How much do you spend on dc's at Christmas?

[justalittlelemondrizzle]

I spend about £70 - £100 each. They're 8 & 10. But from what I've seen at Christmas time -on facebook- eek other parents spend hundreds.

I don't know what I'd spend £500+ on either- but if the DC have got expensive hobbies (horseriding? Gaming etc?) I can imagine it would mount up.

I started coming to £200 per child (teenagers)

£100 on main gift and then another £100 on stocking fillers, some vouchers or cash.

We have a strict rule about not posting photos of gifts on social media, I find it very tasteless.

I'm lucky enough not to worry about how much I spend particularly but I refuse to either buy tons of unnecessary crap just to say I bought it or to refuse to buy just so I can be sanctimonious about how little I spent.

My DC get to request 1 present that they really want and then I'll add a few bits to it. Back when they were little it was the same but they could also ask santa for 1 thing they really wanted as well.

I don't understand why people feel the need to post pictures of piles of presents on FB but then again, I don't understand why people post most things on FB.

We usually spend around £120. Including Lego advent calendar, stockings, one present from Santa and one from us. The baby will only have £30 allocated to her this year. The toddler also get £20 from us to buy a present for their sibling and something from the supermarket for the foodbank.

Tiger town a combination of both I think.

My dc are toddlers so don't ask for anything, I haven't set a budget just did a list of things I know they'd like. I think it works out at about £200 each.

My Facebook is usually full of photos of massive piles of presents or friends who spend £50 but forget to mention the grandparents who spend ££££.

My dc will have a few gifts off family members but not a great deal.

tigertown
I'm in my late fifties, own my house and am retiring shortly ...so Yes, I have disposable income.

I quite like looking at photos of what other people have bought .

I don't buy huge amounts, but I do spend quite a bit. I think it can add up quickly, even with just a few things.

For example, thinking of presents I bought previous Christmas (can't remember the exact costs, but rough estimate): dressing gown and pjs (£40), a Lego set (£50), a doll outfit (£20), a hardback book (£15), a box of chocolates (£4), a jar of sweets (£4), swimming goggles (£8), a set of colouring pens and pad of nice paper (£18), a Christmas jumper (£20) I wouldn't call that particularly excessive, it isn't "piles of crap", and everything was appreciated and enjoyed.
And yes, I could probably have bought similar things much cheaper, but the fact is, those specific things that I wanted to give cost close to £200.
So I can easily see how people could spend double and triple that.

I feel we strike the right balance of luxury without excess (but I would think that, I suppose! )

We have a large amount of disposable income but I don’t choose to spend it on £££ of Christmas presents. Other people choose differently!

I don't do it by cost as such we each get 10 presents and we go round taking in turns to open a present this way the opening takes about an hour and a half long enough to feel worth it and short enough so we don't get bored. Everyone gets to appreciate the thing they have just unwrapped before they move onto the next and I get photos of everything.
I do find every year the budget is a little less and the things they want cost more but every year they say its the best christmas ever.

Mine are 6 and 3 and I have budged and spent £150 on my 6 year old and around £100 on my 3 year old and I find that covers a nice main present and extras including stocking fillers.

*TigerTown
*
We don’t have a ‘ridiculous’ income between the both of us but we have good wages coming in.

We’re not clothes lovers except for when we’re buying DS clothes and we very rarely go out out!

Our main expenditures outside of the home are our touring Caravan, holidays abroad and Xmas! I save for Christmas with Park so it’s spread over the entire year. He doesn’t get masses of presents for his birthday either!

I don’t feel pressured into big spending on our son at Xmas like some I see on Facebook I just enjoy it!

We spend somewhere between £25 and £40 on each plus around £10-15 on a stocking. I make it look even rather than worrying about the cost too much as a lot of it ends up being shared anyway. They also have grandparents and an uncle and aunt who all spend probably around £20 so that's probably equivalent to some posters who spent £100-£150 per child. I do feel a bit mean reading some of these posts though!

I don’t know anyone who spends £150 or less, with teenagers this amount gets you nothing, a game itself is £50+ make up £20 plus etc... sports equipment/gear £60 plus etc...

When mine were little we could spend £100 and it looked it’s worth, we cannot now and, more so our kids (8,11) aren’t into the things you can buy in smyths and toysRus etc...

I wish I knew what to buy mine. £200ish usually. There have been years when they have had a new laptop at Christmas but they'd have had that anyway. The same for the year DS got an old banger for Xmas (also his birthday).

DD on a gap year has asked to have a BSL course. I sometimes wish I had more materialistic children but generally they have been happy with an empty pot and broken balloon.

We are quite well heeled and it wouldn't be unreasonable of them to want or ask for more.

I buy through the year while mine are still relatively young (6 and 4). I’ll get a lot of bits in January sales and just start stocking up as I go along if I see things that I know they will still want come next Christmas (arts and craft type things, footballs etc) As a rough estimate, it’s probably close to 400 each child by the time I’ve added up absolutely everything I’ve bought throughout the year.

I am spending around £60 on my dd1 (6) , ex is paying half towards her main present. DD2 (2) i'm spending around £50 .

I wouldn't mind spending more if there was something they really wanted and know it will get more expensive as they get older.

I don't care what anyone else spends but don't get the need to buy loads of presents for the sake of it so they have a massive pile .

Dd 3 and so she gets a huge pile of presents from Santa - because kids toys are bulky! Last year I spent about £150 and we had masses of presents - mostly because I bargain hunt and it was at least £400 worth if I had paid full price. I also don't tend to buy toys during the year and she did need some age appropriate toys so got a bit more. Also add art supplies and stuff that we would use throughout the year to make the mound of pressies even bigger!

Ds15 gets more spent on him as I have to do him Santa pressies as well (I would have stopped this except dd came along) - hard to give a big pile for a teenager that is acceptable to dd that Santa has given her big brother lots of presents too! Get round this by wrapping his presents in bigger boxes! They will often be useful items such as socks and showergel so not complete splurge. will put something in his stocking that they can both play as well - last year it was marble run to entertain them both for an hour or so on Xmas day which went down well.

Anyhows so gifts from Santa and then from me will probably equate to dd3 - £200 and ds15 £300.

I ain't rich - pretty poor to be fair but I go without nearly everything to do that as that's what I choose to do. I never go into debt though and dd's dad pays half of hers.

£200-800, one teen dc. It depends what they want that year - one year he wanted a gaming computer so that was quite expensive. Other years he's happy with a selection of games and random sweets. He's not interested in any of the new consoles that are out now so it'll be a cheaper Christmas this year. We do have a large household income with no debt, and don't really have to save particularly towards Christmas. No one in our family uses Facebook.

It depends really. Last year about 700 euro on my son and my two daughters about 3 - 400.

DS needs a new bike and helmet of which is about £150. He hasnt asked for a bike or helmet but they're things I want to buy him.

His dream is to get a nerf go kart. He literally gets so, so, excited thinking about it. Its £220 usually but got it on deal for £180. If its not played with I'll resell it for £100 on gumtree this time next year.

Then hes got some toys, board games, lego (which is £60!!)

So it all adds up very quickly.

Ive spent £500 on him and £90 on DD who will be 15 months.

I just buy whatever is on my kids list and a few extras so it changes every year.

My son who's 4 has autism and can't talk and isn't into toys At all so really we only buy stocking stuff for him and then we do a day out to something like legoland etc as he loves rides.

My daughter wants for England but this year she's into lol dolls, lol everything more like.

But there nans, aunties etc are getting all that mostly as this year we are going to Disneyland Paris as there Main present, coming back on xmas eve as my son loves theme park. So this year is a big present, next year it will be less

I don’t know anyone who spends £150 or less, with teenagers this amount gets you nothing

It's these sorts of comments that make feel awful and don't help.

Of course it gets you things!

I love looking at other peoples Christmas pictures, mainly the wrapping paper, I'm a sucker for shiny paper and well wrapped boxes.

I enjoy buying dd presents, as does my mum and MIL. So collectively dd gets a lot of money spent on her.

I dont get into debt for Christmas, I dont have credit cards, I dont do buy now pay later. Everything is paid for as I buy it.

In the past I have bought dd things for the sake of her having something else to open, basically tat that is broken with 5 mins or doesnt get played with.

I have spent more this year than in previous years though but dd (8) only has 10/11 presents to open off me and DH under the tree, it is all things that she has asked for or shown a real interest in. I have had to try really hard to stop myself from just buying things because 'ooh look a sale'.

@backinthatdress Disney land just before Xmas sounds magical i hope you all have a wonderful time.
My mum wants to take dd next November, so in the process of pricing it all up 🙈🙈