To ask how much you plan on spending on DCs at Christmas?

[Snowflakes1122]

I ask because dc10 seems to have a lot of friends getting the iPhone 6 or 7 for Christmas. I'm talking 9/10 year old kids!

I was planning on spending £150 per child (we have 3 dcs)

What do you think is an acceptable amount to spend on your children at Christmas?

inapickle - my daughter is a keen flautist, plays in two orchestras. Wants to take GCSE music, and possibly to A level too. Her current flute (a 30 year old hand me down) will last her to grade 5, but is not good enough to go beyond that. Her current flute teacher, previous flute teacher and bloke at the flute shop today said she will need a flute with a silver head piece. The cheapest I can get this is about £800+. We have said this is very expensive, so it will have to be her main birthday and Christmas present, but is something she needs to pursue her flute to the higher grades.

I'm a flautist. You don't need to spend anything like £800 on a flute. My first was about £200 (and I still have and play it 30+ years later). I have another that I used for grades 6-8 which was superb (silver head joint) and bought second hand for about £300, plus a full overhaul (approx £100). Again, I still have it and play it and it's still got a lovely sound. I've a third that I use as a spare when the others are in for maintenance. That was also second hand (sold by a professional concert flautist) for less than £400.

Shop around.

Thanks Hecan't
FWIW if we're playing musical top trumps we bought DC a £2000 instrument. Doesn't mean he gets the same amount spent every year and we didn't call it a christmas present. As PP have said Christmas presents are proportionate, fun and useful- we don't save or compress all our giving onto a day which is already special enough.

Just be grateful your child doesn't have their eye on a £30k harp.

It varies here from year to year.

Two years ago we were absolutely broke and christmas was extremely frugal.

Last year things were better, much better. My two girls got a laptop each plus other things so they had quite a lot spent on them. Dp's oldest got cash (she's an adult) and a few other things, his youngest got what she asked for 3DS and a whole ton of other stuff.

This year, we still could afford to spend that but we aren't. We've put a limit of £250 each on them. His oldest has her 21st next week and my oldest was 18 this year too. It's been an expensive year!

So far, the oldest (and her boyfriend) are getting money, snuggle blankets, chocolates and a bottle of drink.
My teen is getting a printer which she asked for.
13 year old is getting make up and money
11 year old is mainly getting lego.

I'm hoping that I will be well enough that we can all go out and do something Christmassy in December. Enforced bed rest is driving me bloody insane and I am spending more time on Amazon than is healthy for my bank balance!

All in all we will spend in excess of 4k by the beginning Jan. We don't have debt, don't even own a credit card.

Gifts for numerous people, Christmas dinner (£229 for the 4 of us) We would normally go to MIL, however the selfish woman has decided to go to abroad instead and leave us to fend for ourselves, but for me and SIL we decided to eat out this year instead.

Christmas dinners and hosting will also cost, pantos x2, and Disney On ice for ds2, Christmas festivals, various family activities (this year I've booked polar express and beamish, Christmas take at Alnwick gardens, owever these is
Work night outs etc...

We run a children's football team, so we have arranged a camp fire night with Santa and his elf visiting (coaches brining gifts) which will include smores and hot chocolate, the cost of this thonis relatively inexpensive.

We also go winter ice skating every year and as a family we do the Boxing Day dip

We then travel to my hometown, hotels and all the costs that comes with this.

Yes it's a great cost, but family is everything to us, so not only do we do a lot of activities over the 7 week period, we get to spend some quality one on one time with all our friends and family. More so me, as I only got to see my own family last year twice and that was at Christmas and for a family wedding.

I feel like a complete tight arse after reading this thread, I just can't comprehend spending upwards of £1000 on a kid's christmas present, but then I have never had that kind of money to spend..

I will spend about £75 most years on DD (17) but thats all I can afford (single parent, low income). Christmas dinner will done on less than £30 and I will spend about £10 on my mum.

My two are 2 & 3.

The 3 year old will have a new bike so about £100 then maybe £20 for stocking fillers.

The 2 year old will get a bar to hook her balance bike to ours bought with vouchers plus the same on stocking fillers.

We will probably spend around £100/150 per child. We have two, age 7 and age 1 so we will probably spend slightly more on the eldest as she will have a list whereas the baby won't care & will probably be happiest with a box and some wrapping paper if she is anything like her big sister at that age!

I think as they get older it's a lot easier to spend more-stuff isn't cheap! But at the same time, if you have raised your kids to be grateful for whatever they get and not be spoilt brats I don't think it matters if you spend £10 or £1,000!

£250 maximum.

Buying a bike for 3 year old and ikea train set for the baby, who will be nearly 1.

Will also buy them a party outfit and new pjs each.

They don't need anything at all. I realise how lucky they are.

I don't really have a budget (not because i'm extremely well off, just because I buy a few things the dc would like rather than aiming for an arbitrary amount).

2dc who are getting an Xbox1 between them as their main gift (£300ish).

They'll have a good handful of smaller presents too, plus stockings.

Probably about £600 - £800 on the both of them.

I have 1DS 6 and we don't really have a budget we just Buy him the things we think he would like

I save each month into a separate account for Christmas. I have two children and spend about £300 on them each. However they don't get much else. Grandparents and Aunt buy a gift each. Nothing else.

However as of next year things may be very different. Dh has been made redundant and unless he finds work soon we will have to use that money for bills each month instead

Normally around £150 on our only child. This year though DP wants a PS4 (£300) so we're going to have that as a family present and DS will probably have £100 spent on him. He loves all the Star Wars and ninjago Lego sets though which are £££. You can easily spend £100 on a couple of Lego sets and stocking fillers.

Probably around £250-300 for each DC. Some years one will have more e.g. last year DD had a netbook but it'll all balance out eventually.
I then spend around £100 on my younger sister and £150 between my mum and step-dad (who do loads for us throughout the year).

Depends on the year really. Might be a bit tight one year (this year) other years may be able to spend a lot more. Kids always give me a list then I pick one or two things from it.
They actually love having all the family together and eating the yummy food more then anything else.
Presents are a bonus.
So between £50 - £150.

Hecan't can you please send me a link to a second hand flute with silver head for less than £400, as if you can I will buy it now! Please.

Interestingly, I have spoken to two flute teachers, a specialist flute shop, a second music (but not specialist flute) shop, the music teacher where I work, a friend who is a keen musician ... all agree that is the figure I'm looking at.

So please, if you can do it for half the price... please, please, please show me where!

It's not a fucking competition.

Everyone has a different budget, different circumstances and different incomes. Some people will be spending £2000 on very expensive gifts, some will be spending £20 if that as it's all they can afford.

Neither is right, neither is wrong. This competitive Christmas crap really pisses me off and fuels the drive for buying plastic tat and crappy gifts so that there is a mountain of "stuff" to open on Christmas morning, whether it is wanted or not.

I have three DC are age 7 to 11. I'll be aiming to spend around £300-£400 on them in total. DH and I don't like to go OTT on Christmas presents.

About £100

Last year I spent about 6k on my then 2 year old. So I'm expecting about 8k this year. This doesn't include clothes or anything, I'm not cruel.

So far have spent 49k

You should spend whatever you want to and can afford on your child regardless of the opinions ( mostly bitchy and snidy) of those on mumsnet.

£30
And second hand toys probably as I've found some nice wooden ones on a selling site.

Agree Luna, the whole competition thing is sickeningly tbh, as is the pathetic 49k PA comments

You spend what you can afford, in my tired brain last nigh I misread the comment, we spend what we can afford