AIBU to ask how much you spend on your children at birthdays/Christmas?

[glossypeach]

I know it’s all relative to finances, ages and just generally how much you’re willing to spend - but I’m curious. So how much do spend on your children at Christmas and on their birthdays?

I have 4 dc: 16,15,11,9
I aim for 200 each for birthdays and 500 each for Xmas... the last few birthdays that has been doubled because they needed new PCs or Xboxs.
I usually come in on budget for Xmas thanks to shopping early and bargain hunting!

Birthdays, around £300 each
Christmas, I'm ashamed to say I spend around £700/£800 each.
I have 2 children

Birthdays around £200-£500 depending on if it’s just bits and bobs or something like a new phone/iPad/laptop/gaming pc. Probably the same for Xmas. They’re 14&15 and don’t get much throughout the year and they don’t get much from other members of the family at all.

I don't have a set budget, it can vary a lot. Like if DD needs a new bike then it'll probably be a much bigger spend that year.

I spend an obscene amount more on Christmas than bday. And I really don’t know why! It should definitely be the other way round really.

I don’t know, it’s seems fairer somehow as everyone is getting presents

Well this thread has made me feel a lot better about £100 on each occasion as my DP thinks it’s far too much 😅

For me, this is because Christmas is a shared joy - it's all about choosing presents for other people, showing each other what you have been given, and it is a full day event, spent together. For young kids, there is the element of magic.

Birthdays are a handful of presents in the morning then off to school as normal, before cake with tea.

It's just not such a big deal.

About £200 for both Christmas and birthday, that’s the ball park.

£200-£300 each unless it something they need which costs more and they didn’t get much spent on birthday. My son always asks for whole new football home and away kit.

I just get my children to make a list and buy what they want within reason ... my 2 year old is done except for her stocking and I've spend around £170/200 with her stocking itl likey be £230/260 my 7 year old it's around £350 & my teenagers Itl likely be around £450/£500 each as I do tend to buy trainers and clothes that I'd need to buy anyway ... but it's all about affordability £50 is fine so is 1k it really doesn't matter what others spend .. I also donate alot to food banks and christmas present projects my children realise they are fortunate

I spend up to £100 max on a birthday present but my kids normally want a party of sorts ( or a day out with their friends which can easily cost up to £400) I guess if they didn't want a party I may spend a but more. Generally I probably spend about £500 on each child at xmas ( but could vary depending if the need a laptop or something for school which I'd normally give them as part of xmas!

Way too much. It used to be £100 for birthdays and the same at Xmas. However my earnings have increased so its probably now around £300 each. It gets ridiculous... i' trying to move away from 'stuff' for the sake of it. So their presents have been more experienced based... west end musicals, shark dive etc...

About £500 each at Christmas 250/300 on birthdays they are getting older though and want tech designer clothes etc wasn't as much when they were smaller

@DilemmaDelilah I'm not sure why I spend more on Christmas than Birthday. Birthday is normally just one or two things to open.

Christmas I want an 'experience' of coming into a bundle of gifts, i usually aim for 5 or 6 things for them to open. Some of which are fairly low cost, Selection boxes, books, toiletry sets, maybe oodies or house coats, beside whatever their main gifts are.

Growing up its how my parents did it. Which is possibly a reflection on their childhoods.

@CreeperBoom it's funny how we all do different things - although it does seem that my family is definitely in the minority when it comes to this. Christmas is lovely but it is shared. Birthdays are special because they are just for you... and because of that, and because there isn't the expense of having to buy for everyone else at the same time, we have always done bigger birthday presents than Christmas presents. And it's very definitely not 'just another day', even if the birthday person has to go to school/work. There is the special breakfast, and always a special family meal whether it is in the middle of the day or the evening, and on the day or at the nearest weekend so that everyone can be there. This has the food of the birthday person's choice, whether that is sandwiches or lasagne, whatever they want, and the cake of their choice as well - always home made and decorated (usually Smarties or something similar - even for the grown ups). So there is always a big fuss made of birthdays in my family.
I do love Christmas, and I love getting people the perfect present, but it is usually just one nice present rather than a pile.

I think you should have asked how much do you spend in relation to your household income.
The people I know who have a higher income typically spend less that the lower income families I know at Christmas.
I know this to be true of my parents who were poor and would cover the floor in presents. The reverse is true of a couple I know who have a high income.
I suppose the richer couple spend more throughout the year and not just at Christmas.

@DilemmaDelilah regarding spreading the cost between birthday and Christmas. If birthdays are spread during the year it certainly makes sense to switch things round and get bigger gifts then.

I have 3 birthdays to buy for in the 10 days before Christmas including DS and my brother really it makes little difference to the spread of budget.
And was a real blow to the budget when LO wrote to Santa a week before Christmas asking for a Switch. I couldn't even say "maybe for your birthday"

My son's about to turn 18 and we've just replaced his gaming pc, he's also a music student and plays his electric guitars via pc (love the quiet of this) and mixes music on pc. His last pc lasted 7 years and used nearly every day, he worked out it cost £1.20 per day. I'm just hoping this new one lasts 7 years!!!

I was brought up that the Christmas budget was 1 week of the income of the household and a birthday present was 1 day and the year round budget always saved enough to meet this. Always thought that it was a bit strange compared to my friends, but thinking about it, it actually worked fine and we always had a great Christmas with good presents and food and a trip to a pantomine and it never caused undue stress and we always got something significant we wanted.
If you're interested there were 3 children and it went 40 percent on food and entertainment and pre christmas parties etc, 20 perc for each of the children.
Because it was dependent on the household income it never seemed to cause any sleepless nights or undue stress from what I remember. It was saved each month at 5 percent of the income that month.
A bit strange, I know😀

So strange that we've sort of replicated it over the years in our house. Don't underestimate the power of your upbringing....😂RIP Dad, your legacy lives on.

We spend whatever it costs to get something that we think he will enjoy. Probably more and smaller gifts at Christmas than birthdays, but a similar spend. First Christmas was 7mths a few books, a pretend phone and a toy bus did the trick for about 30 quid.

This year, 4th B-day spent about 350 on a ride on electric articulated truck.
No ideas for Christmas yet but it probably won't be as much as birthday this year.

@ClareBlue i have never worked out our budget to the that degree. But it does sort of make a lot of sense.
Although I wouldn't go spending for the sake of spending, so if what a child wants is less than the budget I wouldn't spend for the sake of it.

In my immediate family (adults - my parents, siblings, in-laws) we spend about £50 each for birthdays and the same for Christmas.

For my kids, I don't set a budget but keep it low - probably averaging about £50 as well for birthdays and Christmas, but some years more, e.g. a Yoto mini last year was about £70, plus stocking and a couple of Yoto cards was nearer £100 for that child, but the youngest needed nothing and was completely unaware so was probably more like £15! This year, I've got an Alexa device in an Amazon sale as the eldest's main present for £26, plus a few stocking fillers for about £15, so £40ish but they'll be delighted. The youngest is getting a toy that would normally be £30 but was £9 on Ebay, plus stocking fillers of about £10, so I'm totalling about £60 for two kids this year.

Partly this is because we try to be quite minimalist, tidy, and not have an overwhelming amount of stuff, they have loads already, and extended family go nuts (despite begging them to tone it down) and DC end up drowning in toys, many of which they lose interest in after 5 seconds.

I appreciate I'll need to spend more as they get older, but right now we shop second hand for most things and only buy things they'll love or need, rather than stuff that's exciting for a day.

About £200 each. I put money away all year.

Christmas stocking stuff is always useful stuff eg socks, pants, pjs deodorant etc so stuff I'd likely have bought them anyway, plus a bit of chocolate and a book or dvd.

One Main present plus a couple of other small ones for under the tree.

I feel I have to splurge a bit as their dad ghosted them about 18months ago and just stopped giving anything except a card wishing them best wishes and just signed baldly with his name. SoI probably overcompensate!