How much do you spend on holiday shopping?

[An034]

Am I BU to feel sick at home much I’ve spent on holiday shopping? Iv’e spent the most on the kids - summer shoes, pool side shoes, swimming costumes, summer clothes, summer hats, sunglasses. They didn’t fit into their summer clothes do I’ve had to buy them stuff. I’ve had to buy swimming accessories such as swim rings.

I’ve had to buy myself some dresses too as I can’t fit into old summer clothes (put weight on recently). I feel really sick at how much I’ve spent. I’ve put some clothes to the side to return tomorrow. I shopped in primary, next , George and H and M

Generally, the concept of a 'holiday shop' is alien to me. I'm not sure why people would need different clothes for holiday but when you have dc, they grow, and I'm presuming the eldest would need new stuff buying, but don't your dc have shorts and t-shirts and swimming costumes all year round anyway ? Don't things get passed down ?

I mean, if you have loads of money, I don't see the issue, but, presuming if you weren't concerned about spending so much then you wouldn't have started the thread.
Same with the full body wax. If you have the money - then up to you, but if you don't, it seems a lot to spend unnecessarily. That said, you've done it now - nothing you can do to retrieve that money.

For DS his holiday shop is all stuff he will wear all summer, it’s more that I did it now all at once because we’re on holiday at Easter. Not sure who is supposed to be passing stuff down though- he’s an only child!
For me unfortunately I have gone up a dress size!

We haven't been on holiday in a long time but I'd probably spend around £300.
My dc don't have swimming costumes or any swim inflatables so we would have to buy them.
Things like shorts wouldn't usually get bought until June/July time so if we were going somewhere hot before then I would need to get them some. They currently have no short sleeve t shirts (live in Scotland) so again they would need some of them.
I also don't own a swim suit or any dresses/shorts so would require them buying too. My t shirts are just ratty maternity ones so I'd probably get some new t shirts
None of the children have sandals or beach shoes so them too. Probably closer to £400 if I'm being honest

I'm just impressed a full body wax cost you £50. Where I am I'm looking at much closer to £100! Plus £35 for shellac nails.
These things always add up faster than you expect but it doesn't sound like you've been frivolous.

£0. I'm gong to New York with an empty suitcase - will buy everything there.

If it's a beach holiday then local shops usually have great bikini selections.

It would honestly never occur to me to buy stuff specifically for holidays- surely people just take whatever they've got normally in their wardrobe?
I honestly didn't realise this was a thing

Never spent anything on holiday clothes, what on earth is the point, if I needed something while on holiday, I’d buy it there

Can you afford it?

I don't buy new clothes specifically for a holiday ... and I only ever buy second had clothes (charity shops) as I don't like the ethics behind fast fashion & don't care about being 'on trend' but I have wardrobes full of stuff in all sizes so I probably never need to buy new clothes again in my lifetime .

Very little. In my part of UK weather is crap so dc never needed a complete summer wardrobe anyway - maybe 2 or 3 shorts and T shirt sets. That's all I take away as we don't pay for hold baggage (back in the day a smaller cabin suitcase was free 😭) so I need to go to apartments with a washing machine. Would never buy extras such as pool side shoes either, a pair of flip flops from Pound Land would suffice.
We travelled a lot when they were young and I became very good at travelling light, it made the first days back home so much easier!

If your kids have no flip flops, shorts, t-shirts or swimming costumes then you’d likely buy them for the summer regardless of whether you are going on holiday or not, although you may need extra swimming stuff. I wouldn’t spend money on waxing or plastic nails but again, if you do, are you not just doing that anyway? For myself I spend hardly anything as I’ve already got a couple of pairs of shorts and summer dresses but they are hardly worn so I tend to keep them going for years, unlike my jeans which I wear daily and replace reasonably often. I often end up with a new hat and £££ on sunblock because I burn looking out of a window in April in Lancashire.

Honest question. Inflatables. Why on earth do they have to be bought new for every holiday? At some gites I know well, inflatables, buckets, spades, etc, get left in an outhouse along with a couple of buggies.

Many families do all-inclusive/half board hotels so you need your own inflatables. That said I'd buy them there!

I'd need to spend maybe £50 on DS who is growing into age 4-5 (Matalan is great for 3 packs of shorts etc) but I'd get away with buying a couple of new t-shirts and a dress. However, none of us have any swimwear so add that too. Probably £120ish.

Obviously growing children need clothes, but they'll wear whatever you've bought all summer, and you could use hand me downs, buy second hand if you wanted to cut the cost.

For adults, I just wear the same stuff again and again and only occasionally get something new.

But I don't understand why you'd spend so much on things you don't really need, can't afford and don't seem to have planned/budgeted for that you 'feel sick'. Surely you'd just not bother with waxing, nails etc if money was that tight?

Nothing. I take things I already own, use and love.

I buy once abroad, as always works out cheaper for me. Or, I am savvy and shop online.
I wax/shave at home: I have great skills and it's a lot cheaper.
Very little point asking what others second, as we are all so different!

*spend, not second!

Interesting question. I don’t know the answer. We don’t use arm bands. Always more sundresses (messy eaters so need a new dress each night) and take 3 UV swim suits per child. It’s expensive, especially for my tall older child. DD2 wears DD1 hand me downs so she only really needs new sun glasses and sandals which she would have anyway. The bigger cost or mostiquo repellant and suncream DD1 gets eczema and can only use an expensive brand. A few sticker, colouring books and magazine for plane/dinner time.

Virtually nothing. I'm going for a week in Spain and I am bringing jeans and t shirts I already own. I got a few things for my daughter. I'll get my legs waxed. Don't bother with bikini line. I just do longer swimming togs.

Enjoy your holiday.

Kids need shorts and swimming costumes, you need dresses that fit. Don't worry about it. Just make a point of wearing your new things all summer long, not just while you're away.

I guess the reason it’s buying ‘for the holiday’ is because I’m buying summer stuff at Easter. Whereas I’d buy DC t-shirts, shorts, etc when it started to get warmer so May/June as they’ve grown out of last years. If we were going in September say, it would be taking what we already had.

@Keladrythesaviour

I'm just impressed a full body wax cost you £50. Where I am I'm looking at much closer to £100! Plus £35 for shellac nails. These things always add up faster than you expect but it doesn't sound like you've been frivolous.

This is my thought too. £50 for a full body wax. Bargain!

I live in the north of scotland, and always feel cold regardless, so I don't really have "summer" clothes that I wear at home. When it's really hot I don't wear a cardigan with my top and jeans. The kids wear shorts maybe once or twice per year. If I wasn't going somewhere hot I wouldn't bother buying any.

So I do need special holiday clothes if I am going away, and it tends to be different clothes than anything I'd wear at home. I'd never expose my legs if there was any chance of someone I know seeing me, for example.

I've budgeted £100 per child for summer clothes this year (including swim stuff, a jacket, etc), and I'll probably spend more than that on myself.

I wouldn’t usually buy clothes specifically for a holiday. We swim all year round so all have swim wear. Then we would just take our usual summer clothes. I might replace a few things that have been outgrown or are tatty before a holiday but I don’t think I’ve ever spent much on this.

I don't have kids, but I'd assume they'd have needed some new summer clothes anyway, if they've outgrown their clothes from last summer? So most of what you've bought wouldn't just be for the holiday - apart from maybe the pool/swimming things, it's basically just their summer wardrobes.

I wouldn't say I do loads of holiday shopping for myself, but it depends on where I'm going and whether I already have enough suitable clothes for the climate, what fits me or not, etc. My weight's fluctuated a lot over the years, so there's been times when I've realised that all my summer clothes have been either too big or too small and I've had to do a bit of a dash for shorts, vest tops and summer dresses.

The monthly/6 weekly 'full body wax' cost is exactly why I purchased a Philips Lumea! 😄👌