To ask what you are buying your dc for christmas and how much do you spend per child?

[mrsshears]

My 2 are 5 and 14 and i'm spending £250 on the 14yr old and about £150 - £200 on the 5yr old.
I would normally spend less on the younger one but she is having a tv and dvd for her bedroom which i consider a bit of an investment as i'm hoping it will last a good few years.
I find with older dc its getting increasingly difficult to spend less as everything they want is so expensive,on dd's list is an ipod touch and some vans.
I'm really interested nosy to see what everyone else spends and what you will be buying

DD is nearly 8 and will get an I-pod and some headphones. Plus a stocking. Approx £350 in total. I don't have a budget per se. However, I don't like to give piles of stuff as it's less appreciated (as i've found in the past). She doesn't get toys or gadgets outside of Christmas and Birthdays but does get clothes, books, hobbies all year round. I don't get why people are so bothered by what people spend and I don't think it's as simple as the rich spend less and the less well off more. There are various factors at play.

twinklytroll , I could've written that myself. So very true.

Now I've read this I'm feeling quite tight fisted! I'm spending around £20-£25 on dd, her main preaents have all been hand me downs from family so its just a few stocking fillers to buy.

Wow, some of you spend an obscene amount a lot on your spoilt lovely children. I'm sure they appreciate it.

I won't tell you what I'm spending or you'll call me tight.

I don't think it is on to call anyone's children spoilt. Buying children a lot at Christmas alone will not make then spoilt, especially when you read that they often get little else all year.

All children have their "spoilt" moments , my dd can have moments when I look at her and think she has too much.

Bunny I don't think people are overly bothered by what other people spend at Christmas. An opinion was asked and I gave it. I could equally give an opinion on other things.

I choose not to give my child a lot at Christmas and birthdays, others choose differently.

Of course it is not as simple as rich buy a little and the poor buy a lot . For starters I am not rich. But it is a trend I have noticed amongst my dd's friends and some people I know . I also know from my own experience I bought the most when I had the least . Conversely my ex husband's family were rich and they spent thousands on their children at Christmas. So as you say it is not always that simple . However in their case they had come from poor childhoods and were trying to create something different for their children. They also struggled with emotion and showed their children love through buying stuff. Again this is just another example of why some people choose to buy their children a lot, there will be other reasons.

Twinkly, I did cross spoilt out. I think it's perfectly reasonable for 5 year olds to have their own TVs and DVDs and quite healthy for children to expect to wear designer clothes and have their own IPODs from a very young age. It will help them realise what they are entitled to as they grow up.

This country didn't get where it was today by not doing these kinds of things for the past 10 years

You're coming across as a bit over analytical to be honest, and perhaps a bit like a reformed smoker? Some people just like to buy at Christmas. That might or might not be their main blow out during the year. Some people buy next to nothing at Christmas and come on these threads with pursed lips and hoisted bosoms but might (for example) spend all day on the S&B threads, or hundreds on wine to quaff or jaunts to villas in Tuscany (this conspicuous spending seems to go unnoticed, yet Christmas spending is probably fairly modest by comparison. Why Christmas spending seems to come in for such a pasting each year -I cannot comprehend).

£100 each x 5. One just used that and his birthday money to buy a phone. All parents' budgets are different and how they regard Christmas. It's hard to compare people. I'm taking them all skiing over Christmas which will also cost a fair bit.

I don't think it is getting a pasting , people are just saying what they do or don't do.

I suppose on some ways i am a little like a reformed smoker. I went through a time in my life when money and collecting stuff was very important to me and it is a period of my life when I was an utter bitch. I don't want to go there again and I want to show my child that there is much more to life so she does not repeat my mistakes.

The thing is I dont like holidays, (I know that sounds weird, but I dont, I like being at home) we dont go out very often as we like being in with the DC, we dont drive expensive cars because we are into old beetles and the like. We dont really spend much on the normal luxuries.

We do have sky, as I love a good movie :) and we spend a small fortune on our pets (of which there are many) And then theres Christmas. Christmas was always the only time of year my extended family really got together as a child and it was always a magical time, I loved it then, and if possible love it even more now. I spend a lot overall. But its what Im into, like a luxury holiday may give someone else a real buzz, mines Christmas.

It doesnt mean my DC will be spoilt brats, I certainly wasn't and we had a grand each for Christmas from our parents. Cash doesnt equal spoilt brats, thats in the parenting imo.

I agree cash doesn't necessarily make spoilt brats, although if not used wisely it could do. My dd is at huge risk of becoming a spoilt brat because of influences from her father's family and therefore we deal with birthdays and Christmas very carefully. I also know my own demons and suspect my daughter shares them, so we all deal with the battles that we face in different ways.

I also spend a lot at Christmas, just not on presents, it means an awful lot to me for similar reasons as you.

I don't get the argument that if kids have a lot of money spent on them it equals spoilt brats.
I spend lots on mine all year round but I say 'no' to them when I think they are having too much and I don't back down from saying that.

I expect perfect manners from them in the way that they conduct themselves and they are pulled for it if they fall short in their behaviour.
They are expected to contribute to the running of the house.
They do all this therefore I don't believe they are spoilt brats.

I am more than happy to give them what they need + lots of extras. (like my mum and dad did for me)

At the moment I can afford to spend a lot on them. I do so because 1, I can and 2,because I like to.

How much you spend on a child does not make a child spoilt.

A child becomes "spoilt" - for want of a better word as I do hate that phrase anyway - when they expect and are given in to. It is far more to do with behaviour and the way parents react to demans than it is to do with what they possess.

DD is an only child, an only grandchild/neice on one side too. Of course she is going to end up woth more spent on her than others might as there is less children to go round and only one to buy for. However she is most definitely not spoilt. She is priveledged, yes. She has a lot of things, yes. But spoilt, no. She does not expect. She does not demand and constantly ask for stuff. She nows the value of money and is really good at saving up for things. She appreciates what she does have.

As for what we are getting DD for Christmas this year...I am currently looking at a digital bridge camera. She loves using my dslr but isn't yet old enough for a proper one herself yet (she's 9y). I think a good bridge camera though would be ideal. May look at a child friendly course to if I can find one. As yet I don't know how much it will cost - depends on what we decide is the best camera for her needs.

Last year I spent about 70 pounds on DS1, he was 2 and a half. Would have been less, but toys here are twice the price due to import taxes (2 small Handy Manny sets from US and other bits and bobs). Will probs spend same this year and half that for DS2 as he's under 1. Having said that, just spent a fortune on a second hand plastic playhouse, but we will be able to resell it for nearly the same when we leave.