What’s your Christmas budget?

[Ticktockk]

I’m interested, having read the thread by the poster who is sad that she is limiting herself to £200 per (adult) child.
We’re pretty well off but I wouldn’t spend more than that on my young kids each. Am I a total miser??

That's good to hear given it's nearly bankrupted us!!

I don't know the price these days but I used to think it was worth it compared to other christmas events.

7 sets of Lego😭

DH £260 so far.
DD £100
DD’s partner£100
Future step grandhildren £50 so far each
DGD £1500 so far.
SON and DIL want nothing
Sister £100

In reality it will be easily £800 each on DC (11 and 14)

£100 each for my mum, dad, sister and nephew

£100 on DH

£50 on friends/secret Santa X2

Just been considerably reduced, I think I may have lost my job. Whatever you can afford.

Is that 1500 a typo and you’ve added an extra zero by mistake? If not, what have you bought a grandchild for £1500?

Lucky kiddie!

I'm available for adoption, fyi!🤪

Sorry. I'm one of life's gift-givers, that's all. I used to love buying my late parents things. 💐

We don't have fixed limits tbh, it just depends on what they want that year (my dcs are children so they can't buy things for themselves, and some things are items they need anyway like clothes). Some years it's been very expensive as they've wanted a console or phone etc. This year I'm getting a musical instrument which will be a few thousand, but it's something I want them to have and to encourage them to play. I'd find it hard to spend under £50 even in a low key year - everything costs so much these days.

We spend a lot on Christmas trips out, like panto, theatre, concerts, fair etc. We just enjoy going to things like that all year round and there are lots of good shows at this time of year so we go to a few different ones.

For adult siblings, friends and parents, I don't buy anything because it seems pointless for adults who can buy things for themselves. I do buy something for DH although it's often practical things and I like them to be better quality than he'd spend himself, I usually spend up to £150.

It's a long way off but when my dcs are adults I'd probably gift some cash annually simply as a tax strategy, though those rules may be completely different by then!

I don't have a budget as such but will probably spend about £250 on each dc, £50 on my mum, Dh and I have made a £50 rule because we'd rather spend money on a weekend away in the new year. £20 ish on ds1's gf and books for my great nieces and nephews. Dh sorts his parents out - about £50 each I think. We don't buy for any other family as there's too many of us and nieces and nephews are all now adults - we stop at 18 - and don't buy for our siblings, otherwise that would be another 11 to buy for.

Food will be about £200 I guess. We had a big party in the summer and still have lots of Prosecco / wine left from that so not much to buy in the way of drinks - just soft drinks and some beers.

Maybe £120 per child (three teenagers, one adult) . I don't really track but don't buy expensive things. Then about £30 on DH and £30 on an Aunt and that's it now. My parents died this year, otherwise about £100-£200 on them too.

Food maybe £100.

One year I spent about four times that because we'd had a good year and honestly it didn't make Christmas any better.

Im taking her to Lapland to see Santa.

We have two DS, 2&4. Their main present is €250 each, we are adding in a few extra bits so I guess around €700 total. Both families do a secret Santa with a budget of €100. So that’s €400 (DH&I x2) Gifts for DNx3 probably around €120. We will have family over for nibbles, that will cost another lump when you add in wine etc. DC will need some nice clothes for Christmas Day and family get together x2. It’s a big sum of money, I’m working PT at the moment and look forward to going back FT to make this less financially stressful next year.

We are going to Lapland this year too😍

Remember this spend is optional and it’s meant to be a fun time, it shouldn’t be stressful. It all sounds too much like an obligation.

No fixed budget, but approx spends below. We're spending more than is typical for us as we're going on holiday and doing some extra stuff this Christmas to celebrate my remission from cancer:

Gifts:
DD nearly 6 - £200 (birthday 2 weeks after Christmas, will probably get about the same again)
DH - £30 ish on stocking gifts. We're not doing proper presents this year as we're going on holiday over Christmas
DMum - £50
DSis - £50
PILs - £70
BIL and SIL - £50
Other family presents - up to £100
Best friend - £30

Activities/Extras:
DD Christmas photos and personalised Christmas cards (yearly family tradition) - £100
Christmas holiday - 5 nights in a cottage in the UK, activities, spending money and travel - £2200
Santa day out - £150
Christmas market entry and rides - £40
Family Christmas party (that we are hosting) - £200
Some new decor, as some of ours got broken last year - £100

Number blocks mathlink cubes (2nd set) £29
Jurassic world Lego set £27 (bought by DSD)
numberblobs £13

zuru robo dinosaur £10 (the only thing he has actually asked for and will be from Santa)

main gift - dinosaur figures - realistic ones eg Schleich/ papo etc (roughly £30 - just bought 2nd hand over the past few months to add to his dinosaur collection as he likes them to have families - and will get a tuff tray with dinosaur land insert £25 - will set the dinos on for him coming down Christmas morning - will look epic lol)

his stocking from Santa will have dinosaur jibbits, dinosaur slime, a magic facecloth, a dinosaur bath bomb, some treats etc.

that’s probably it. He’s 3 and obsessed with dinosaurs, numbers and lego. :)

so I think that’s £145 on gifts plus £10 - £20 on stocking which I did not realise had come to so much as in my head I think oh just getting a few things I’ll spend about £50 lol
the first 3 gifts will be from his siblings (my step kids) so like that he gets one gift from each of us

from other family he is getting a play doh set, magnetic tiles, a dinosaur puzzle, and shoes so by the time he gets those he’s probably got about £250 worth of gifts which is actually crazy to think about but he will use them all a lot.

my step kids so far I have a bought DSD a hand bag for £150 (main surprise), Victoria secret pyjamas £60, and a £20 make up duo, £30 other make up set, £55 perfume, (her stocking will probably be mini make up sets/ hair accessories etc she doesn’t eats sweets or chocolate but she likes a satsuma in her stocking) - she doesn’t ask for much at all and when we asked her she said she doesn’t need much so just surprise her - she is moving out very soon and the bag is a special surprise.
from other family she will be getting plenty of clothes :)

DSS x 2 - clothes and gaming lol. but one of them has outgrown everything so have bought him 4 sports tracksuits in sales but they are £30 each plus 5 T-shirts so it adds up already. Again they don’t ask forr much throughout the year - they share all their gaming things which is good as that adds up and some years it’s more but alll they’ve asked for this year is a steering wheel for the PlayStation so will probably give them some gaming vouchers too and giant tubes of Jaffa cakes and giant chocolate bars lol. Their stockings will be underwear, toiletries, uno/dobble and loads of sweets lol.

so far DH has said he needs boxers lol and I don’t want anything but we will also get a new board game for us all to play on chirsmtas day. Not sure how much is spent on food and drink - DH takes care of all of that and I take care of presents lol

bit I feel like I always try to spend less but end up spending more even though it’s less gifts than we used to but the quality is higher I think. DSD bag is like an investment and she has studies hard and done well she deserves it :)

oh and crackers. I need to buy Christmas crackers lol

None of us buy for each other. We all have really good incomes that we can buy whatever we want as we see it all year round. We focus on a good old fashioned Christmas, good food, rubbish tv and I will be going to church this year. Plus lots of sparkly lights.
I do miss the present giving though.

With stockings included 150-200 each for 2 kids,
up to £100 for dw and I
£20 for the one remaining nephew under 18.
token presents for the rest.
about £20 for about 5 good children.
household income just 6 figures.

Not much for presents, as DTeens and DH don’t seem to want much. Probably about £50 each. And I’ll treat them all to Cirque de Soleil tickets instead.

Last year, we had a decent year financially and I went all out not just on lovely gifts but on cooking, entertaining, general effort. It was too much, no one really cared apart from me and I felt exhausted and a bit miserable at the end. Lesson learned.

So this year our decent year means we we are flying out to spend two weeks with friends in Australia with no expectations of gifts, decorations or big meals and time sober with people we love.

75-80 people! I don't think I even know that many people!

I don't have many to buy for. I spend about £70 on each of my parents. This year I have done well in the sales. Bought my mum a leather handbag from me and a jigsaw puzzle from the dogs. I have bought my dad an outside planter thingie from me and some slippers from the dogs.

I spent about £20 on a lovely slanket for my aunt.

I have spent more on my partner. Probably around £300.

Food - I'm alone this Christmas apart from Christmas Day, so I will be going to M&S for some treaty things. I have a voucher for £140 that I can spend in M&S which I received from Vodaphone when I signed up to their broadband, so I will spend the lot on a little turkey crown, a small ham and the rest on treats.

Me too! We’re not eating Christmas dinner at home but I’ll contribute the roast potatoes, pig in blanket, a dessert that isn’t Christmas pud and maybe some wine. That alone is more than enough is more than £50! I’ll then do a Boxing Day ham, egg n chips for 4 or 5 (another £50)!

My budget is £1000 for gifts. 250 each for 2 adult children, 100 for DH ( we’re going on holiday too so spending less). Rest is for family.

Haven’t got a food budget- I’ve steady got a few bit put away, fancy biscuits, baileys and chocolates. Will probably spend 250 on a big shop which will see us through the whole period.

Buying a new table Dec for £70 but no other decorations. Was thinking about outside lights but I’ve decided against due to expense.

I normally have a new outfit but I have a satin skirt I’ve ily worn once and so I’ll get a new top on Christmas Eve, hopefully in the sales!