how much do you spend on presents at xmas?

[NordicPrincess]

how old are your children and what do you buy them? how much do you spend?

Oh my... I was about to go at the amounts spent but then I stopped and addded up - I spend about £25 on DD's 'big' present, (playmobil this year - bought in the sale) then another £20 on a stocking, then about £10 on new jimjams and £5-10 on a new storybook for Christmas Eve, plus chocs for her advent calendar pockets... so about £60-75 in the end.

And I still think God, that's a lot!

To me, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, about God becoming Man - birthdays are for going mad with gifts because that's personal to YOU - that's the way it's always been in my family and I like it that way.

And I would never give a pet for Christmas or Birthday - can't think of anything worse for the poor creature, imho...

I asked 3yo DS what he wanted for Christmas earlier.

(In my defence, my second baby is due in early November, so Christmas needs to be sorted now).

He said "just some new chattering teeth Mummy. Mine don't chatter pwoperly any more".

So potentially I could get away with 99p.

However, I'm a Christmas junky, and love buying people presents, so I'll prob spend a small fortune.

My DD is 8y and we have no set budget for her Christmas presents. It depends on many things at the time and circumstances, etc. It is generally around £150-200 including everything she gets, but is sometimes more esp as she gets older. One year is was much much more as she recieved a digital piano - and that was not her only gift. We would have bought it anyway, but it was around Christmas, so it was more sense to give it as a gift. But she also recieved a few other gifts as well.

i think they key is that we dont spend more than we can afford - EVER.

Why poor creature?

Why not give a pet?

Sometimes I wish I was one of our rats, they are the best cared for, most indulged pets on the planet, I'm sure!

It doesn't matter when you get the pet, so long as you have planned for it, and accept it into your home, and adapt your life accordingly, and can afford it.

I want Booboobedoo's DS for Christmas!

About £200 on each child last year which was far too much. They were 9 and 3 and also received presents from three sets of in-laws / grandparents so there was no need.

IMO children do not being spoilt because they recieve too many gifts, being spoilt is about expectations, behaviours and manners. And that comes from a lot more than recieving gifts.

I have seen very spoilt children who come from families where there is limited money and not so many gifts.

Likewise children who have lots who are perfectly lovely and not disaffected in anyway at all too.

I spend about £200 each on 3&5 yr old DS's and DP and DP spends the same on me.

We spoil everyone rotten at Christmas on all aspects.

I grew up to poor to know where my next meal was coming from but Christmas was always a time for everyone getting spoiled and getting their wishes and that's how t will be in my house.
I save during the year though i have already paid my Butcher for a Turkey, Ham, Sausage Meat and Bacon, i have 2 lots of Presents. I love Christmas it is my favourite time of year by miles.

Ragowrt - my exp as a child is different to what my DD experiences as my financial situation is very different to what it was when I was growing up. However the sentiments and love are the same, and the appreciateiveness of my DD compared to when i was little are the same too. Nothing is expected, all is appreciated and thanked for.

£150 per child all in (We have two who are not technically children any more). Included in that would be stocking fillers of things they "need" (eg underwear, toiletries..) They both have their birthdays either side of Xmas so get another £150 spent then. We go for a max of £10 for adults in the family.

thankfully the dc are too young (5+3) to have a list of things they want.
Last year I asked ds1 what he wanted for Christmas and he looked at me as if I was an idiot and said "pwesents, mummy". This year he asked for some Knex of his own (following a happy holiday to a house where there was a big box). As it appears to be £20 for a big tub, it may well be turning up under the Christmas tree.
Ds2's all time favourite present is a pack of 3 Thomas train t shirts at £5 from Sainsbury's, which he has demanded to wear in rotation all summer.
I know they are going develop a need for fancy electronic stuff; just very glad not yet.
The hardest person to buy for is DH, who never wants anything. If pushed he usually comes up with running socks. This is still better than my mum. I buy garden tokens and pretend I don't know she spends it on manure for the garden...

When I was growing up, I was bought, not loved.
I demanded, and got, and was a horrid spoiled bitch, as a teen, not a child.

Yes, DD gets at Christmas, but she's loved all year round, and there's the difference.

Christmas day in our house is fun.
Presents, but also singing/dancing/silly games/wearing cracker hats/cooking together/snuggling for a film.

In my home it was a huge amount of presents and then, oh, that's it, well, other than my Dad being horrible about me having the presents, and my Mum saying she'd buy me more stuff if I didn't make a scene.

Then I'd say I wanted X and Y, all the while wanting a cuddle.

I still remember the year I said I wanted £90 Versace jeans (I was 17) and got them, plus another couple of hundred quids worth of stuff on top, and all for 'behaving' on Christmas day. (that's after the presents)

It makes me feel sick.

Usually try to spend around £100 each child,(we have 3) thats a main present from us and a stocking from Santa. If one wanted an expensive present ie: bike, Ds then we would do that and they would still get a stocking. Dont mind if it goes over a bit.

I do have to make sure they have the same number of presents, as middle child goes around counting how many they each have!

Rest of family get about £10 each.

ICECREAM24 - we have grown up nieces and nephews, some with partners and 1 with children. We still give them money but ones with partners get a token box of chocolate between them. We dont buy for the 1 with children as such, but get the little ones something instead and she gets the token gift with her partner.

DC 7 and 4 this year. Big present about £40 each, if either wants something bigger, we go in with the grandparents, eg DS wants a maxi micro scooter which cost about £87 so will go in with my parents. DD wants one of those awful disembodied head and shoulders that you do appalling things to with brushes and make up.

Stocking and advent stuff probably about £30 each. I love getting the stocking stuff, some stuff freebies eg giveways from DH's work, most stuff about £1-2 but the odd item thats a bit more ( poking out the top, natch ).

I have 3 dd's aged nearly 9, 6 and 18 months, This year we will spend about £50 - 60 on each child. Maybe less for the 18 month old as theres nothing she actually needs and we have so many pre school toys we are drowning under them. Couples get a joint present - chocs and wine or something like that, and other children get money to spend on what they want unless they have a present request seeing as they are teenagers.

DCs are 5 & 6. Dh and I spend about £75-100 on each of them (including approx. £25 for stocking fillers). Other members of the family spend about £100 on them, sometimes we ask them to club together and buy them something 'big' like a bike or a DS.

They are not hard done by!

Mugglewump - I'm sure your rats are very happy rats indeed, but I feel weird about getting what amounts to a new member of the family (how I feel about pets, anyway) as a present. To me it's more something that you do as a family, as a joint thing.

And in some cases (again, not you personally, I'm sure), introducing an animal into the house on Christmas day/birthday when there are so many other distractions/overexcitement/noise seems to me to be rather cruel.

Probably just my problem.

Bout £1000 each.

And we do pantos, days out etc.

Not much, £30-50 each or so (5 of them), we feel that is enough and they get abit more at birthdays. We could save and spend more but don't see it as neccesary.

LoveCat-you have a point, but I can assure you, our rats were well thought out pets, and are well looked after.
I have one on my shoulder as I type!

Buying a puppy for a two year old is very different and I agree an awful idea.

:) Rats are fab.

I agree.
Well sometimes, when she's not eating my hair and making her 'I want sweetcorn', noise.

I can't resist, I'm going to get her some sweetcorn.

Not much. Genuinely shocked by the amounts on here by lots of people.

For each of the kids: about £40 on a biggish present, and £20 for bits and pieces (cheap DVD's, sweets, maybe a book, bits of toiletries). For my OH, something approx £25 with maybe another £5 of daft stocking stuff. Never any more than this for Xmas or birthdays for any of them.

If they needed big items, we clubbed moneys with the grandparents or joined two kids' presents together (two boys sharing an Xbox or similar) or did both; or when older, they agreed to put a small contribution in from their savings accounts - which they were quite happy about.

I grew up in a house where the parents were well off, but didn't believe in splurging at Christmas, or branded clothing, or theme parks (went to Alton Towers for the first time in my life last month) or meals out (ate out with my parents on my brother's 18th birthday for the first time).

I did, and still do, think they were tight and mean.

There was no need for it. There is no need to make a child go without nice things when you can provide.

My friend didn't get any of that stuff either, but her dad was a builder and they simply couldn't afford it. He used to say "I'd love to, chuck, but we can't. You know why." My dad used to say "It's a bloody waste of money" (which to me meant that I was a bloody waste of money)

If you can spend it, do spend it. not to the point of spoilt-bratdom, but certainly you should elavate yourself away from the raised-eyebrows-of-stinginess.

And to the disapprovingly stingy parents of under6's - let me tell you, once they are out of the infants, they don't just randomly want, they care.