How much do you spend?

[skybluepearl]

OK it's been done tons of times before I'm sure but how much do you spend on gifts for immediate family unit, extended family unit, friends, xmas food etc .. Am I the only one who keeps things low key? Everyone I know seems to go crazy.

Kids - about 30 each (but they get 25 from each set of grand parents too and smaller gifts from lots of aunts/great uncles/my close friends. Sometimes we pool money to give bigger gifts but more often larger items are second hand anyway, so cheaper)

Partner - about 30

Brothers/sisters/parents - about 10 per couple

Neices - 5 each

Three best friends - between 3 and 15 pounds

Cars - we make them and deliver by hand or send second class.

I must add that I have lots of brothers/sisters and neices.

I take it that you have very young children, then?

Do you tend to buy couples a bottle of wine, or do you go fore 3 for 2 gifts?

I spend around 250 on my partner.

I spend on my DCs. If there is a bit left over, Santa will bring DH and I a present or two, but usually it's just the DCs. My eldest and his fiancee have their own home now so they get a "stocking" with several small gifts in, and we don't buy anyone else regularly. I don't send cards, except to my nanna - she is 93 and we don't get her a present as she "has everything and doesn't want any more" so we get the nicest card we can find, with a lovely verse instead. I also start shopping in the january sales and squirrel stuff away all year for the DCs, so that they get a nice surprise on Christmas morning. They are starting to get too old for Santa now :( so I guess it will all change soon.

I'm impressed with your car making skills skyblue

We spend about the same as you, probably give nephews a tenner each, depends how many you have to shell out for though.

More on 11 YO DD1 (DD2's only two so we're mostly recycling DD1s old toys) but we've not gone mad or anything.

No partner

Mum, Nan, Niece, Dad & Stepmum, and their kids each get between £5 and £10 spent on them

My brother gets about £20 - £30 spent on him

DD about £200 (but she is 15 so it doesn't go very far and her dads family withold all her pressies til she visits them so I feel I have to make up for them being twats)

You give cars!?!
What you said sounds similar to me except I don't buy for friends and have spent less on DP this year. As I'm not seeing my folks I've not bought anything for them but we've prob spent a bit more on DP's family who are coming to us tomorrow.

We only have two boys to buy for, my parents, niece, nephew and grandad. I also buy my friend a present.

So this year, boys are 12 and nearly 15. DS1 has taken music as a GSCE and also plays the guitar. We have bought him an iMac - costs around £1000, they use iMacs at school for music. We have had to spend the same on DS2. With their stocking fillers and other bits and bobs I think in total they have had £1200 each spent on them.

On my parents I spend about £50 each. Niece and nephew they get money and a selection box, my grandad I have spent about £25.

DH has had about £70 spent on him. I have also said I will treat him to some sunglasses as an after Xmas treat. He is having his eyes lasered on Tue so will not have to wear glasses anymore.

I suspect my food shop including stuff I have picked up over the last couple of months ie. cheese biscuits and soft drinks for the boys amounts to about £220.

This is an extraordinary year in what we have spent and the boys know how lucky they are.

My boys only get presents from us, my parents and my DB.

Last year DS1 needed a new guitar and this cost around £450.

About £100 - £150 on ds's (only young)

Dh - about £80

Parents - £25 each
Brother £10
Pil - £25
Bil & sil -£10 each
Neph & niece - £15 each

Food shop Inc meat around £220

Just thinking from something Bella has said if we feel the need to spend the same amount of money on each child, even if the children themselves are to young to understand or are pretty immune to the cost of items.

I've spent around £60 on my 6 year old and really struggled to spend the same on my 2 year old. (struggled in terms of finding her things that add-up to £60 I mean ).

Im afraid to add it all up
We set aside around £2000

DC's 1 and 2 around £300 each

DC 3 (only 3mths) around £100 (but spent on things she will be needing in the next few months anyway)

Family gift from santa £135

DH £150

DM/DF/MIL/FIL between £30-£40 each

DGP's £50 between them

DBro and DSis £50 each

DSis and DBil ££80 between them

Best friends and their kids £40 per family (x2)

Other friends £10 per house (lots of gingerbread houses this year) and wine.

Work (cleaner etc) £30 in total

Elderly neighbours £15 (christmas plant and biscuits) we do this as they have no kids and are both widowed

Food (including silly priced turkey!) and wine £300

Table decoration, fresh flowers, christmas tree's £120

Wrapping, cards etc £40

I think it all depends on how much you have to spend really, so unless you can do an income/expenditure breakdown it's all a bit spurious.

If you've got 10 grand a month spare & you spend five that's fairly restrained, if you have 50 & spend 300 it's too much.

I don't like these threads because there's always an implied moral judgement regarding how people spend their money.

FWIW, I spend tons of food & booze, a fair amount on DH, five siblings & partners assorted neices & nephews I give to according to how skint they are, one of my sisters and her DP are skint artists so I always send a hamper & presents, another sister is very comfortable so I send books that mean something to me.

DCs, I don't spend much on because they're young & everything is bloody marvellous to them.

& all of that means precisely fuck all.

Love the idea of a family gift from santa - what did you go for ?

About £120 on each (have 2)
£150 on dh.
£35 on each parent (4)
£30 on each sister (3)
£20 on each niece (2)
£15 on family friend
£10 on sisters partners each (2)
£5 on next doors little boy
£4 on the dog!!!
£250 ish on food and alcohol

I would say about $2,500 when all done and dusted from about 21/12-1/1.

We have very large extended families so multiple Christmas Days etc.

We are lucky enough to be able to afford it and Christmas us a big deal for us so we really enjoy it.

*each dc!

We got a years zoo pass Rosemary.

Rosemary, I think if DS2 was a lot younger and was not aware of how much an IMac costs then we certainly would have spent a lot less on him.

DS2 is learning the drums at school. We have bought him an electric drum kit. Also to go with this a pair of DrDre Beat headphones. He loves bikes and wanted a trials bike to do stunts on - one with no seat. Finally, he as got an iPad2. We picked up the iPad and headphones on holiday in the states in August (he does not know about these) but basically because of the £ to the $ the iPad and headphones came to the same price as an iPad would have cost by itself over here.

He thinks he has a more expensive drum kit and bike that add up to £1000.

Oh thats lovely ! Hope you all have lots of really special visits together.
Merry Christmas.

Thanks, we hope so too as it is something the entire family can enjoy... from 40 something to under one!

Merry Christmas to you too!

How do other people rein in their spending?

I don't have a budget as such because I start about August buying odds and sods, but I've found it so difficult just before Christmas to put the kibosh on getting things just 'because it's Christmas woohoo!! ' and maybe buy stuff because I want it for us rather than we need it IYSWIM?

'Because it's Christmas' seems to be enough justification for those extras, along with 'we might all die next week so we should enjoy ourselves while we can' and also 'we should enjoy the DDs being young' - so anything I can think of really

(not that I've spent money we don't have, just maybe a bit more than is strictly necessary)

What a great time your children will have Bella - bet you can't wait ! It's so great to give isn't it, I just love christmas soooo much.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.

I've not added up the cost of DS's presents - I probably daren't. I just got him what I wanted him to have (he's 2.1). I think there's about 30-40 presents, which cost somewhere around £15 - £40 each. I've had them for months now and can't remeber what most of them are!

My mum has had £120 out of me this year! This varies year to year. I was a bit skint last year so she didn't have much.

Everyone else in the family gets around £10 - £40 spent on them.

We don't rein in here - we just don't have much money - still spend every penny we can - same 'because it's christmas' fealing.

I do always use cash though - somehow I think this helps.

Too much...

DD1 and DD2 around £250 each (they're 18 and 17).

DS £700 this year as he's got a laptop. He's 15.

DD3 is 2.10 and all in, with stocking stuff etc, probably about £120, but she told me today that all she'd really like is a fire engine

Niece and nephews - around £20/each

Mum - £100

Siblings/Bil/Sils - 8 in total, about £30/40 per couple.

Food and drink - £300 ish. I'm doing Boxing Day and there are 17 of us in total, so a lot of food and a whole heap more booze, as 12 of us will be drinking far too much

But, it's the first time in 13 years that all of us will have been together at Christmas, so going to town a bit.