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’

Not much this year, is my sons first Christmas so thinking I might wrap up nappies and clothes for him 😂 then maybe spend about £50 on a walker and some small toys.

@unlimiteddilutingjuice can I ask where you got the soviet stuffie from? My son is super into oversimplified on YouTube and would love one!

Don't have an amount to spend and can't see why anyone would? Surely you buy them what they want/need based on how much you have to spend and not an arbitrary target.

Spent probably upwards of £500 on my 7yo this year as she needed a new bike, we spent £330 on that as need a decent one, she'd have been happy with a £100 bike but it'll be shit and wouldn't last 2dc. She also wants lego which is pricy. But only spent about £100 on 4yo as she doesn't really want or need much. If I felt the need to spend equal amounts the house would be full of trash that never got played with

Around 2-300 each,
Dc1 has a switch lite and various bits
Dc2 various pc gaming bits and clothes
Dc3 switch games, lego and roblox sets

It adds up when the things are branded, but we can afford it, so 🤷🏼‍♀️

Depends what they ask for or need.

My son wants a gaming pc this year -£2700

Last year he wanted an apple watch so was much cheaper

Sounds ok to me, as long as you can afford it, and they care for their presents then crack on,

My parents spent more than that on us as kids, and we’ve turned out ok.

Around £250 each.

I spend alot more than that. I think I've spent that per child at the moment and still think they have tiny piles so will keep buying up until xmas. Teen stuff is expensive and looks tiny though. That amount sounds fine OP.

On the other side my best friend spends £50 per child! They have more money than me but spend it on doing up their home and things like that rather than gifts.

I think about £600 on DS (10) but it probably will go up.

Couple of tracksuits £150
Football strip £100
Computer games 2 £100
Main present £150
Plus some other stuff.

It depends on what they ask for
We're pretty skint so it takes some planning.
This year Ds8 only has 3 presents (and an outfit) as what he wanted was expensive but dd16 has lots of little things. I try to spend around the same in then probably about £200 each including stockings.

My son wants a gaming pc this year -£2700

While I don't have a fixed budget, I think I do sort of have a mental cap. I dont think there is anything I would agree to buy my child that costs that much, no matter how much they want it. We can comfortably afford it but I do not think any child needs such an expensive item bought for them. Half the fun of growing up and earning your own money is being able to choose to spend it on something like that. My children won't ever be bought something for more than a few hundred pounds - when they are old enough to want such expensive items they will be old enough to get a saturday job and earn the money to buy it.

We only have one DC- nearly 3yo. This year we've spent about £70, will probably go up a bit because I can never resist last minute bits like books etc.
Our DC is so lucky because they get lots from wider family and to be honest we a) don't have the space for much more and b) don't have the money atm to spend more.

Spoiling children is really buying items for them every or almost every time they want them. I feel as if its them knowing they can always have what they want, Instant gratification. So the amount though it seems relevant is not the most relevant thing. The least we have ever spent is £20 on DS first Christmas as he was going to play with the wrapping paper more really and the most was a pc with double monitors. He built it hImself with some help from a friend and it cost close to 2k but bought ready made would have been 3k. That PC saw him through his A levels and he also games on it.

DD - almost 12 - about £300. This includes a reconditioned desktop computer, some lego, bluetooth speaker, fake oodie etc & a few fun but useful stocking bits.

DS10 - about £230 - a few lego sets that he loves & also displays in his room. Bluetooth speaker, 108 piece snake puzzle, minecraft bits & a huge cuddly Niffler toy. Plus a stocking of fidget items, yoyo, joke book & nanoblocks etc.

DS8 - about £150 - his main present is a big tub of How to Train your Dragon toys that I bought second hand which I can't wait for him to open! Also some lego, Jurassic World jigsaw puzzles, plastacine & a stocking full of fun things like sewing kits, dig kits, bath bombs etc.

They'll all get lovely winter pyjamas on Christmas Eve.

We're also now considering upgrading our games console as a joint gift but haven't decided yet.

I don't think it spoils kids to buy them gifts it's how they treat those gifts & the people who gift them. I also spend a fortune on books for my DS10 because he loves to read & in particular, loves to read whole series but I buy these all the time through the year so regularly give him books costing £5 - 10 & he's so grateful & excited to receive them.

DS is 14 and his main pressie is £200 which his Dad and I will get between us. I aim to then spend another £100 or so and his Dad (and partner) will spend perhaps another £30-50.

He gets 2 other gifts (which will total £30 cash). No grandparents to buy him anything so we always felt we wanted to spend a bit more. Plus when they are teens, everything is expensive! Easier to spend less when they are small.

My parents have 4 kids and I think they’ve always spent around £50-£60 on each of us. More than enough IMO.

Should add last year he had a switch and the year before an Xbox so spend varies a bit depending on whether he really wants something or not abd what it costs. I bought a new PC earlier in the year but that wasn’t just for him although I made sure it was capable of running the games he might want. It was a treat for both of us in lieu of our cancelled holiday 😀 he is old enough to understand that given the spending over the year, there is a bit less in the Christmas pot.

Around £150 per child, but that's what I can afford, I've never spent what I didn't have, no credit etc and some years it's been a lot less

Mine are 10&7 This year they're getting a ps5 plus games (£650ish) to share and then a few other bits to open. In total they'll probably have about £500 each spent including the PlayStation.
It's the first gaming console they've ever had so is a big deal to them, I wouldn't usually fork out that much - usually I'd say around £150-£200 each

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

My son wants a gaming pc this year -£2700

While I don't have a fixed budget, I think I do sort of have a mental cap. I dont think there is anything I would agree to buy my child that costs that much, no matter how much they want it. We can comfortably afford it but I do not think any child needs such an expensive item bought for them. Half the fun of growing up and earning your own money is being able to choose to spend it on something like that. My children won't ever be bought something for more than a few hundred pounds - when they are old enough to want such expensive items they will be old enough to get a saturday job and earn the money to buy it.

He and I have spent weeks researching which components to buy and setting a budget.

He has a budget to work to to include all the bits he needs and will then build and configure it l himself with my help. He is keenly waiting for black Friday to see if he can get a better spec for his budget.

Its a good lesson in research, budgeting, sourcing items and then building the machine for him

Wow! We are extremely comfortably off with no mortgage and savings.

I would not dream of spending that much on my children at Christmas. Much better to have money in savings accounts for the future. I also give substantial amount to school (stars).

It's difficult as when they get older (10 plus) the sort of stuff they want can be expensive. I spend about £200-400 per child (4 kids), but generally less on the younger ones if the amounts look the same.

Maybe £20-£30. I’m not even sure if we bought Christmas presents last year. Sons are 5 with asd and 3. They enjoy the toys they have, and don’t know or understand the concept of Christmas or gifts for that matter. They also get gifts from both grandparents and family on my husband’s side (mine are all overseas). It’s always more than enough so don’t see a reason in adding to it. The most we are getting is a train table and I’ve seen gently used ones on Facebook for under £20.

My husband and I talked about this before we were engaged. We remembered what Christmas was like for us as kids and the amount of stuff we didn’t play with or open because of the amount. Of course, as teens it was less and some things were more expensive, but we used those things and still have or remember those things fondly.

We can afford to go overboard but don’t see the point really for one day out of the year. We don’t care what others do but for us we like to keep it small and simple.

Probably about €400 usually.