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??

These posts are pointless because everyone's situation is different! You spend what you can afford and that's that. One of ours age 6 wants something expensive (over 100) and our 5 year old has only asked for cheap tat, I think if you spend money for the sake of it that's ridiculous, if they have asked for a particular thing and you can afford it that's fine!

I've spent £160 and that's on birthday and Xmas for a 2 year old.

We are not in the U.K., we didn’t get it in the U.K. either (when we lived there)

My 8 month old is getting a few nice wooden toys and clothes- total £30ish
My DD who is 4 is getting around £150 spent on toys any clothes. I feel guilty for spending so much!

@Elbeagle I can’t take credit for college funds unfortunately 😬but they are very lucky! As are we, to not have to think about it!

OP spend what ever you like and what ever you can really afford. Doesn't matter to anyone else. Toys and things are expensive and it soon adds up. We've spent about £300 on our 2 children, 1 year old and a 3 year old and it still doesn't look like much.

@Lipperfromchipper I had to tag this thread for comparison.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3755708-To-ask-how-much-you-spend-on-OHs-at-Christmas

@Emeraldshamrock I know!!!! I found it rather amusing myself...

We are by no means we'll off. We live in a tiny house and only have 1 can but because of that we probably have more expendable income than a lot of people. I'm not going to lie we spend an absolute fortune at Christmas, mainly pushed by dp but I don't mind.
I really can't get my head around people who say the can get clothes and a few toys for £50 per child or less. Where are you buying this stuff?

Well off, not we'll
Car, not can 🤦‍♀️

Charity shop? Nearly New Sales? Facebook selling?...All bar one of DSs presents are second hand this year, he's 3, he doesn't notice yet. More for environmental reasons than cost saving reasons.

It works for older kids too if they want specific things like retro toys/games/books that aren't in print anymore.

already save all of the child benefit for them that’s 140 each. And as I said college/university is sorted also. But thank you.
@Lipperfromchipper I
But how are you getting child benefit if you are not in the UK? Don't understand that.
You say you aren't in the UK, your house is paid for, you have sorted college (fees?) - why are you eligible for UK benefits living outside the UK? I can't understand how you can have enough income to have paid off a mortgage and yet be below the income level to receive child benefit. Doesn't stack up. You'd lose most child benefit if your income was over £60K.

I already save all of the child benefit for them that’s 140 each

These are not UK figures so guess wherever you live, the state provides a lot and housing is dirt cheap. Puts you in a VERY different position to UK families.

@JinglingHellsBells I’m in Ireland,I stated that in Ireland. But I did live in the UK for along time. Ireland pays child benefits too...140 per child. We didn’t receive child benefits in the UK (when we lived there) as dh earned just over 60k. Yes, we worked very hard and paid off our mortgage, we were very lucky for it to work out that way. And no in general housing over here is not cheap a 3 bed rental in our county would be 1k (and we are not in the city)

*i stated that in another post

Oh come on! Housing in Ireland is dirt cheap compared to the UK.
In my part of the UK the starting figure for a small 1-bed flat is £200K. A 1-bed rental is around £800 a month plus £200 a month council tax.

A quick look on Right Move shows the price of houses in Ireland.

Getting £280 a month child benefit is a huge amount of money.

If you lived in the UK I assume it was in the north because your figures are way out of line with housing costs in the SE.

We can afford to spend a lot if we wanted too, Dh earns a good wage. We have spent £100 on each child without stockings. They have exactly what they have asked for.

Our thing is “quality over quantity”.

Tell a lie, around £150 because Ds game was 90 😐

Ravingstarfish not every family sees Christmas as the main present giving occasion of the year. For us Christmas is a school holiday and time together with some seasonal decorations and food and yes, some presents. Outside our house in the community we live in it's a religious quiet contemplation holiday not really a big celebration, though there's the seasonal side (seasons are celebrated in themselves here to a degree) and Christmas markets are a big deal mainly for the atmosphere and the food and drink...

In our house birthdays are a much bigger deal than Christmas. Were not religious and birthdays are about one person having their own day of being special - that's when the children get bigger presents, and the day that's all about them just once per year.

JinglingHellsBells many countries pay child benefit and in some it's a universal benefit and more generous than in the UK - not only in Ireland. It's 204€ per child per month where I live - universal benefit, not means tested.

@JinglingHellsBells

In my part of the UK the starting figure for a small 1-bed flat is £200K. A 1-bed rental is around £800 a month plus £200 a month council tax.
There are plenty of parts of Ireland where prices are the same!!

A quick look on Right Move shows the price of houses in Ireland.
Ireland...like the uk has a wide range of prices depending on areas. A quick look where @JinglingHellsBells Dublin or Mayo?? Two very different areas!!

Blimey @JinglingHellsBells I’d stop with the Ireland comments because you’d clearly know bugger all about the country.

In fact you know so little you didn’t realise it was obvious that’s the country she was referring to when she said she got child benefit

I've easily spent more than you on our 9 year old - she needed some new "nice" clothes (not uniform or basics), I've got her some ugg boots, a big Lego set, various bits for stocking, trainers...and she's getting her bedroom redecorated in her choice of paper/paint.

I've bought gradually and don't have a particular budget. She's not a spoiled madam either. Spent a lot less on the 1 year old as she doesn't understand yet

Spend what you can afford and are comfortable with. That'll be different for everyone but I don't think the posts on this thread are very representative tbh - money/spending threads on MN seem to go to one of two extremes and you've just happened to catch the low spending one. First couple of responses tend to dictate which way it will go.

touch.daft.ie/ Here you go @JinglingHellsBells type in 1 bed for sale in Dublin and you’ll see the prices, bear in mind that the cheaper ones are 150-200....they are very dodgy areas!!