per child and huge amounts on speciality food, Christmas meals out, etc. - it must run into thousands. Another of my siblings spends a lot less than we do, and is a much more budget-conscious. We also have definitely spent a lot less in the recent past - DP has just got a new job, so we are a bit less financially constrained this year than we have been in other years. I’ve definitely done all the presents above for less than £500 a few years ago. In addition to the things above, we probably do a theatre trip, a winter lights trail, and some kind of meal out during December, plus the cost of the tree, so that adds a bit more.

All in, I estimate it’s now about £1400 for Christmas overall, including presents, food and all those other things, given current prices. About 5 years ago I would do it all for £900-1000. But the cost of everything has risen massively of course, especially food and eating out. I read once that the average spend on Christmas is around 4-5% of gross household salary - I think we’re normally quite a bit less than that, actually!

Ginmonkeyagain · 23/10/2023 20:36

I'm still boggling over £250 for a table setting. Our dining room table and chairs cost less that that.

DrCoconut · 23/10/2023 20:37

I have a reusable Christmas table cloth that's about 15 years old. Tree etc all reused. Food is just a slightly posher than usual roast dinner and its usually bring a dish with family. Presents can be board games, craft sets, books etc. I don't have the money to spend a fortune so I don't.

BearSoFair · 23/10/2023 20:40

About £200 each on DC - harder but still doable even with teens (DS1 20 but as long as he's at home we'll probably spend the same amount!) because they're also old enough to understand why we have a budget and generally don't want big ticket items anyway. None of them are particularly fussed about brands - maybe because DH and I aren't either!

£70-80 on DH
Around £50 on our parents
£30 or so on nieces and nephews

GettingStuffed · 28/10/2023 15:45

This year we've upped to £75 for adult children and £50 for grandchildren. Dad and sister are both if we see something but it

Iwasafool · 28/10/2023 15:56

£100 each for my adult children, their partners plus GC so that is £1,500 before we start. I've spent £240 on tickets for an event for most of the family, food I don't know depends how many are coming to us. £100 for niece, £50 for UNICEF and then something for local charity, probably about £50 on train fare to GC events. Will come to something north of £2k which I find pretty horrific.

LlynTegid · 28/10/2023 16:06

We started having a modest Christmas when we had someone come to us who was on a low income, and although they are now deceased, have continued ever since.

PictureFrameWindow · 28/10/2023 16:06

Kids £70 - £100 each

DH £50 or more if I can think of a good idea

Parents £35 - £50

Nieces and nephews £20 each, don't usually gift the over 21s

Taytocrisps · 28/10/2023 16:20

Over the years my present budget has got smaller (I no longer buy for Ex 'cos we're separated, my Mam has passed away, we do a family kriskindle etc.) but my events budget has got bigger. I have assorted friends (not one big group) and I like to meet them in the run up to Christmas. My friends and I don't buy each other presents but even lunch out can work out expensive, especially since the restaurants usually have a more expensive than normal special Christmas menu. And I go to a Christmas carols night with family and an assortment of friends which has become an annual tradition. I budget for it all though.

I don't host for Christmas or St. Stephen's Day (26th) which helps because I don't have to buy expensive joints of meat. I host on the 27th but it's only a small group and one of them is a pescatarian so I usually do a seafood dish.

There a few free or low cost activities which I enjoy. DD and I love the Late Late Toy Show and we usually put up our decorations that day and get a take away. We fit in a few Christmas movies as well.

deano84 · 17/11/2025 14:27

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