How much do you spend on the kids for Xmas

[missrachael]

Sorry I’m sure this thread has been done a million times. Just curious, whenever I read about what some peoples kids are getting I feel like I’m not doing good enough, at all. I plan to spend £300 each this year on 4 kids, so that’s £1200 which is a big amount of money but it also looks like hardly anything compared to some !

£500 on each (x2 kids)

My parents didn't really do Christmas. It hasn't affected me at all! When we went back to school we might have a quick chat about what we had got, but then that was it, so there wasn't much comparison.
Unfortunately DH's family went completely overboard at Christmas and my kids have grown up with that mentality too. They've still got presents untouched from last year and it's such a ridiculous waste of money!
Don't make the same mistake as me, keep your budget, which is already generous, and enjoy your day!

Wow! Some of the money spent here is astonishing, but I guess it's all relative depending on disposable income.

We are a low ish - middle income family, low ish outgoings, and both kids have birthdays in December. We aim for around £200 per child for Christmas and the same for birthday. We never stay within budget though and always end up spending more. Probably ends up being £1000 total for the 2 across both Christmas and birthdays now, and one always ends up getting a better deal than the other money wise. One year it's DS, the other it's DD.

They have an even number of presents depending on what they want/need. DD is getting an expensive new bike for her birthday (a need as she is outgrowing her current one and cycles to school), plus other bits, so she'll do better this year.

It was cheaper when they were younger.

Just because they want it doesn't mean they have to have it all. So they can chose the expensive trainers over the £30 ones... and that means primark leggings over Nike Pro etc. Or they can have the new phone instead of the hand down phone... but then they can't have the expensive school trip.

By the time they are teens they do realise money doesn't grow on trees.

I would like to know this too ? Also have two teens who won't wear anything that's not a decent make and because I never had them as a kid I would dream of making them.

9 and 14. Less than 150 each. They are getting.

9 year old:
Gravitrax from FC (he still believes)
Lego
5-6 books from us
1 board game
Bath/potion stuff (on behalf of one set of grandparents who live on another continent)

14 year old:
Board game
Rubik’s cube from FC. Some highly specialised one
A hoodie (again from the grandparents who live far away)
A few books

They will get a couple of gifts from family as well. Board games/Hoodies/PJs/Books etc.

About £700 for 14yo. He’s asked for an electric guitar and loads of band merch. I’m also getting him an offroad biking experience day, clay pigeon shooting experience, bike gear, new headphones, tools and accessories for taking all our electronics apart 😅 8yo will get much less than that. He’s asked for the new toniebox and new tonies. I’m also getting him lego and ship themed gifts, models etc.

Your budget will depend on your how much you can afford, your kids age and what they’ve asked for.

I have a teen. He uses my old phone. I don’t replace my phone annually so he doesn’t need to either. He has my old iPhone 6. It’s in very good nick and perfectly fine. It does everything he needs to. I also don’t replace my laptop annually and I use it every single day for work. My Macbook lasts me 6-7 years as a bare minimum.

DH and I both work on Macs. We have a family laptop and he has a school Chromebook.
He’s not fussy about clothes (Next/M&S is fine). I buy Geox trainers for him and replace them when he outgrows them or they are falling apart.

We don't really have a budget, what gets spent depends on what they want.
DS is having more spent on him this year, as he's only asked for one thing (gaming pc). DD is getting less as she got a car for her birthday, plus she's asked for little bits and pieces.

It evens out over the years.

It's really hard isn't it and to people who have it figured out it seems so easy. I've made sure this year to cut out the 'tat' to save money that way but if my son who never asks for anything the rest of the year has mentioned he would like X type trainers, I want him to be able to have them. Christmas is a big deal for me, not just presents, it's the whole holiday period, family activities, cuddled up movies etc, I completely agree presents shouldn't be everything but when can you spoil them if not at Christmas?

Honestly it's not my children, it's me and I know it is. My children appreciate absolutely everything and getting any ideas out of them for Christmas presents is difficult as they don't want to ask for too much. Like I said I'm in therapy for it, I was just looking to see if anyone had any tips aside from just saying no. Trauma developed minds don't think the same as others unfortunately so it's just not as easy as it is for some other people.

I’ll be around £200 per child with the older getting more. It just worked out that way. I didn’t plan to spend so much as they’re just 4 & 2 and will get spoilt by grandparents too and already have lots of toys. It’s probably a bad idea to wander around Smyths just putting items in I think they’ll like but that’s what I did this morning. It was already getting much busier than normal so glad no more shopping to do.

Went a bit overboard last year reining it in this year. Probably around the 200 mark. He's only 7 and it's his birthday this week also so it's more than enough.

I abhor the trend for stockings. I used to have one as a child, but they were very much token gifts (socks, animal-shaped soap, chocolate coins, an orange, etc. But now a "stocking filler" is anywhere between £1 and £25+++ (especially for skin care/makeup!), which is abysmal!
Cost aside, the ecological damage of all that tatty shite is worrying. My wife and I are far, far from perfect, but we are conscious of the environmental damage.

We spent about £120 - give or take - on our 4 year old. More than I'd like to spend, tbh. But more than 50% of that is second hand.

However, my kid is only 4. I appreciate that teens want/expect/need more. I'm dreading trying to shop on a budget with a teenager!

4 Yr old and almost 2 Yr old. Planned £250 each but 4 Yr old has £330 and 2yr old £280. And i think that's PLENTY for their age. I'd say as they get older 10+ then it'll have to be a lot more because of tech & branded items

Wow some of these amounts are crazy! I’m spending about £60 on my 6 year old.

4 Yr old and almost 2 Yr old. Planned £250 each but 4 Yr old has £330 and 2yr old £280. And i think that's PLENTY for their age. I'd say as they get older 10+ then it'll have to be a lot more because of tech & branded items

Different people have different priorities and different disposable income so that makes a huge difference.
we have spent £600 on our 4 year old but he's an only child. If I had more then he wouldn't get as much. Your kids will have a lovely day!

Completely agree my kids don't ask for much i like them to have nice clothes and trainers and is our money its worked for we don't get in debt for it and i love christmas too .

DD is 11 and will receive a theatre ticket (ex pays for the second ticket and they go together, he pays travel and snacks), some
games, chocolates etc, plus little things in her stocking, and a couple of frivolous clothing items she is desperate for and that I managed to pick up inexpensively second hand. About £100 all together.

Just to add, when she needs things like a new bike, her dad will pay for that and get it when it’s needed. It will be second hand but decent. She doesn’t have to wait for Christmas or birthday for things like that, that she needs.

I would definitely choose an experience over gifts if I could only afford one. But imo a family trip away isn't a gift to a child, because we all get to go. We do a lot of trips but they're separate to christmas gifts for us.

I would say if you can afford it, and you want them to have it, then where's the harm?

Not very much.

They get things they need throughout the year. I see Christmas as family time, not a day to spend a fortune on stuff they don't need.

The get a stocking, clothes and a couple of toys. That's it. I'd rather put the money towards a holiday and spend time together rather than on materialistic stuff they'll break in 5 mins.

I set a budget of around 700 per child but it could be more and could be less.
I totted up what I spent on dd12 out of interest and it’s at 592.
i have spent less on Ds10 but Im not entirely finished yet.