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 had no expectations. Surely people spend what they want, regardless of income?

We have just one and spend around £100. It will probably be less if more arrive.

FIL volunteer at a charity shop distribution centre. Whole family gets regifted stuff. PIL are financially well off, but are as tight as anything.
I'd say they spend around £50 in total on whole family if you include freebies and chocolates etc.
We have, over the years, started to reciprocate the gift giving of crap gifts to them. Not sure if they've noticed 🤣

@Bloodylovecheese My MIL likes to gift those little free samples that are given out at makeup counters, plus items that are 70% off at TK Maxx (she sometimes forgets to remove all the sale labels).😂It's fine, just funny, because they're comfortably off.

It has taken me a long time to find it funny, but I actually do now. I do have to check the batch codes on toiletries, as last years 'set' was manufactured in 2016.

@Bloodylovecheese Yes, I was irritated for several years tbh, but it is what it is. I enjoy spoiling my loved ones when I'm able to so it's alien behaviour to me.

Now you're asking!! I'd say £100+. My parents had 5 GC but only in the last couple of years of their lives. They spent a fortune on them year round though.

My mum bought my eldest two (when there were no other GC) a Nintendo Gameboy between the two of them. Dad asked why they didn't get one each, so a second one was bought! Mum was in hospital after surgery which was followed by a terminal cancer diagnosis, and both of them got an upgrade to Nintendo DS!

They paid for a lovely ebony piano so they could do lessons, and they paid for a trip for the five of us to Disneyland Paris, staying in the most luxurious hotel. My dad died a couple of weeks before we went, and mum died later the same year.

MIL bought them cheap crap, and had zero idea what they liked.

Nothing at all from my dad or DH’s family. Mum gives them a budget of £100 a head roughly. I have 5 kids. I feel it’s too much but she argues it’s in her budget. Same for birthdays.

My MIL loves to spend but me and my husband would much rather she was actually a better / more hands on grandma rather than buying material shit all year round

I think £50 on a quality gift they want/ contribution to their savings is more than reasonable!

My parents spend hundreds on tat, most of which ends up at the charity shop.
On the other hand my wealthy FIL steals peanuts from hotels, wraps them up and gifts them to his DC and DGC 🤦‍♀️

From one side, £100 each, from the other, £60-£70.

That's a fab plan because I was going to suggest saving for future.

We have one set of GP who's budget is £50ish and the other £100ish.

We end up with far too many toys that don't get looked at. It's depressing clearing toys out that have hardly been used.

My mam spends about £100 on them but also buys them a lot all year round.
MIL spends about £20-30 on a main present then sweets, books and clothes, and is also very kind buying them things all year round.
They're very lucky.

DF nothing. He doesn't even know their birthdays or how old my children are. He lives far away tbf and calls me on my birthday. I call him on his but no longer send a gift. Use my money on my DC:).

My parents around £30 -£50 on my daughter. My Mil somewhere between £500 - £1000. She buys a big item and then lots of bits and bobs. She has bought laptops / tvs/ consoles/ furniture in past. This year she is getting her a new iPad so she will be at the high end this year. She only has one grandchild and my DH is an only child. She also spends a few hundred on me and about £300 - £400 on DH. She goes all out at Christmas. Birthdays she gives me and husband £50 in a card and daughter gets £100 in a card and few gifts as well. I would saw Mil is definitely not the norm and my parents are more average. What you are spending is fine.
I spend a fortune on daughter as well at Christmas but everyone does it different. If I had more than one child I would buy less

It really isn't about how much you spend. It really isn't about what people think.

My parents tend to be a bit all over, but don’t buy crap. They either buy clothes that they have confirmed before that DC need or a couple toys or books. I don’t think they are constrained by cost though, more by does DC NEED any more stuff. Answer is usually no! DH’s parents maybe spend £50 but we live abroad and I think if they were closer and knew DC needed something, ie, bigger bike, and it was £300, I think they’d jump at the chance to buy it.

As long as it’s thoughtful, and something they would like, I don’t think it matters what you spend. I have never forgotten, many, many years ago my then boyfriend getting a foam chess set you could play in the bath from his gps. He couldn’t play chess and he hated baths!
We only have one GC so we spend a bit more, but I spend a lot of time making sure it’s something they’d really like. Other gps have loads of gc so they spend less.

DD is the only grandchild, my parents give her about £200 cash and £50ish gift. If they had more grandchildren though it would be less. The £200 is used to buy her things she might want at other points in the year eg one summer we got a playhouse in the garden using several lots of birthday and Christmas money.

£50 on a gift seems normal to me especially where there’s more than one.

@stonebrambleboy Please don’t worry about the money side of things. DS is an only grandchild in mine and DHs family. The next youngest family member is 24 🙈

My parents probably spend about £50 on DS, MIL spends £5-10, and FIL & SMIL around £15-20. Same for birthdays but more often than not FIL & SMIL forget birthdays.

Are you physically close to them (in distance)? Please remember that time is the most important gift if you’re able to give them that. My paternal grandparents were my best friends. I saw them everyday when I was little (not through childcare need, they just lived close to us and I chose to be there) and their house was always my happy place. The one thing that breaks my heart is that none of mine or DHs parents are interested in having that kind of relationship with DS despite all living within 10 minutes of each other.

We have three grandchildren. We give £100 each plus a £50 gift, and the same again for birthdays. We're pensioners and not well off.
We save an amount each month to be able to afford this. I love buying them gifts and it doesn't go far these days.

My absolutely minted PIL spend 20 each. Cash in a card or if they're feeling fancy an Amazon voucher. My mum who has very little does £50 each (I call her each year to say not to...) and then a little stocking of little bits that she know they will like - cute hair clips, stationery etc.

DMum probably spends around £100-150 on DS. He's her only grandchild.

My parents give my children £30 each. My in-laws give £150, I think mostly out of guilt of not bothering to give them much time or effort as they were growing up.

My parents have five grandchildren and spend £50 each on them, which I think is very generous. We only spend £100 each on our own children though for Christmas and birthdays. They get so much from everyone and are incredibly lucky. I think £50 is a good amount and you have no need to worry.