How much do you spend on your children at Christmas?

[Lilybetsey]

A FB thread about a woman who plans to spend £400 on each of her 5 children for Christmas got absolutely ripped to shreds.

My children are teenagers and I have spent about £300 on them, or main presents .. then I do an advent calendar each - usually things I have picked up over the year, costs about £100 each I think .

Doesn’t seen massively excessive ? What do you spend ?

19 month old DS - about £200. A kitchen and some CBeebies toys/Duplo, books n pjs. all adds up even though he is still little!

About £200 each, it's been more some years, less others. We have about the same on ourselves too.
Some years it's been considerably more, eg new bike etc., but, allowing for inflation, this year is probably 'average'

£150 on 1yo DS
£150 on 7yo DD
£100 on 9yo DSD2
£100 on 11yo DSS
£100 on 13yo DSD1 who unfortunately isn't on speaking terms with us this year.

We buy everyone Christmas PJ's and an outfit for Christmas day for the younger two as my three step children spend Christmas with their Mum and get presents/pjs etc from her also.

A staggering £92 each, and I haven't got Father Christmas presents yet!

Thenthere I used to do that, not bullshit. We're poor. Now they want hoodies from their favourite YouTubers, and DD wants a game for the 3DS my aunt's buying her.

MrsGollach
Christmas threads in December? Shocking!

Between 100 and 150 each for stockings, gifts from Santa and us. Get most stuff half price in oct/nov/dec, and they're primary aged so no requests for expensive tech, etc.

I will have spent between 250 and 300 but the value of the gifts will be closer to between 400 and 450 as I used Tesco vouchers and traded in my old mobile.

After spending 5 years getting debt free we've gone all out. But we've saved and budgeted and bought in the sale. The main presents alone for my kids is about 900. But we don't owe a soul a penny. It's come out of a specific Christmas savings account and it's all stuff that will be appreciated. Main gifts for teens are the killer. One hoodie alone was 50! Laptops and consoles have hiked it up.

If we didn't have it the kids wouldn't be bothered. We have a strong thinking of giving back to others and donate unused consoles toys and clothes all the time we can.

To each their own

3 DC, we aim for around £120 on each of them.

DD is 2 and we've spent about £50 but if you add experiences, outfits for Christmas parties etc it's about £150 but I don't count that. We spend more on each other at the moment because DD has so much already. I have a temporary worry that we don't get her enough but then think back to when I was a child, I don't really remember the actual presents I got it was more about the feeling and experience of Christmas (cheesy as it sounds)

£100 on each whch can go on presents or just the money (they are older now so often want money and we are not very into things). We usually go skiing although not this year and that is quite expensive - I pay. We have a nice tree. Advent calendar. Christmas lunch. In total this year I will spend about £1500 including presents for relatives, christmas lunch etc.

I am waiting to hear if any of them want a present rather than the money. They are leaving it a bit late if they want physical presents.

We don't really add it up. Just get them what they've asked for, obviously within reason. I'm guessing between £100 and £200. Eldest boys, 18 and 21 get £100 cash plus stocking fillers and the girls, 12 and 10 probably get slightly more spent on them because they have specific requests.

I just have one DC, he's 5. I've spent about £200 on him this year. His main present (a new bike) was £75.

I have one DS, 7. Has come to £350 this year. Last year was probably half that.

XDP has him every other year so I only get to do a stocking every other year - which means I do go a bit mad on making it special! Plus he’s my only DC and the only one I’m ever likely to have, so, might as well if I have the funds.

5 month old DD and probably spent around £120.

My mum would easily spend £400 each on us growing up and there was 4 of us. I don't know how she did it because we were broke.

I can imagine easily spending that on teens.

Approx £90 on main gifts then approx £40 on stocking. She's 2.5

DD is 2. I’ve spent less than £50. She doesn’t care.

I didn't think £200 was that much. All of you spending less than £100 what do you do if your child asks for something like an xbox? Just not get it or buy second hand? I'd rather spend less too but rarely manage it. One year I cut down a fair bit but it was because we were taking them on a city break. I find it hard not to get what they ask for if I can afford it which luckily I can. Circumstances can change though. One thing I do refuse to do is buy piles of tat. It ends up in a landfil.

I have 3 and have spent
£80 on the eldest
£70 on middle child and
£130 on the youngest
after asking them what they want plus a couple of extras.

No Xboxes etc. They already share a PlayStation.

The Christmas they got the PlayStation that was their main shared present plus some games, accessories etc

£150 on under tree gifts for 2 DC. 50 on a joint present and then 50 each on a couple of other gifts. Then probably about £20 each on a stocking. I think this is loads!

No specific amount. Presents are age dependant and individual want dependant. One child’s list had 150 pounds as the most expensive item. Other child’s most expensive item was 980 pounds. The less expensive present was chosen by the younger child and is completely frivolous. The more expensive item is for the older child and is for a necessary item which should last years. Both children are getting their closen presents and won’t even notice cost discrepancies as they have different priorities.

I spend around £300 per child including stockings, ages 15 and 11. Feel quite frugal reading some of the responses on this thread

Probably £200 in ds 1 but his bday is December and that covers both (main present for both was £100 tablet) but not his party and meal with family on day which we pay for that's prob another £200

Ds 2 is 2 he's had about £50-75 if that but his main present is a balance bike which weve hired for £6 a month

I don't set a budget

They don't even need what they've got

He’s adult now but it varied each year with what he needed or wanted so anything between £100 and £500. Of course it is a lot easier to do this if you only have 1 DC and don’t have to give matched amounts to them