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?

Oh this is very interesting, I really didn't know other people spent so differently to me!

I aim to spend around £20-30 per child for a main present, maybe a little more if there is a specific thing they really want. Plus some smaller bits and stocking fillers. They are only 5 and 7, and will get lots of other presents from family too. Dd would be happy with books and craft things, ds would be excited about a few little pound shop toys!

It's the culture in our extended family on both sides. We're all quite happy with things like second hand books and home made gifts. Having grown up with this being the norm I don't feel I'm missing out or anything, I love Christmas!

I totally expect to spend more when they're older though.

200-250 on the older 3 (3,7+8)

100 on baby (9 weeks at Christmas)

biscuit your xmas sounds ideal, I would love it - if our family pitched in more. But they dont its all left to us.
At 5 I could get away with many more gifts sourced from car boots, freecyle, charity etc. Now mine are a little older they have more specific wants.

About £100 each I guess. I limit at about £80 for a main present, then some stocking things. I tend to go a bit overboard on the stocking fillers though so may go over the £20...I put socks and pants etc in so all useful stuff. Dh doesn't want anything this yr and I can't think of anything, so will get some fun little bits and keep an eye open for the tool kit he has had his eye on.

For DS's first Christmas, also his birthday, I spent £8.48 on him. He got a Mr Man book and the alphabet book.

ILs and my mother had bought a lot, I was hosting Xmas, had given up work (ds was poorly), had bought an expensive house, and dh had some big fees outstanding. If they hadn't come in by Feb we'd have been paying the mortgage from my savings so they were ringfenced.

It was a great Christmas. Nobody guessed we had a budget Asda turkey and a cheap Christmas pud.

soontobemrsmckeown Fri 28-Oct-16 23:00:09

wow!! I didnt even know such a service existed!!

Anyway I beat you all because when I was a child I had £0 spent on me ever at Christmas so if I want to spend my own, earned, unaccounted for cash making my kids lives different I bloody well will

I am with you there RJ and you cant judge on these threads. EG someone was asking on another thread about buying their child a games console Q loads of posters " I wouldn't bla bla bla all po faced and superior - after all there is the family games console" !! Oh a family games console eh??

Or the " I spend 30p on an orange and a bit of wood for them to wittle for the poor children in Calais" but then they go on to say the dc will actually get sackloads from other family members.

Moneys tight this year. Im only spending £10 on my dd. Ive bought three lovely toys now (fisher price cookie jar in tesco was £7 was my best purchase, a large ty buddy black and white dog for £1 (yes £1!!!!). and a book) theres some bargains out there. Dd will be 5 months and needs nothing. For my dsis dc i spend around £10 ish each, might be £15 as getting a few fun bits. Its about spending time with each other that matters. Its going to be amazing xmas this year. Cant wait!!!!!!! (Hums xmas carols)

I haven't even begun to get Christmas presents yet. We don't have a set budget either but maybe we should. Won't be more than around 100 on each child (3 of them).

About £100. She's five. I've already bought her scooter, she's been hankering after one since the start of summer and I picked it up in the sale with 70% off.

I refuse to get into debt for Christmas, so shop all year round for everyone else's gifts to spread the cost.

inapickle

So someone says that they spent 1k on their child's Christmas present, to which you said they were "an idiot" because "Because no child should have that amount spent on him! Even if you have unlimited funds. Have you secured your future and his?"
Without knowing what this present was, whether it was one present or many. Simply spending 1k on a child, makes them an idiot.

But then you go on to say that you spent £2,000 on your child.

"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."

So why are you not "an idiot"? Because you didn't call it a Christmas present? Really!?! So you got your children 2k gifts and then criticise people who spent half of that on a special occasion.

The Original person never said they spend 1k every year, or even whether it was for something really special or not... and you didn't care. You said categorically that " no child should have that amount spent on him! ". Apart from the fact that you obviously do spend that amount on your child, can you not see that you are coming across as very judgy?

When ds1 was younger we could spend very little, give him a ball and a football strip and he was in his element, he's been like this before he could walk, I remember when he was able to get his first football boots he actually sobbed now he's older he's still the same however it's more expensive.

Ds2 7, is like no other child I know, since he was a baby he hated toys, he loved taking things apart and re making them and loved music also, I've spend thousands on toys for him, most are all unplayed with and still in the original wrappers so about 3 years ago we stopped buying him toys as the gift is supposed to be for him, not what society thinks he should have, so gifts for him where raspberry PI, hot wire sets, laptop, game coding etc... he also loves building his own lights and also builds music speakers with lights, he's a very creative little boy, he loves real science experiments also, these however are expensive, he's our little DJ Gadget

Basically what I'm saying it does get more expensive as they get older, it's also down to the children's individual tastes and needs.

RJ you didn't beat me I'm afraid, growing up I was the same, sometimes I even got the belt when I asked why all my cousins had gifts and my parents had a ladder full of booze

Like you my children will never face this.

Mrs Jaime whats a rasberry pi? We got hot wires last year but it hasn't been touched however my dd often comes to things later. Sounds super creative though your little boy!!

altik Sat 29-Oct-16 09:25:01

Quite and this sort of thing reminds me of my rich cousins....give overly frugally but spend like mad every single other day of the year

I'm curious as to what present you can get for a 5 year old that costs £750, though? Genuinely curious and not judgy.

I would love to buy my kids iPads but we have less than no money as I'm not working at the moment.

On a different note, have been trying to declutter and the thought of bringing yet more stuff into the house fills me with dread.

I like to know what they want now so I can get the best prices. The supermarkets have the sales and 3 for 2 now. Argos is great for 3 for 2. I pick up boys and pieces from september tbh because I find it less stressful to slowly get stuff together. Come December everything is full price too. I spend £130 for each child. Dc4 is a baby so £30.one main present, a walker and a soft toy

I'm in the miser camp, or I try to be, and that's mainly because I'm uncomfortable with my children thinking they should expect 'just because'. We are not a Christian family so to them Christmas is a time of year they are bought presents for no particular reason.

As an adult, the reasoning seems to be because we have been encouraged to over a relatively short period by marketers.

The notion of spending loads on Black Friday and Easter seem ludicrous now, but if the marketing of (often guilt laden) consumerism is anything like it has been over the last 30 years, we'll be repeating 'Christmas' multiple times yearly.

What does this teach our children?

I mainly partake in gift giving because I feel guilty if I don't. When my children are old enough I'd like to encourage them to think of Christmas as a time to share their time and resources with others less fortunate.

In my opinion the less fortunate need my money less than Toy's R Us or more than my children need yet more 'things'.

Nevertheless you'll see me running around on the 24th like everyone else having felt pressured to give back to all that give to us!

It is tough!

I do try and keep in mind that my happy memories of Christmas, even as a child were all based around family time, events and laughter! Presents never feature in my memories and surely good memories are all that really matters?

altik
It was a one off purchase. It wasn't a 'gift' but something he needs and tbh doesn't particularly enjoy but he plays to a good standard and playing it has opened many doors and broadened his horizons.
There's a world of difference between making one off purchases a family can afford and setting up a pattern of consumerism and needless spending. No 5yo needs £1000 presents yearly. That's hardly a controversial statement. As Bibbity said up thread, in response to another posters comment its relative to what you can afford:
Well, no, that absolutely isn't the case. Some people put themselves in debt over Christmas. If you have to save up for it through the year (without saving for other things like pensions or holidays or home improvements or whatever) then you are spending more than you can.

• the less fortunate need my money MORE than Toys R Us.....

And I say all this as someone that could afford to spend 1k on each child comfortably.

I'm also uncomfortable with the notion that the biggest spenders in my circle always seem to be the poorest.

I think we need to really have a discussion about guilt marketing.

Just read my post back. It was meant to say 3 DC's, not DS's (eldest is dd).
I buy them clothes for Xmas because through the year I just buy basic clothing, but at Xmas I get high quality, nice stuff that lasts longer. They always get an annual supply of underwear & socks, so I probably buy around 45 pairs of boxers and loads of socks. I buy a onesie for them to lounge around in, but they don't wear pyjamas to bed - they just like onesies. I don't buy laptops, phones, tvs etc. They get money for their birthdays to buy those things if they wish.

Maybe I have spent 49K

Zippidy

A musical instrument like a piano? A horse? A boat?

I know families that are musical or horsey that have bought their children a new piano, or their own horse at not much older... usually it has been to fit in with a family lifestyle rather than a random gift, if that makes sense. And the boy who had a boat was a couple of years older.. but dad sailed, they did sailing at the weekend. It was their family hobby.

We have a 3yo DD and this year we've probably spent about £150 on presents and £10-15 on bits for her stocking. She also has a parcel to open on Christmas Eve containing pyjamas, a new dressing gown (which she needed anyway) and a book which probably cost about £20 in total.

I shop for Christmas throughout the year (I think I bought the first present in May this year!) to spread out the cost, which I've found makes a big difference. I would never risk going into debt or put pressure on myself to spend a certain amount, if money was tighter I would simply spend less. If we were wealthier, maybe I'd spend more, I'm not sure.

My comments are about habits and expectations: what people are planning to spend and normally spend.
Isit I think we need to really have a discussion about guilt marketing.

Here here

I don't think guilt marketing makes people give more than a satsuma and chocolate coin. It's down to people's own ideas of Christmas and beliefs. For some, their own childhood was crap so they work hard to ensure their own children don't suffer that, for others they don't believe in spending anything to teach a moral lesson, others waste money monthly so have nothing to spend later in the year whilst others simply enjoy treating their children etc.

I give to charity regularly, both time and money but there is no way I'd punish my children by saying no gifts as someone else needs it more. I'm their parent and they come first.

As for saying the person who is buying a tv for a child is a bad parent, words fail me. It's a tv, not a gun or deadly weapon. There are very few households without a tv so it's not something special.

As long as it's not about debt and the person has paid their bills, what they spend their salary on after that is down to them. Be it weekly wine at £10 or £500 on Christmas gifts for a child. No child needs that much but no adult need many things either but we all buy stuff that is non essential.