How many presents do your kids get

[lemonbonbon35]

Hi all just wondering hpw many presents your kids get at christmas off you and how many alltogether including from other people. How much do you spend on each kids presents too? Thanks xx

sandgrown it is really good got stuff hidden all over the house so i can check whats missing and i know exactly how much of budget left to spend.

Having read the thread where people hate expensive school trips because they can't afford it I would say cut right back, and get others to cut back and start a fund. Small children can be cheap at Christmas- they will get expensive when older.

I have spent £235 on ds1 ( 22 months at christmas) I'm also one with a spread sheet and it's telling me that's 20 items. I've spent £40 on ds2 who isn't born yet but is due in December, mostly for my older sons benefit. I have saved up all year for Christmas and had budgeted £250 and £50 so I might get a couple of items of clothing for ds1 and maybe baby bath and shampoo for ds2. They will get £100+ spent on them by both sets of grandparents, but the in-laws will do premium bonds and just a little toy.

They won't get any other toys or gifts through the year except on their birthdays, which are/will be close to Christmas, and they won't get anywhere near as much and it's more likely to be clothes. So this Christmas, and last year, I gave a lot of thought as to what kind of toys will see ds through the year and still be interesting and stimulating. We'll give one big present from ourselves and all the rest will go into a sack from father Christmas.

The grandparents and i spend 25 each on each child. Extended family (all nephews, parents, in laws, sisters) are a secret Santa job. So I buy only 3 gifts costing 25£ Each from a wish list. Friends and friends children, a token gesture. Could be a nice second hand book or a hand made candle

We are on a tight budget and our Xmas budget reflects that. The kids appreciate what they have and we do lots of enjoyable cheap/free Xmas activities that make the season very special

Not a lot. Ds is 15 and he really doesn't need 2 x boxes, another phone another laptop or more books, he doesn't like clothes so I'm always stuck. He's asked for a graphics card and some games though so about £150, but we're going to Iceland for a few days to see the Northern Lights and go whale watching - I'd rather build memories then buy him tat for the sake of having something to open which will end up unused. His father won't send him anything, he hasn't for the last couple of years, nor will his aunt/uncle on his father's side, his granny probably won't either. My mum will send him £30, my sister and brother £10.

Wow! Some lucky kids this Christmas from the looks of this thread.
A woman at my work was on the phone the other day talking about what she was buying her 3 (almost 4) year old this Christmas, the list when on and on and on!
Then another woman (who is unemployed and a single mum of two so I've no idea where the money is coming from!) was saying on FB that her kids were having £500 spent on them each "for starters" then she'd do the rest of the families presents and come back to the kids.

Well our house is quite a bit more modest! Not only because we don't have the money but also I don't want the clutter ;) so DS (1 and only) will be having a main gift up to about £30 or £40 and then some little stocking fillers like an orange, selection box, choc pennies and maybe a dvd. About £50 in total?

Sorry, but I think some of you are bonkers, I really do. Don't you feel even a tiny bit bad about the sheer amount of pointless STUFF you are buying??? Are your children really made much happier by this than if they had half the number of presents? Doesn't opening presents take up the whole day? Don't you all get bored at best? sickened at worst?

I used to think mine got loads. Compared to most of you it is very little. But I still find Xmas morning to be a slightly awkward consumer orgy.

My children get 5 presents from us. I have the following roughly in mind: one biggish present (that they have asked for and I think is a good idea); one other smaller present that I might think is a bit daft but they really want; one useful-ish present (something for their room, or clothes, or for a hobby); one total surprise that takes my eye (fairly small); plus book(s).

I also do a stocking but these will be genuinely small stocking presents not costing more than a pound or two each mostly. And new pyjamas on Xmas eve.

They don't get a massive amount from other people. My ILs are Dutch and don't do Xmas presents and I've tried to keep my parents from buying too much. They might get three from my parents and one each from my two sisters and my grandparents. One or two friends might buy something.

I don't have a budget as such. The amount we have spent varies from year to year. Probably from about £100 to £250 each. Money's not an issue. At all. The extra amount I spend at Xmas barely registers compared to our usual outgoings. I just don't like over-consumption.

The children love Xmas and they think their dozen presents plus small stocking fillers are plenty!

Actually I think 100-250 is an over-estimate. Less than that.

irregularegular how very rude of you. We were just answering the post just because it not how you chose to do xmas there is no need to slag people off. Plus nothing my son gets is pointless and no we never get sickened or bored opening presents.

Not even a tiny bit bored? Not even when you get to present number 70? Not even a little bit of thought for landfill or what else the resources could provide?

Takes all sorts I guess.

I'm far from perfect. I don't give anywhere near as much money to charity as I could. I waste money on unnecessary stuff. But to not even think about it? That's quite something.

Honestly i donate all his old toys to charity so don't fill up the landfills. We can afford it or i wouldn't do it. He doesn't ask for much and i only have one so if i had three then i would split the budget and he doesnt go without the rest of the year so dont need the money for other resources. Not like he is walking about with holes in his shoes to pay for xmas.

My dd was only 4 weeks old last Christmas so didn't spend much. Am thinking we will provide spend around £80ish this year (she will be 13 months). Have only spent £35 so far on a little people toy, a baby laptop and a second hand bounce and spin zebra. Will get her some books maybe and some megablocks, not sure what else to get really, she is getting a trike from my parents.

There isn't really a budget as such, dp is more generous than I, (although that's not a bad thing when he's in sole charge of buying pressies for me! ) Generally I'll try to get some parity between the two older dc, but it depends on what they want /need. Dd's big gift will def be more than ds1s, but she'll get less other stuff. When they were little I didn't buy anything other than absolutely essential clothes & toiletries in the run up to Christmas, anything else was wrapped up & put under the tree. They still get "essentials" like shower gels etc, but I'll try to get stuff on offer that I think they'll like, rather than the generic stuff I buy throughout the year. Ds2 is only 18m, I reckon I'll prob spend £40 on main presents (2 big diggers and a toddler scooter) and maybe £25 on extras.

OK Sweetsomething, sorry - went off on one a bit there. Nothing personal.

I don't have a budget in mind and I don't count what I spend, mainly because I think I'd give myself a heart attack. I struggle with the day to day "doing stuff" with the kids, I'm not proud of that and I'm equally not proud of the fact that I spend money on them "to make up for it" I do try very hard to make them appreciate things though, and the second they behave in a spoilt manner they're pulled up on it. I might actually look into sending some gifts elsewhere, I get stupid at christmas and birthdays and I hate myself for it.

My budget is £250 each and this year I have managed to stick to it, so I am doing a little dance and moving away from Amazon. Varying numbers of gifts, but DD is 16 and understands that her pile will be smaller and why.

Dd will be 3 and she'll get 4-5 presents under tree (big thing, book, item of clothes, other present or 2), stocking worth up to £15 max and we have a Christmas Eve hamper with pjs, socks, DVD, book and snacks. Any more than that and I think she'll be overwhelmed. Will cost a maximum of £65.

I do a maximum budget and maximum number of presents. The latter will go up as she ages and we go from not overwhelming her to ensuring there's 'enough' (former will go up hugely too I assume once we get into phone territory once she's a lot older.)

My folks tends to buy 2-5 things and dh's folks tend to drown her.

She'll also get a pressie from my bro, dh's bro, my cousin, and some aunts/uncles so around 7 there. Plus cash from three sets of great grandparents which I'll hold back and spend on a bigger thing in the summer (she has a winter birthday).

Blimey!! She's a very very lucky girl!

alma - it's very hard when you are in a cycle of this to break it. I'm starting to redirect the money I would spend into memory-making opportunities, like a nice holiday, instead. Disney World does not clutter my living room .

I love Christmas and always try and make a bit of a big deal of it. Last year DS was 3 days old so it was all a painful, knackered, terrified haze so this year I want to go all out. As he's only going to be 1 there seems little point in buying loads of gifts for him but I will. I've started already with 3 or 4 little things. I'm going to try and stick to £75-£100. He'll get stuff from both sets of Grandparents, 3 Aunty's and Uncles and at least 8 other friends etc. It's going to be ridiculous.

I have a list of all the things my children will be getting. They are 7 and 3. The older one is getting 12 presents. Will cost about €200, not including books. The younger is getting 16 presents and costs the same,again, not including books.
That is massively cutting back. Last year I had a strict budget, but bought loads of bargain things to make the piles look bigger. But most of it went unplayed with/regifted/charity shop. So this year I am only buying things they will love, even if the pile is smaller and less "impressive"
Instead of buying to budget, I will buy what they love and stop when the budget is gone, iykwim.

We have a very small family. My parents give us a family gift of tickets to the panto and just token gifts on the day,craft supplies etc. My in-laws give small-ish gifts that I choose. I never know what's an appropriate budget,so pick things around £20. They don't get from anyone else.

We have 4 dc and I spend around £50 - £60 per child on everything. They get 3 nice stocking gifts and 2 presents of me and my dh lego and a puzzle or a game. They will also get the satsuma and a chocolate figure. I love Christmas but I can't afford to go crazy I have to be carefully indulgent.

I think that's part of my problem kinky nothing stops me, so I'll spend silly money on experiences ON TOP of gifts, and I'm by no means able to afford it, I just do it and don't think about the consequences really. It's truly horrible, I use it as a way to mask all the rubbish we've been through in a way. For example it's one of my 2 DCs birthday in December, we will be in disneyland (paris) over her birthday, but I will STILL buy gifts for the birthday, throw a full on party, then spend stupid money on christmas. I spend money (I haven't got) as a way of making myself feel better I think. I seriously need some help with it, it's out of hand really.

My DS will be nearly 16 months when Xmas rolls around. I was planning on spending £30-40. I am shocked at some of the figures on this thread. We could afford more but I don't want to spend that much.

When I was growing up from my parents I got one present or several adding up to £50. And I don't feel hard done by. DH got stockings so we will be doing that too.