Is 400 enough for two dc?

[Lipperfromchipper]

Just a Christmas question, dc are 6 and 4,
I have spent about 320 so far and was thinking if I spent another 80 between them on stocking fillers that would be plenty?? But I’m getting cold feet about that!!? How much have you spent on two dc of similar ages??

We spend varying amounts on our children but christmas is not our biggest gift giving time.
We have 6 children and so we do it so that the “big” gift - computers, phones etc comes at birthdays. That way we don’t get one huge bill just 6 smaller ones .

Christmas tbh we do spend quite a lot still BUT it’s to be expected with a large family!

I have spent about 320 so far and was thinking if I spent another 80 between them on stocking fillers that would be plenty??

Woooooow. Some people have money to Burn!!!

My 4 year old is getting a £30 gift that he will really enjoy. I'll spend maybe another £15 on stocking fillers. Not because I feel like I need to spend £45 on him to be satisfied I'm a good mum, just because that is likely what the items I have in mind will cost. My exes mum thinks like you - amount matters, not content. As long as she's spent some stupid amount on each child, she's happy. Their gifts get broken really quickly, or chucked in a wardrobe and forgotten about. But she's spent £400 on each, that's what matters.

There really is no magical amount. Spend what you can comfortably afford on gifts you feel they’ll love! I wouldn’t worry about equal spends (at that age they won’t notice) but do give an equal number.

When London and half of the country is under water in ten years time, consumerism will seem less appealing.

On the bright side, some southerners won’t be quite so sneery about the north then. It’ll go some way to easing the gap in property prices.

These threads never go well. Just spend what you want to.

I have a 6 year old and his stuff has came to £600. But I'm not getting into any debt so I don't mind.

We don’t do lists. If our children want something from us they ask for it instead of dictating presents. We get them a small gift from us and then Santa fills their stockings. For example last year they each got something along the lines of 1 Basic toy from us (if I remember correctly one got a train set and the other got a fire station both lovely wooden ones which went down well so will get something similar this year).
From Santa (In their stocking) a clementine, pot of play dough, a card game, some squishy dinosaurs, a bouncy ball, and a bottle of bubbles.

I know a lot of people like to do all the stuff they get their children throughout the year in two lots (once at Christmas and once at birthdays) but we don’t think it’s worth making them wait only to bombard them with stuff. I also want to keep gifts about giving and receiving rather than it being about stuff. DH doesn’t care so much but I’m very sentimental about gift giving and want my children to learn to cherish it as well.

Im spending about £50 on my 6 year old

@Lipperfromchipper sorry, forgot to tag. See above.

€400 between 2 is not a stealth boast.
It's not like OP booked flight's to Maui on top.
I spent more this year though as pp's I don't buy toys throughout the year, we had a few very poor Christmas times.
I like to share the good Karma, last week I bagged up DS good clothes he'd grown out of with a bag of toys and offered it free on adverts as good enough for Christmas.
The lady sent me a lovely message afterwards.

We spend on holidays and to some extent extra curricular activities and school trips rather than splash out massively on big piles at Christmas.

Couldn't agree with this more. Personally, I don't agree with not spending all year so they get masses of presents at Xmas time and nothing else year round. With regards to clothes, it is impossible to predict when they will have a growth spurt or which character they may want on their next size PJs so I prefer to buy as they need. My eldest wore leggings/jeans all last winter, none of which fitted her by the end of the summer and then decided in Autumn she now prefers dresses so we have gradually got her a few over the past 2 months. She will not be getting any more clothes for xmas as she needed them earlier and now has what is needed.

I prefer to get garden equipment when the weather warms up and it will be used so the climbing frame was bought in April rather than last xmas. Likewise with toys, I want them to have things when their friends do rather than receive more than they can comprehend on one day for the entire year. Not to say they get what they want when they want - they have to understand that money needs to be saved and possessions taken care of too.

We are fortunate to be able to comfortably afford holidays abroad and additional activities and prefer to spend money on this to presents too

For us, Xmas is about experiencing the magic of being a child - we take them to pantomimes, theatre, santas grottos, see the lights, make gingerbread, xmas crafts etc. They will receive a couple of small bits from Santa and something to open from us but I see no point in spending any preset amount for the sake of it.

Jesus Christ. My DD is two and I've spent around £5-10 on her stocking, most of it is tat from the £ store & The Works but I know it will keep her amused for a good few weeks (and longer, as she tends to forget about things then find them again a week later and the novelty value comes back!).

Do your kids eat caviar for dinner?!

My exes mum thinks like you - amount matters, not content

That’s not what I think at all actually it’s not all about the amount, content matters too!!

X post with @Velveteenfruitbowl but you put it much more eloquently than me!

Do your kids eat caviar for dinner?!

Really??!! There’s no need for such ridiculous questions!

What is ridiculous is not the amount spent, which is almost neither here nor there, but the emotions and behaviour behind it.

The whole meaning of Christmas has been lost.
I am not religious and really couldn't care if Christmas existed or not.
But I do object to what is supposed to have some meaning turned into something purely commercial, which bears no resemblance to what Christmas is about.

The amount people spend does not prove their love for their children or family and it's wrong, just downright wrong, to set kids up to expect getting everything on their list.

Most plastic toys will be forgotten about or broken in a few weeks or sent to a charity shop. It's a sheer waste of resources as well as damaging the planet.

I think it's fine for OP to ask if wat she's doing is enough/normal.
Mumsnet gets loads of threads about how much? How often? and How many?
How often do you wash your towels? How long does it take you to clean your house? How much money do you spend on a holiday?
People do second guess themselves and want a yard stick to check they're not doing something mad.
It's just a shame things get so competitive that you can't get a straight answer sometimes.

I never understand why some people feel the need to check this sort of thing with anyone, especially random people on an Internet site. Some say anything over £30 is too much, others happily spend thousands. Surely the only things that influence what you spend are, what your children want and how much you have or are willing to spend. Do people really make the decision of how much to spend based on what random strangers spend? Can you not just decide for yourself based on your individual circumstances? It genuinely leaves me feeling baffled.

My exes mum thinks like you - amount matters, not content.

That’s a bit harsh, if you can get what your 4 year old wants for £30 good on you but some kids want tablets/consoles/bike/have expensive hobbies etc and if you can afford to get your child what they want for Christmas why wouldn’t you?

@Lipperfromchipper what made you ask if it was enough to spend? Who put such rubbish ideas into your head?

FWIW folks with the most dosh often spend the least. Their values are different.

No lipperfromchipper, it’s not too much. Please, I beg you to spend more on your 2 DC. At least £1,000 on each. . Do you really need anyone to tell you how much to spend on your children? What a nonsense post.

My DD is two and I've spent around £5-10 on her stocking, most of it is tat from the £ store & The Works but I know it will keep her amused for a good few weeks

That’s because she’s TWO. Come back when she’s 6.

Oh stop it OP, how the hell do the children know how much you've spent? This had to be the most ridiculous stealth boast thread I've read!

I mean what do you think people will say? No it had to be £300 each or you're a shit parent?

Believe me buying kids endless amounts of crap because you must spend £200 rather than buy them what they want does not make you a better parent that the one that listens to their child and buys accordingly.

It's just crass.

Come back when she’s 6 as I said upthread, my 6 year old has asked for a box of Lego. When pressed, she also asked for a unicorn colouring book she’d seen for £2.
Not all kids want loads of stuff!

Spend what you like and what you can afford.

£200 is easy to spend!

I have spent much more than this in the past on my dd. If you buy something big like a new bike, a wendy house, a wooden play kitchen etc then you could spend that on a single item. DD got a laptop a few years ago which cost well over £200 but she needed it to help with homework at secondary school.

I think it's fine for OP to ask if wat she's doing is enough/normal.

Of course it's fine to ask, it's a public forum. But it really does confuse me....if every person said it's too much, would they take some stuff back? Or if every person says it's too little and they need to spend at least £1000, would they buy more. How many people have to says it's too little, too much or just right for someone like the OP to feel the amount is ok?