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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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151 replies

Justanothermummyof3 · 19/11/2014 14:50

I was wondering what is the average amount a parent spends per child on Christmas presents? Me and dh don't seem to beable to agree on this and children seem to always end up with to much. This year we have cut back a bit and budgeted for £500 main presents and around £75 stocking, is this out of control?????????

OP posts:
HemlockStarglimmer · 19/11/2014 15:57

I wish I had your budget. Our daughter will have less than £100 spent on her, stocking included. And that is only because we have a small amount of people to buy for.

youmakemydreams · 19/11/2014 15:57

It's all relative really. I think £500 is a shocking amount of money on one child but some people can spend that and not miss it. I spend about £150-£200 each depending on what they have asked for.
The most Shock bit for me though is £75 on a stocking. I was saying this to dp recently that stockings to some seem to be as big as the presents. A stocking to me is something full of wee bits and sweets to keep the excitement at bay until I wake up properly.

nancy75 · 19/11/2014 15:58

Things don't spoil children, parents spoil children. Dd has friends that get sod all for Christmas and some of them are spoilt horrible kids because they are never told off or disciplined.

slithytove · 19/11/2014 16:01

£100 on kids plus stockings - they are both under 2
£200 on DH plus stocking
£25 on 8 other family members
£10 on a few random things, maybe 6
£100 on Christmas outings
£100 on tree and decs

All this plus food and drink will be around £1k, and it's cleaning us out as I'm on maternity leave.

We are all different.

DidoTheDodo · 19/11/2014 16:01

Mine have about £50 each spent on them. But it doesn't stop them knowing they are greatly loved.

iggly2 · 19/11/2014 16:01

If you can afford to why not Smile

0898 · 19/11/2014 16:04

Much less here but if I had more money I'd jolly well spend more and not give a flying fuck what anyone else thought ;)

Johnogroats · 19/11/2014 16:05

I think it's a lot. We are probably going to give DSs (8&10) a PS 4 which is about £340 as a joint present. They will probably get a few additional bits and pieces plus stockings....no more than £100 each.

We could afford to give them more but they have quite a lot. Plus we are going skiing and they may need a bit more kit.

HazleNutt · 19/11/2014 16:07

Can you afford it? If that's half your monthly income then I would say, yes, too much.
Do you think it's too much, or will your children actually appreciate the presents? I saw a thread where someone posted photos of the presents and it looked like a contents of a medium sized toy shop. Will the 5-year old really be glad to unpack Lego number 26?

itsaknockout · 19/11/2014 16:08

It depends a lot on the age of the child.£500 would not go as far on a 15 yr old as it would for a 2 yr old

RedButtonhole · 19/11/2014 16:09

£575?

Can you please tell us what you're getting them? I'm struggling to think of what to get for DS at all this year, I'd love to have £500 worth of ideas even if I can't afford all of them

I save up and pick up bits and pices throughout the year and it usually totals
between £100-£170 all in. That's what I can afford. If you can easily afford £500 each on your children then go for it! You obviously work hard to be able to afford that amount on presents and it's up to you how you spend it.

Personally I don't really budget- I go by what DS wants/needs and if I can afford it at the time, I buy it, if it so happened that everything totalled £50 I wouldn't buy extra just for the sake of it.

Original poster
Justanothermummyof3 · 19/11/2014 16:11

Thanks for the replys we have 3 dc ages 8, 5 and very soon to be 3 years old. Dd2's birthday being just before Christmas. Our Christmas bill is close to £2000 for the 3 of them, which we can afford as dh 4 hours overtime each day to pay for it! He didn't every have a good Christmas growing up, not just Christmas you could say he didn't have a good childhood in general tbh. And we go over board on Christmas, birthdays and all the time to be honest and he doesn't want our children growing up and despising us like he does his own parents. From the replys everyone is different and there's no set right or wrong answer. Last year dd2 mentioned Xmas eve that she forgot to put lego friends on her list and was like oh well put it on your birthday list. Dh rushed out to the toy shop and brought in excess of £300 worth of lego friends. I do see his point on this but have tried to explain it wasn't just not getting Xmas presents that made you feel that way it was everything.

OP posts:
TheFairyCaravan · 19/11/2014 16:11

Spend what you can afford. We have very often spent over £500 each on our two. One year it was over £1000 each, but that was because they had laptops that we had bought months before and I forgot about and bought what they normally had! Blush

This year DS1 asked for 2 things, it came to £300! I'd feel mean just putting 2 things under the tree so he's got bits and bobs as well.

DS2 will have about £600 spent on him.

GreenShadow · 19/11/2014 16:14

Well, each to their own, but I would have thought unless you had something specific to buy for that sum, it is probably too much.

We don't spend a set amount - some years it may be £50, sometimes £100, sometimes more if needed (driving lessons for a 17th birthday for example) but the average is probably about £70 (i.e. the cost of your stocking!).

Stockings tend to be cheap stuff, so probably in total a max of £20

Original poster
Justanothermummyof3 · 19/11/2014 16:15

Sorry it was dd1 with the lego friends she was 7 at the time. Using my phone and it changes the words around on me!

OP posts:
HazleNutt · 19/11/2014 16:17

4 hours overtime every day to afford this? Does he ever get to see and spend time with the DC? As you say, feeling loved and having a great childhood does not equal being bought anything you point at.

TeenAndTween · 19/11/2014 16:18

With 4 hrs overtime each day you do run the risk in the future of your children saying "we always had lots of presents at Christmas, but Dad never spent any time with us".

I hope you are also saving massively, because that amount of spend seems rather a lot. Financial security is more important than 100s of pounds of presents.

skylark2 · 19/11/2014 16:19

£75 on a stocking? You must be the sort of person who those £10 "stocking filler" gifts are aimed at. To me, that's a real present.

My DCs tend to get expensive things they both want and need, often sports equipment. DD's Christmas gifts will cost a lot more than £500 this year. DS's will cost a lot less. Last year it was the other way round. None of it started out as a "Christmas budget".

MrsCSoprano · 19/11/2014 16:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

drbonnieblossman · 19/11/2014 16:20

For what it's worth, I think your children would probably prefer to see more of their dad, wouldn't they? It's sad he is sacrificing time in place of possessions.

SteveBrucesNose · 19/11/2014 16:20

Surely a better way is % of income.

Our total Christmas bill on all gifts for all people is approx half my monhly income, which is therefore about 25% of one months household income. We see this as reasonable, because we spread the cost over 3-4 months, and have no money worries.

Different strokes for different folks, innit.

Pastperfect · 19/11/2014 16:21

As others have said what the average is is meaningless as long as you can afford it and you are happy with your spending then it is fine Smile

I spend a lot at Christmas (a hangover from a childhood where we didn't have much but somehow there was always a pile of presents on Christmas day even if it was stuff that I really needed like socks )

This year I'll probably spend double your spend on the older Dc (8&9) - there will be a games console and a laptop involved and stockings have got out of hand, I start picking bits up in September and am somehow stunned at the amount when I get it all out on Christmas Eve.

But I enjoy the whole over the top excitement of Christmas and go slightly mad with decorations, food and everything's else.

GreenShadow · 19/11/2014 16:22

But Just, surely it is not the value or number of presents which makes a good Christmas. It is family and relationships. Spending time together. Whether they have one or 5 presents shouldn't matter. If it did, then my DC must hate Christmas, but I can assure they don't.

Original poster
Justanothermummyof3 · 19/11/2014 16:27

The 4 hours overtime per day is October only not all year, sorry if I didn't make that clear. And yes he is a brilliant dad spends time with.them after work and tbh our whole life's revolve around our family. And yes to the person that asked we do save in general around £150 per week goes into our savings account. I'm not knocking dh for this just wondered what was the norm I guess. And to the person that asked what we were buying that's the tricky part, dd aged 8 already has a Tablet , ipod touch, contracted iPhone, laptop, 37 inch hd TV, sky and Netflix in her room so it gets harder every year.

OP posts:
shroomboom · 19/11/2014 16:32

I've probably spent around £100 on each stocking and will spend about the same again on a main present. Mind you dd will be getting something for way less than that this year as she's a baby Smile
I can't think what I would even get ds if we had a £500 budget. That seems a huge amount!

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