ok, so help me please.......

[noideawottoget]

no idea at all what to get for the dc's for christmas this year. they are boy nearly 16, boy 13, girl nearly 10 and girl nearly 9.

Wait till October/November and then ask them what they'd like.

my dc each have an amazon wish list that they add to throughout the year - come Christmas its easy. You can use it for ideas to get things from anywhere

hmmmm didnt think of that. the boys both have xbox 360's and i refuse to upgrade. the girls had 3ds's last year and still love them. they boys could probably do with new tv's but no idea for the girls. and all the other little bits too. have normally started by now but have just moved house so not had chance

Why are you worrying about this in August?

because i have to start budgeting. i have posted in the christmas topic so not sure why the funny face, not like its on the main chat board.

Isn't the beauty of them being that age that they ask for what they want so you know what to get? They're past Santa days, right? So just ask them what they want now.

the boys are yes, but the girls are not, if i only get one more year out of them i will be happy

Budget for what you can afford, not what they want. Then you've got the money saved and can buy when they know what they want. If they want something outside of the budget then they can't have it.

well thats the thing, i dont know how much i need until i know what they want. obviously if they wanted hundreds and hundreds of pounds worth of stuff (not that they would( then the answer would be no, but i am happy to buy what they want within reason. i just have no idea this year though

What can you afford ? 500? 1k? 200?

IKWYM
I have a 12 yo DD and a DS who will be 15 in December.
If I asked them now, they wouldn't know.

My DS is a saver- we give him money. He gets money from his Grandparents.
Games Voucher or Microsoft Points

DD likes Primark, New Look, earrings (had her ears pierced last year)
She'll get gift vouchers.

They already have TV,he has a computer, X-Box 360 and X-Box 1.
She has a laptop and iPhone.

Things I've bought that have been well recieved-

Controller for X-Box
Surround sound
Young Drivers Lesson (they have 2 a year each)

We're planning a Gaming Chair for DS. (birthday)

(This is why we still do Christmas Eve Hampers and Stocking Gifts. Their present pile is woefully tiny though each item is £££)

absolute budget? probably round £250 per child. although i do bargain hunt so would be happy to spend less if it looked like more iyswim?

what is a young drivers lesson? ds1 would probably love that. he is hoping for a scooter for his 16th next year (maybe but not sure if we can afford it)

young drivers lessons

thank you. i think that will do nicely for ds1.

Ragwort I start in June :)

so do i normally, but a big house move last month prevented me from buying stuff. so just beginning now. so one sorted for ds1 just some more stuff for him and the other kids to sort now :)