aibu to spend less than £50 on dc xmas presents?

[GinAndSonic]

Well, it doesnt really matter if IABU because im skint .
We dont have much spare cash. My dc are 5 and 3. We never go overboard at birthdays / christmas, so they arent used to being showered in gifts.
I have a barbie sizes wooden dolls house (no furniture or anything) that i got for a fiver in a discount clearance place that i can give dd(3), and i got a barbie with a bed etc for a tenner in the sainsburys sale. My mum has a box full of betty spaghetti toys from my sisters childhood that im going to give her too, plus books, jigsaws from charity shops. Ds (5) will get whichever action figure i can get for a tenner or so, some second hand board games, and magnitex toys (again, from my sisters childhood) and books, jigsaws from charity shops.
They arent deprived, are they?

Ya nub. Last year for DS birthday I went to pound shop with £20 and bought DS outdoor toys, kite, cars, action figures etc. he had loads to open and uses cars etc now and the outdoor stuff still going strong.

This Xmas he's asked for a very expensive lego train. I can afford it this year and so he has it.

I grantee you it won't get anymore use than the cheap stuff - but it will be used as much iyswim? Value is what it means to the child and how much it will be used - not the price tag.

Thanks for the replies, glad im not the only one, my facebook is full of people spending large sums of money on massive amounts of gifts so i was beginning to wonder if i was odd.

Last year I spent @ £16 inc p&p on a huge box of the toys off the front of Doctor Who magazine, and it was perfect for ds split between Christmas and his birthday. He had other stuff, including a huge present, and he knows this year it is not going to be as much.

Ds has a birthday within a few days of Christmas and I guess I will be spending @ £50 on each, possibly a bit more. We have some bits stashed already and I plan to go into Wilkinsons and The Works nearer the time with @£50 and get a shedload of bits to split between the two days.

This year father is in a nursing home unable to walk so he won't be able to personally shop like a dervish. However I will be taking in the Argos catalogue, letting father choose and then doing the shopping for him so I suppose the pile of plastic tat will still be as high and will still not last until the end of January.

We are not wealthy but we are certainly not on the breadline. I could find more to spend, but I can't see a reason.

btw ds 'knows' that I am in email contact with Santa, and that I have to pay for everything that Santa brings. He also has to buy presents for others out of his pocket money. I'm trying to set up good habits.

You are not odd - mine are 16 and 20 and I have a similar budget.
Xmas is about family, not stuff and what your giving them sounds fab

You are not odd. And they are likely building up big debts. It isn't sustainable for most people to spend a fortune on Christmas.

Absolutely Ace op, those toys sound great. Yes Christmas has really lost its meaning, is is turning into a big consumer fest. The number of Christmas Eve shots with piles of presents round the tree is a bit sick making tbh. Keep it to yourself.

Meant the number of Christmas Eve shots on Facebook

I still remember getting a dolls house one Christmas when I was little, it was only one of those flat pack ones made out of MDF but I loved it and don't remember anything else I got that year (probably not loads as my parents weren't flush - but why would I have needed loads when I had the dolls house I wanted!).

Sounds perfect to me.

Have asked 3dcs to do Xmas lists...DC2 has asked for Match Attacks (£1 a packet), Ninjago Lego (about £15) and a surprise. He actually said 'we have loads of stuff already'.
I have spoiled them in the past....clearly even they can see they don't need anything more. That's my lesson learnt.

When I was growing up my parents spent around £30 on us (max) and at no point did I feel deprived, even if my friends got much more.
It's not money that makes for a good gift, it's something they will love. If I give my son a gift he is more interested in the box! I say they will remember far more the experiences - like helping to make a tray of homemade sweets and cookies for Christmas, or leaving out a drink for Santa.
Have a great Christmas. X

I judge people who put themselves into debt when there is no need to, just to keep up with everyone else.

You can get some fab presents on a budget by buying second hand, keeping an eye out for bargains, trying freecycle, using the pound shop and giving them essentials you would have had to buy them anyway.

Is there anyone you can swap outgrown toys with? Or offer to buy any unwanted toys that have been outgrown?

Thing is OP, do you know your friends are spending a lot? If they are putting actual amounts, then they are very crass and you need new friends, but I know others who are just using tesco club card and nectar card points to buy their DCs gifts, so effectively spending nothing or very little. I know a few people buying things like toy kitchens, I've seen those for sale at £100, and ones for £20.

We'll buy one big and one small gift each and some stocking fillers for our DCs, then they'll each get gifts from 2 uncles, 2 sets of grandparents and 2 sets of godparents, a few other great Aunts/uncles will get bits, and it'll look like a huge pile!

You are so not unreasonable. They get some nice toys to play with, who cares how much it costs or where you got them from, they won't feel deprived. We will probably spend about £50 for each DC this year and it's surely enough.

YABU

Christmas is not a competition, and your gifts sound lovely :)

Sounds great to me, they are lovely gifts that your children will enjoy. I'm not planning to spend much on DD who will be 9 mo. As she won't know it's Xmas I thought I'd get things she needs eg clothes and wrap them up so she can play with the paper!

YANBU I always spend 50-70 each on my 5. it is plenty. I don't believe in buying them ipads etc just to keep up. We're not materialistic, kids are so grateful for what they get- even the teens! I do spend a bit more on birthdays but not loads more.

People seem to spend a lot these days! Of course there is no need to spend more than £50 particularly if you are hard up.
We are not a materialistic family. In fact the children want fewer not more things! I have no idea how I've managed to pass that on but it's helpful.

Oh if only all parents were like you OP, it would be so much better for everyone. The silliness you hear about people getting into serious debt to 'keep up with the Joneses'. It makes children into greedy little grabbers and causes no end of distress among their peers when someone has the latest gadget/bike and another doesn't.
At age 5 or 3 the little ones are thrilled with the excitement of opening their presents, not sizing up how much they cost. Second-hand or very reasonably-priced ebay stuff is fine. Our lovely neighbours have 3 dc, (6,4 and 2yrs old.) They very sensibly stick to a budget. The dad made a simply wonderful dollshouse for their little girl and she was rapt with it. The boy got a super bike (secondhand and with some paint added) while the wee one got a secondhand doll with clothes knitted/sewed by granny. Other presents were a book each, various sweets and small fun toys. This family are so lovely. The mum is sahm, and dad works all hours, so money is a bit short I should think.
But I'd say the children were as happy as any in the village with their presents.

There have been years iv spent about £20 or less and I don't feel my kids are deprived

Of course YANBU!

Don't worry about it, the toys you have in mind sound lovely. They will have a wonderful Christmas.

YANBU because its your kids, its your budget.

We do spend about £150 each on our girls (age 7 and 3) but once its all pulled out to be wrapped DH and I do tend to put stuff aside for birthdays out of it.

You are not odd. And they are likely building up big debts. It isn't sustainable for most people to spend a fortune on Christmas.

We haven't got into debt at all to pay for Christmas. Never have, never intend to. We aren't loaded, not by a long shot but we buy in the sales from spring onwards.

I think £50 is completely acceptable. I think a lot less then that would be acceptable too.

Kids have far too much stuff these days in general. My DS has way too many toys already. I'm actually dreading Xmas because I know that even though my DH and I will be moderate, others in the family will drown him in stuff.

I genuinely believe that they don't enjoy it when there is too much stuff to choose from.

The best stuff about childhood isn't the toys you get, it's the memories that you have. Your children will cherish the time you spend with them more then the stuff you give them.

My DS (3) will be getting about that spent on him and I don't think he's in any way deprived!
I've been quite good at getting things in the sales and shopping around.

All he will care about is having things under the tree to unwrap so that's what I'm going for, lots of little things to unwrap
H
DS will also have family presents so I'm not at all worried. Your dc's will have a lovely Christmas