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

We buy one present - it helps the DC's focus their mind on what they would really like. They also get a present from their siblings and then a stocking with little bits in - pencils, underwear, jelly beans, chocolate coins, stretchy lizards for DS

We do buy a family present of annual passes to our local theme park. I find that this is much nicer, and dont feel like I have wasted my money on more tat.

alma I've done the same thing for years, but over the last few months I feel like I'm starting to get more of a handle on it. The guilt is hard, especially if you've been through things. My DD was very seriously ill and I spent a bomb compensating with gifts for both of them and Disney immediately after chemo. But, life goes on and there are things that I want to be able to do for them - like a more spacious home - that my spending has not helped to achieve. I hang out here; it is very supportive and you'd be very welcome whether you have debt or not. It helps us all with perspective. LINK: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/2193736-Debt-mutual-support-thread-number-5-the-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-is-NOT-an-oncoming-train Apologies if you've been on it in the past - it moves so quick, I lose track at times.

£500 holy actual fuck

The age of children is very relevant. When younger I can buy my DC actual toys and had I even spent £100 it would have seemed too much. When they're older, and once they hit the teens, you can easily get into really high spending figures without having much 'stuff'.

It's very easy for parents of toddlers to point out they may only spend £50 or for posters tot alma bout having too much 'stuff' but if you buy a laptop or an iPad or an iPhone, you have one very small (and useful) item which unfortunately costs a lot more than all the proper toys they ever had, put together.

Can't see why anyone should feel bad for spending their money on their children.

Totally agree mama. Spending £50 can get a few items for toddler but you'd be lucky to get two relevant presents for a 9-10 yo with that. Board games are £20-30 nowadays. Small Barbie style doll can be similar.

I never buy dds unless Xmas or birthdays and I guess I think about my disposable income per month and think really do I begrudge my child say £200 toys at Xmas when i spend more than that going out for a few meals with friends etc or having my own adult entertainment.

By that I mean I'd spend more than that on myself socially throughout the year not the month obviously!

I think your best advice is the very first response you had.

I would add that you need to be very determined and motivated not to fall into the trap of more and better each year. I wasn't able to see this and wished somebody had warned me.

Whatever you decide to do will be fine, dc don't mind or bother that some friends have more or less than they do. They are more than happy because its their xmas.

Alt

I wish that when the expensive presents came in that I had made them save up and buy with birthday money and kept xmas simple and cheap, I really do.
without games consoles, ipads, iphones, laptops etc you could keep xmas cheap.
You don't have to buy these things for xmas but most of us fall into the trap.

To those who say when they are teenagers it's different - I take your points.

My brother is a teenager - 17 - and he gets £50 worth of stuff of or £50 to save towards an iPad/iPhone/Xbox. He feels incredibly lucky to have this as he knows out there there are children who have far less.

I've never had a load of money to spend, so it's fairly modest really. When they were little I used to buy bargains throughout the year and stash them for birthdays and Christmas. Probably about eight presents each, plus a stocking with bits and bobs.

Then when they were a bit older it was one or two bigger, more expensive items, plus quite a few smaller ones, probably eight-ten each.

Now they are 18 and 16. Last year they had three or four presents plus a huge gift bag of style and beauty products each.

This year will be a pandora charm each plus two or three small presents, and a cash gift.

Oh forgot cost. Probably about £150 per child since they've been over about ten. Less when they were little and I used to buy only in the sales.

I said earlier between £150-£200. I've just done all their shopping and it's come to £178 for 11 presents for 2yo, and £146 for 9 presents for the 4yo.

I'm really pleased with that as I did think for what we had in mind to get them I'd struggle to keep it under £200.

4yo coming out cheaper because big present was 1/2 price. And 2yo has a couple more because it's got a few very small things to open.

Just stockings left now which will be daft stuff like bubble bath, socks, choc etc.

Too many. DD is not yet 3.

I am fairly restrained - this year have spent just under £80 on her including her stocking, which equates to two 'big' presents (a doll and a wooden farm with animals), a medium one (duplo set), books and the stocking.

The main bulk comes from the family. She's the only grandchild for my parents who have always been insanely generous at Christmas and if previous years are anything to go by will buy her anything between 5 and 15 gifts; DH's parents are divorced so she will receive at least 2 more gifts there, plus up to 8 from his siblings. Great-grandfathers give cash. Then there are usually gifts from three or four of our close friends and suddenly our house looks like Father Christmas exploded in it. Oh, and her birthday's 3 weeks later and they do it all again...

She's a very, very lucky girl. The sheer amount she receives makes me slightly uncomfortable but any suggestions to my DM that she tone it down a bit fall on deaf ears. I certainly enjoyed her mad Christmas shopping binges as a kid, mind!

cooki3 I genuinely don't get how you can know what your 4 year old will want. My youngest is 4 and I've bought a few things but have to leave some of thee budget available until closer to the time. How do you know?

You know, I have absolutely no idea. They usually have loads and loads of parcels though because we have a tiny family and I am a bit paranoid about them not having many.

I'll try to count up and get back to you.

Quite a lot in total but then I have a large family who go totally overboard.
From me (single mum 4 children 17, 6, 21 and 11 months) they'll probably get about 10 plus stockings. Cost varies massively, about £100 each on my two youngest, my 6 year old loves lego so about £200 on mostly that,
my eldest is getting a Apple computer so a couple of thousand probably. (I'm so excited she is a computer whizz, reads all the computer magazines but has no idea I would actually get her one)

mama a couple of thousand? Is that a usual amount amongst her friends?? I worry when my kids get older we are going to seem poor because no way we could afford that.

My children get lots, but unlike what irregular suggests, they're not spoilt or bored because we do not overindulge the other 364 days of the year, and so they're actually rather grateful for the gifts that they receive.

My DDs tend to get:

Xmas stocking (to open in bed and entertain if they wake up stupidly early!) 5 small little things like a magazine to read, chocolate to gorge on etc...

Once we're awake, they have their sacks from Santa. This is usually about 25 presents each and includes luxury food items they're not normally allowed (like bubble gum), clothes, books, DVDs etc... This usually includes 3 gifts that they request. I choose the rest, but it includes a lot of things they need.

From us: 5 big presents. This may be a £30-40 new gym leotard, pandora charm etc. this year the girls want iPad minis. We said if they save up the first half, we'll pay the rest (£125), so they're busy doing chores earning pocket money, saving birthday money etc for that.

As for other people, my parents also give them a small sack (about 10 - 15 presents) but again, this includes a lot of things they use and need as well, like the microwave beanbag toys etc...

Then from other people the girls probably get another 15 - 20 presents. But these won't all be opened on Christmas Day.

For cost, haven't a clue but it's easily hundreds of pounds. But they only get about £50 on presents for birthdays (I buy a party instead) and I don't buy toys during the year - they want something they need to save pocket money for it. It also includes a lot of their clothes. Dds have asked for some nice / trendy clothes this year, which they'll get.

They'll get a lot, but our house won't be filled with tat on Boxing Day .

Not sure how many but I try and make sure they each have the same amount of things roughly, though I often split things up to achieve that.

My budget last year for the four of them was £700 but I don't split it equally. My two oldest get the most expensive items where as my two youngest are happy with toys.

I think DD will get a 2nd hand iPhone 5. DS1 is undecided. DS2 a bike and DS3 a micro scooter.

Mmmmm I have 3 ds', 1 dss and 1 dsd. We give them a stocking each at the dinner table that probably has between £30-£50 in it. We do smellies, practical bits and cd's etc. They also have 3-4 presents under the tree and their main present from Father Christmas is the big thing eg bike or xbox.
I save all year with park and love Christmas.

About £250-£300 per child usually but going to try to cut it down this year, particularly in toys for my youngest. My eldest two will be mainly clothes. I also buy for 8 nieces/nephews, my dad and sister and 3 in-laws. We save about £1400 a year for Xmas and it always goes.

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Well, actually, because she's been asking for a wooden doll's house for months and months. So that's what she's getting.

But apart from that, because she is only 4, what she thinks she wants often has very little to do with it. I buy her what I want her to have. Something age appropriate, affordable, practical, enjoyable and at least a little bit educational. Simple really.

Bearing in mind last year she begged Father Christmas for an actual farm. No, not a toy farm. A real farm with real tractors, real cows etc etc... she was very, very insistent about this. And this year she "really, really, REALLY" wants some lipstick.

Basically, I know what she wants better than she does.

And, anyway, it's only 10 weeks away! It's not like they're going to suddenly develop whole new interests between now and then!

Wow, I was thinking that dd (3) had too many presents last year but her haul pales into insignificance beside this lot! This year we'll be giving her one main present (something she loved played with at a friend's house and that we've bought secondhand for £5), and a stocking - stocking budget is £20. Grandparents, aunts/uncles and close friends will be getting her presents too - last year she had about 20 presents altogether (not including stocking, which was chocolate buttons, stickers, gloves, craft stuff etc) and lost interest in opening them halfway through. We might keep some to open on Boxing Day this year if relatives each buy a few presents.