To ask what you spend on your kids at xmas

[Allthestarsarecloser]

I think we spoil our kids at Xmas but I am not sure if we go a bit OTT- reckon we spend £300- 350 on each child age 9 & 13 - this year they are having new bikes (DS 13 is splitting his as bday & xmas as his bike costs a bit more) plus I will get clothes, a game, a toy each, a book etc.

Is it too much? Aibu to ask your budget? I don’t want my kids to be spoilt little shits especially this year when it’s been so rough for many people so I worry that we get them too much - I try to strike a balance each year but always end up feeling like I have spent too much. We aren’t loaded but i do save through the year when I can & they don’t get anything else really through the year bar birthdays

I guess it’s a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question really - I am just trying to gauge what is ‘normal’

Yabu to ask it here when there is a Christmas topic where there is also a thread discussing this exact thing.

Mine are 5 & 9 and I don’t spend that between them let alone each. I think I spent 80 each last year which was a lot and more than I’ve spent previously. This year dd is having a bike (£80) and not a lot else, not sure about ds yet.

Came on to say the same. Literally the thread underneath yours.

@Smallsteps88 I did check to see if there was something similar & couldnt find another thread before I posted - sorry

The same as you. I have one DS. I can afford it. I'm divorced so his dad buys him presents separately.

I don't believe that buying things for children makes them spoilt. Their attitude is what makes them spoilt. If they are rude, demanding, ungrateful, don't share - that's what makes a child spoilt imo. If they aren't any of these things then they're not spoilt.

You’ll get folk saying they get their children £12 worth of stuff and they’re grateful for it and posters who are shelling out £3k per kid. Such is Mumsnet.

We have 5DC. The two adults get £100 cash plus a few daft bits and the youngest get around £150 spent on them.

Two kids 6 and 3, probably £170 each.

Probably about £400 each on ds1 and ds2 (12 and 10) and about £200 on ds3 (3).

Ds1 and 2 are the least spoilt dc you could imagine, totally unassuming and grateful for everything. They don't get piles of stuff to the ceiling either.

Ds3 has just really 'got' Santa and is currently at the stage of listing every single thing he sees or thinks of and asking if Santa can bring him one. Currently wants a full size excavator and a seaplane thanks to Blippi.

God, we are probably awful here 2DC main present around £300 - £500 and then easily £300 each on other smaller gifts.

I’m not sure it matters though, surely we all spend what we can afford and think is reasonable? I don’t think spending money = creating spoilt brats but appreciate others may think it’s OTT

I don't understand how people throw up their hands in horror and say 'oh I couldn't imagine how I could even spend that much on them!'. It really doesn't take much imagination, especially with older dc.

I could easily spend £1k (or more!) on the older dc if I had the mind or means to- and without it even seeming that much more. I'd just level up lots of stuff-- a plusher £300 gaming chair rather than a £90 one. £70 football boots instead of stalking the sales for £30 pairs on offer. £30 on fancier edition footballs rather than Sports Direct £10. A branded Go Pro for ds1 instead of the £40 version he's having.

It wouldn't make all that much difference to the dc - it would probably just make my life easier by not looking for sales, trawling reviews for decent lower budget versions of xyz etc.

We have 5dc, Three of them are teens so new phone, iPad, clothes and trainers so probably £1500 each. Two youngest probably about £500 each.

Last year they probably had about £100-£200 spent on them each.

All depends on what they need and how we are financially.

Mine are 13 and 16. I'd say about 300 each. When they were little it was about 150 each. We don't go mad and they never seem to want much. New phones we get through their contracts I don't buy them and they only get upgraded every 3 years approx. They get one big gift and a few small ones and seem happy with that.

Mine are older teens, I try to spend no more than £500 on each of them, but I usually spend approx £600 each. This includes stockings

I always spent no more than £150 per child and I have 3

About £200 each.
DD5 is getting a massive dolls house, a Vennlope Von Sweets doll and some other bits.
DS8 is getting some wooden historical weapons, books, and a "Soviet" stuffie (merch from one of his favorite history YouTube channels)

I have a son at 13 and two tracksuits cost around £230 i wouldnt be happy with him waking up with just 2 parcles, thats what he wants is clothes this year. My younger son i could easily go round b n m and kit him out for £200 but i cant see my budget being the same with older son, i think the older they get the more expensive it is.

We give our oldest, young adult in part time college part time work, cash $250 and then also buy a few clothes I know they like and need, for an extra $50-100 (so they have something to open)

The youngest DC10 will have about $250 total spent on slimey sand, American girl doll stuff, a snow cone maker, books and other tat.

I have a Costco membership so most everything, clothes, toys come from there, and money goes far there. I start in October to space out the cost.

If you can afford it without taking out loans etc then go for it. Being spoiled isnt about the value of what you have, but the attitude towards them (entitlement and ingratitude). You could spend £50 and still have spoiled ungrateful children. You could spend £1000 and have very gracious children. There isnt a number where it suddenly becomes "spoiled " territory.

About 50 per child (plus about £20 from uncle and the same fro both sets of grandparents).
We don’t give “needed” things for christmas though (so no bikes, shoes, pjs, toothbrushes), just wanted.

I am literally struggling to find things that dd12 wants! When her older sisters were 12 It was all dvds and cds. Now with Spotify and Netflix No need for that. She has a computer and a basic smart phone. We buy her clothes as she needs them.
Anyone?

Mine averages at £500 on ds8 every year, but it use to be no more than £200 when he was little. It depends on what you are buying but as they get bigger the cost goes up. It's all lego, tech and games these days. Compared to his cousins he gets a small pile of presents but it's all good quality stuff that will last.

I had a new baby and she is only having £100 on her. It's like @Toppingpoint said at the end of the post.

It varies from year to year depending on the things they like. They certainly aren't ungrateful the years they get less spent on them. I don't think over £300 is remotely unreasonable if you're buying a larger item. I spent about that one year getting a large wooden kitchen and lots of play foods. I could have got a similar toy for under £50 and stuck to what some would consider a more reasonable budget. But it's my money, I earned it, I'll decide how to spend it.

I reckon we spend about £100 each on big presents and about £25 on little things.
Kids are 6,5,2.

I think it's about £150-£200 this year each, aged 7&9 (DH has bought the main present, I've just the stocking, little bits and books). However the main presents, camping equipment, will be used for years.
Last year it was about £75 each. Their wants were relatively inexpensive... One main present was a board game costing £30. The other wanted an explorers kit, most of which we put together from stuff we already had.

I can easily see how big budgets are spent for older primary/secondary children. Lego, computer games, games consoles (aren't the latest releases £550ish?), Phones/tablets/laptops..clothes labels, bikes... None of it is cheap.

As a toddler, DD1 got a £20 balance bike, which DD2 then used. Her grandparents spent £350 on one fpr her birthday... It's a small adult bike due to her height. Stuff gets expensive as they get bigger (on the plus side, it should hopefully last five years or so!)

The inevitable stupid thread. There's a huge range of incomes, people who have more may spend more.

DS is having a £300 bike, DD a much cheaper play tent that was £50. They will both be happy. Last year DS got a £30 quid digger toy and inexpensive stocking stuff, he was thrilled.