How much do grandparents spend on your children at Xmas?

[stonebrambleboy]

I have six grandchildren and I spend £50 each. Is that enough? A friend made a comment today and I'm worried I haven't been spending enough on them.

I can afford more.

We spend £30 on ours. We have 6.

I think that’s a reasonable amount! My DPs & Mil spend around that on our young adult DC.

I don't have grandchildren but my children's grandparents spend anything from £50-several hundred depending on the year. Tbh I'd rather a consistent £50ish than the uncertainty (and all the random and unneeded crap).

Same here - £50 budget. Both PIL and DF have 4 DGC.

Spend what is necessary,wanted and afford. This year I think about £50!

I have 5. I go by the ‘something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read for each’. So it’s not always the same for each one. Sets of books I sometimes buy on fb marketplace or second hand for example. I guess it works out about £50 for each. I do also pay for an experience like a pantomime.

My in-laws have two grandchildren and now that they’re older, they’re given $25 each, which is about £19.

I think that’s stingy as they’re comfortably off, but they’ve always been stingy with presents! £50 each sounds more reasonable to me if you can afford it.

Maybe 30?

IL spend more but are cutting back a bit now.

50 is loads. Most kids seem to have loads of stuff.

That’s plenty. Please don’t get sucked into spending more to please a woman who wants you to spend more to make herself feel better.

both sets of grandparents spend about £100-150 on each grandchild (3 in total).
usually money because they don’t need more toys (or as a contribution to a big present, such as a bike).
I used to get about the same from my grandparents.

£50 sounds about right - it's the equivalent of about £20 in the 1990s.

My parents usually spend around £80 but they sometimes spend more if the kids want something particular. They're teenagers and one pair of trainers is around £100.

My very wealthy inlaws spend around £30.

My mum usually buys a ‘main’ present for about £50 and then does a bag of stocking filler gifts like socks, sweets, pjs ect. My dad gives £200 every year. My mil usually sends a voucher for £100.

my mum spends the least but out the most thought/effort. I don’t think it matter really how much, more that you have thought about them and want to treat them.

£50 here too. However one set of GPs also likes to contribute significant savings for each DC for the future so also transfers a large cash amount every year (not for presents). If you can afford more and would like to do that it would be nice for DGC when older. My own DGPs saved a few thousand for each GC which we were given at 21 as a surprise.

My mum spends around £200 on each of her 5 GC, my dad around £20.
mil always asks us or them to choose up to the value of £100 (she has 9 grandchildren and great grandchildren!) and then adds a few surprises too.

About £80/90 each, there’s 3.

Thank you everyone. I think I'll set up a savings plan for future university (or whatever) fees.. A lump sum at 21 would be nice.

My DF spends about £100 - £120 on each of my 3 children (his only grandchildren). DMiL similar (only grandchildren for her too).

That’s huge!!! Ours get the kids eg selection boxes/ boxes of sweets and an annual/ book. 50 is a HUGE amount!! (Imo!)

Lovely but I would keep it as a surprise. They don’t need to know.

£20 each here. They could definitely afford more but I think partly they are a bit tight, presents aren’t their ‘“love language”, and they don’t want to risk spending more on the kids than we do (we spend £50-100).

I would have thought £30 was fairly normal where there aren’t really money worries on the part of the GPs.

If that’s how you do Christmas then that’s absolutely fine!

Christmas and presents are big in our family, we do £100pp for siblings/their partners/parents. £200-£500ish on DH depending on the finances that year! Intend to spend £200 on DD this year (she’ll be 10months and I will have mostly clothes and bits she needs this year).

But that is OUR family and I know we are in the minority.

My children receive £50 from one set of grandparents and usually a pair of pyjamas or something similar- more than enough!

Other set of grandparents do not bother at all. They have never bothered with our children (as one is disabled) and has never even sent them a Christmas card.

@stonebrambleboy Yes, if they have a Junior ISA, for example, you could put some money in there or set up another savings account. I'm sure you already know that you can gift up to £3K tax-free every year, although I think the ISA rules are more generous.