To ask how much you spend on your children for Christmas?

[chubbycheeks26]

I imagine this has been done to death.

I am sick and tired of my mum telling me that I've spent too much on my 2 year old daughter, around £600. However, she's my only one and if she had siblings my budget would still be the same, just between them. I can afford it, so AIBU to spend this kind of money? Or am I being ridiculous?

My first thoughts were £600 is a lot.

Then I searched what a 'pickler triangle' is (a climbing frame, right?) and though that might be something we would just 'buy' at the start of summer rather than making it a present, so it didn't seem so much.

I think therefore on balance that provided you have savings that you are adding to, it seems OK.

(We spend around £250 all in on each of our DC)

£600 is way too much, especially for a two year old, I agree with your mum.

I've probably spent £300 max on a 4yo and 18mo. The 18mo is getting a load of second hand Peppa stuff that cost £20.

You'd be better saving the money for your child's future, I think! But your money I guess.

She's probably also unhappy about her house being filled with all this stuff.

On my teen dd around £250 which is a lot of money for me.

When dd was a toddler around £100, surely one of the benefits of toddlers is that they're very easily pleased? At that age my dd was as happy was £2 toy as she was was with a £20 one!

£600 on a toddler seems insane to me but it's your money 🤷‍♀️

Not bah humbugging this, because people are absolutely entitled to spend what they want, but from my childhood I can remember how all the family was at ours on Xmas day, the games we played, the fun we had, but I honestly couldn’t tell you how many presents I got. Even upto late teens. I was just trying to remember when my parents actually cut right back on presents and just started buying me one gift each year, but I actually couldn’t. So I think it’s experiences children remember, not how many gifts they received. The lots of presents stuff are probably to make the giver feel happy about it than the receiver.

I've spent about that on each of my children (age 15 and 6). It's a lot BUT: we have a substantial household income and no mortgage; my children don't get lots of stuff and treats throughout the year like a lot of children do (not saying that is "wrong" just different) so they always get told when they ask for stuff to put it on their Christmas or birthday list (conveniently both have early summer birthdays); and they don't really get presents from anyone but us.

I definitely spent much less than that when mine were toddlers though, they were over the moon with much less. Although a climbing frame is a great idea and I can see that pushes the overall sum up.

This year about 300 on the older two, 200 on the toddler and very little on the baby.
Its hard as they get older. Just a couple of Lego sets on my sons list come to over 100. I don't know how people manage to do it on budgets of under 100 but everyone's different!

I have a 21 month old and this year he has about £450 spent on him from myself and husband. No clothes are included in this though (I am a stickler for thinking as parents we should provide clothes anyway and they r not 'gifts' as such).

This is me cutting back. Last year when he was 9 months he got slightly more and then around £400 from each set of grandparents and around £300 from 3 seperate aunties. It was ridiculous. I only opened some presents at the beginning of November.

This year though I have bought things I think will stand the test of time and that he will actually play with (a decent wooden kitchen, balance bike etc) just hope the rest of the family haven't got him so much. I am due DS2 in March so any toys will be kept and out away for them to play with.

I know my husband as a child used to get a ridiculous amount spent on him and his brother. I never wanted for anything but it was nowhere near what they got.

I never really got a stocking growing up so I have spent a lot of money on my LB's stocking this year and I actually think he will like the things in that the best.

You are always going to get people spending more/less. I wouldn't let anyone make u feel guilty about it though.

I think £600 is a crazy amount on a toddler, she will be overwhelmed and most of it won’t get played with.

My dc’s are teens, I have probably spent £450 on dd1 bit that includes a much needed iPad which was £320, the rest is clothes, iPad case, weighted blanket and a couple board games.
Dd2 probably around £250, mainly Lego technics, Lego Harry Potter, craft items and some clothes.

I have spent more this year than any other year. When they were small I spent around £150, now they are teens things cost a lot more and I don’t get much for my money.

Yanbu to buy what you can afford and presents your child wants and will enjoy.
I still spend lots on my grown up dc and now tiny newborn gc.
They all have homes and jobs, yet I still love to spoil them at Christmas.

I spend what I can afford, I have an only (he is the only young child in our family also) so he get a lot.

This year it’s an eye watering amount, but the new games consoles came out this year!! Gamer and sporty presents do not come cheep!

I used to spend a fortune on mine at 2/3 and got completely overwhelmed with the sheer amount of stuff. Toys for 2 year olds are huge.

Depends if you use Christmas to stock up on toys clothes books etc for use throughout the year. We spread that through the year and so Christmas is purely for fun stuff. We spent about 150 for a 4 year old.

So far for New Years gift giving (our closest equivalent), it's about £450 for 2 teenagers and 2 younger children, including about £200 of that being a VR headset and set up that'll largely be sharing between them, but is my oldest's top heart's desire as well as some household things like new bed sets for each of them that added up when doing it across four of them & not really 'gifts' as such. There might be a couple other things we've not bought yet and then there is special food (treats for midnight bags and special first breakfast), but I don't think we'll go over £500.

It's been a more expensive one this year, teenagers can be like that, but we've saved up for it and our finances are the most solid we've ever been (though are about to get shaked up hopefully by a house move). This year we've had a lot of discussions about what they really want to do over the holidays (most of which were free or cheap) rather than my and their father's expectations of the holidays and prioritizing their wishlists (outside of electronics, certain board games, and awkward to get sheet music, their wants weren't that expensive or difficult. My oldest's other wants was a game and a hoodie, both of which were less than a tenner).

That's harder to do with a 2-year-old, it's not like there are long term memories going on for most kids that age, so it's mostly about what sort of holiday you want and your situation. Personally, I have no idea what pikler is and mine never got into peppa pig (largely because I had a 'there are other options so I'm not putting up with TV shows that annoy me' mindset) so I'm not sure the expenses on that, but at that age my oldest got a fisher price ride-on with streamers and a Super Pocoyo doll that he absolutely loved -- both of which ended up drawn all over months later and with how rough toddlers are, I'm glad I didn't spend a lot then.

I too will have a Christmas dominated by that bloody pig 😂. Two year old dd loves Peppa and only really likes palm sized figures and play set type toys. It means she features more than I would like, along with her pals Duggee and Olaf!

To answer your question though, dd has had about £260 spent on her including stocking stuff and Christmas Eve pyjamas, also Peppa!

Ds whose 5 has had more spent on him but he is only interested in dinosaurs and the Jurassic World ones he loves are not particularly cheap. He has had £470 spent on him in total.

In future years when dd starts having requests the budget will be split more fairly. It’s just this year there’s only so many play sets you can buy and toy kitchens still don’t come to the price of one Jurassic World dinosaur .

They don’t care when they are young, they are equally happy with inexpensive gifts. I would be saving that money so you didn’t have to live with your mum.

Spent about £350 on DS15 so far, clothes, trainers, money, pj's etc. About £200 so far on eldest dd20 at Uni. If anyone has any present ideas for a 20yr old, let me know! Would like to get her something else for circa 100-150....but no idea!

So much easier when they are little.

@IsAnybodyListening

My university student dd wanted a new Fitbit, her dad paid towards it too. And she had new running shoes.

I think when I add it up I have spent about £1k each (two kids aged 10 & 8) BUT they both do a very specific, slightly niche, sport which requires expensive kit. DD (10) was just placed 2nd in the under 12 category and DS (8) came 6th. Their main gifts (the larges bulk of that cost) were for that sort. We are incredibly lucky that we can afford it and I know the kids will massively appreciate the gifts and use them multiple times a week for years (if they keep the sport up )

@BarbaraofSeville why are you assuming I'm on a low income? I don't usually live here! I live here as I sort of moved in with the pandemic and as I was here all of the time, I saw no point in paying rent so I gave up my privately rented flat after a month, there are people that need homes and it was sitting empty. The money that would be used for rent is actually being put away and I now have just over 5% deposit of a house. I also make a decent contribution to the household. I will either move out early next year or maybe stay a bit longer and buy somewhere.

@IsAnybodyListening I'm only 28 myself so might be able to help, what sort of things have you got her? Is she in to make up or anything? Music?

I think that's a hell of a lot for any child but it's your choice. I spend about £150 each on my two children but if I could afford £600 I'd be putting the difference away for them.

@WeCameToDance that bloody pig is the bane of my life but she loves Peppa so I put up with it 😂. We have matching Peppa Pyjamas for Christmas Eve too

Jurassic World and anything like that is ridiculously priced!

@LittleTiger007 I don't have to live with my mum! I sorted moved in for company during the 1st lockdown and haven't left 🤷‍♀️

YANBU to spend your money on what you want. However I really don’t think a 2 year old can possible appreciate £600 worth of presents. I also don’t know why you wouldn’t try to get some of them second hand, especially the peppa stuff which like pp says she could go off in a few months.

Personally I think it would be better to still treat your daughter and spend maybe £200 and then put the other £400 in a savings account for her. My DD is not quite 2 and we spend about £50-100 on her for Xmas and birthdays but we save for her throughout the year so she already has over £1k in a savings account. When she’s 18 I’m hoping she’ll appreciate the £10k+ that we’ve saved for her towards a house deposit or uni or whatever and she will still have had nice birthday and Xmas gifts. If you always spend £600 on her then over the course of her childhood that’s nearly £11k on gifts! Just think what she could do with that money.