how much do you REALLY spend on your kids? i think im in denial...

[juicychops]

every year my sister asks me how much i spend on my ds (only child) and every year she is shocked by the amount that i say. She has 2 kids so would obviously have to spend the same on each so maybe has a smaller budget than me.

Xmas is once a year and i love it and i have prepared and saved in advance this year so wont be getting into debt to pay for things. Having a ds that is nearly 12 everything on his list is super expensive but i dont want to risk him being disappointed only having a few presents to open. I have had the talk with him and he understands that he wont get as much this year as all of his things are expensive and add up to a lot, which he was fine about, but still, i would like him to have a reasonable amount of presents.
My budget was £200 but it will look as though i will end up spending nearer £300. Is that really terrible? I feel like i need to justify spending that much, and in my defense i dont buy him much at all through the year as he has to save his own pocket money to buy his own things.

But i suppose im just asking is that over the top and spoilt? or around normal?

Usually about £30 - £40 on the stocking. One main present - £80 - £120. Then maybe some little presents - couple of books, a dvd and a selection box, something like that.

iPads etc aside I'd genuinely struggle to think what could cost so much???

So, do your kids have ipads, ipods, phones, consoles, tvs or any other gadget that cost more than £50? If so, how did they get them? Even things such as Lego sets etc can cost more than £50. What about bikes, scooters etc?

Some people buy stuff like this at other times, others buy them for Christmas gifts - neither is right or wrong, people just do things differently.

£300-£400 but when I've wrapped it all up it never seems like much

About €300.

Why do these threads always include posts denigrating people who don't spend much as misers who only get their kids a satsuma and a coloring book? Maybe that's all they can afford.

most of my friends spend about the same as you op, of course you do get people spending £££££ and they are usually the ones who do the "Santa's been..." posts on Facebook on Christmas Eve .

neon I think it's because the posters proclaiming they only buy a satsuma and some nuts usually make quite nasty comments to those who spend more. It's very smug.

Ds1 was 12 the year sa2 was born and I say that at that age he started costing more games consoles and games you don't get much change . Ds2 is 11 this year and has asked for xbox1 so cost is up but to this point he has not had more than £100 .

Wankers - do you mean you find it surprising that some kids don't have iPads, iPods, phones, consoles, TVs or other gadgets? Mine don't. I'm sure this will change when they are teenagers but surely this is not unusual for primary school kids?

I agree with laylo. The posters who genuinely can only afford small gifts are not the ones who post on these threads, it's the ones who are relatively well off that post with competitive miserliness and encourage others to do it to, when actually their DCs grandparents and aunts are spending ££££.

We've always had to overcompensate as whilst DSs would get a pile of envelopes with money in from relatives and that is very kind and generous of them, they never received any gifts. It's fine now that they're teenagers, but if we hadn't gone a bit overboard, they would't have had much to open.

We don't have a set budget , and I've never price matched for my DC , it's swings and roundabouts so I'm sure over the years it evens out . As long as you can afford to spend whatever you spend then it's no one else's business .

Inthe Nope, not surprised at all and I have no idea what age your children are, but I am surprised at someone wondering what people could possibly buy that was over £50 when clearly lots of children and teenagers have these items (as do mine) In my house these sorts of things are gifts for Birthdays and christmases, in others they may be acquired differently.

I would also add that ime, most primary aged children have at least one of these items such as a tv or a tablet or a handheld console. Some have iphones/ipads/xbox ones etc though.

Competitively cheap here: about 20 quid but she is very small still.
I am pretending I live in the 50s before iPads
Many of my friends are similar and don't buy their kids or partners much at all.
But at school it is a completely different and they are all spending a small fortune.

Over the years I've had Christmasses where I could barely afford to feed me and my DD's and it was really hard but they were young and you can be a lot more creative when they are little!

Life has been easier for us the last two years, certainly the two to three years before that we were struggling badly and Christmas was a very sedate occasion in terms of presents. But Dp and I didn't do presents for each other, we just bought for the dc's. He has 2 and so do I.

Last year we bought my two a laptop each as they didn't have one. Both his dc had laptops already but they got equivalent presents.

This year, DD1 is 18 and wants/needs a printer for going to uni. I paid £200 for one which is a tank rather than cartridges to keep her costs down. And DD2 is 11 and all she wants is Lego and Jelly tots. She's got a few Lego sets which aren't exactly cheap and I've probably spent £250 on her. His oldest and her partner we've spent about £200 so far and his youngest is 13 and we've spent about £120 so far. She's the hardest one to buy for and we will likely just add money to the things we've already bought.

inthepale My youngest is 11. She has a tablet but that was a free gift from EE when we signed up with the TV thing. We also got 3 free tables when we renewed phone contracts so we've never had to actually buy any! DD2 barely touches hers but she does have a laptop which she uses a lot, especially for homework. She also uses the Wii.

Problem is that she's the youngest. Her sister is 18 and her to step sisters are 13 and 21. She's surrounded by other people using technology! And at school half of her friends have iphones while she only has my old android with a basic £10 contract so she can call me if she's late coming home from school.

When DD1 was her age it was a lot easier to keep her life relatively techno free. Much less easier when there are older sibs who have it in the house already.

About £50 each on one main present but could be more or could be two smaller ones, + About £30 on stockings. We don't do multiple presents but they get plenty from relatives.

About £150 per child. There is 3 of them. Shocking really but Christmas only happens once a year so we don't mind.

I do spend a lot, now she's older the 'main' present tends to be costly. I love doing the stocking and I buy decent presents for it but it will include the practical such as socks and knickers, but a bit nicer than the everyday ones, new pyjamas and thing like hair stuff and make-up. I pad it out with cleansing wipes, cotton wool pads, emery boards and so on plus a few more frivolous bits. I have never, ever put an orange or tangerine in the stocking, I had no idea that was tradition until recently.
It's your business what you spend, I have never really discussed my spending with anyone else.

I am really going to go against the grain here.

I am baffled by the mn combination of people worrying about money and then the habit of spending £200-£300 per child.

I live in an area where money is tight for a lot of people and yet they persistently go into massive debt for Christmas. Kids getting ipads are common.

On the one hand, yes, if you can afford it, why not. On the other hand I get a bit sick at the materialism around Christmas.

We buy within our budget. I refuse to take out credit/go in debt for Christmas. That means we spend about £40-£60 on presents under the tree, per child and about £20 on their stocking. That means, for example that my dd will get a lego set costing £35. I found it reduced on Amazon, so it is a £50 set at a good price. She will get a few other bits too, so about £60. In the stockings, we have a policy of around £2 er pressie, it is a fun stocking, so chocolate orange, novlety toothbrush etc.
There are presents from relatives, but only one side, as the other side is a culture that don't do presents at Christmas.

We make a huge fuss of Christmas, special day, lots of nice traditions, lots of family time, we play daft games etc, and my kids love Christmas. There is no need to spend a lot to have a nice time.

I don't set a budget but just buy things that I think appropriate. Probably one bigger problem thing and some small bits. Probably around £100 - £150 per child.

£15 max on nieces/nephews (all family agreed to this limit).

£50 on dh, if that.

Money isn't an issue but I just can't see how it is necessary or desirable to spend more than that.

I would also say that we do have all the tech and gadgets etc, many have been for Christmas or birthday, but dh is good with repairing and we buy most second hand. Dd 2 got a beautiful bike for her last birthday, we would have paid up to £50 seond hand, but found a bargain on ebay for £5. It was like new, and I was embarrassed to get it so cheap. I even offered the seller more, but she was happy it was going to a good home.

If you can afford to buy new - why not? If you can't there is no shame in good second hand, my kids don't care as long as they get the phone/bike/laptop.

I am spending about £250 per child and feel that's more than ample. They are 14,10 and 8. Eldest is getting £150 towards a phone upgrade, middle is getting a stunt scooter and little is getting small things. Everything else will be small gifts such as books, pj's, vouchers. I have never and will never give them 35 gifts to open and if that makes me smug then so be it.

It's none of your sister's business how much you spend.

Oh god...im so turning off facebook Christmas eve, I cant stand the santas been look how much stuff we have posts!
I put one up last year with the usual presents under it....all 9 of them (3each) you would think I was neglecting them

Our DC are only 1 & 3 and whilst they are so little I think you can get away with spending less than you'd think - especially as grandparents and other family / friends will buy them a whole host of presents!
I think we'll end up spending about £70 or so per child - one biggish present (£50) then a few smaller bits.
I can see as they get older though we will spend more, ie. when they want an xbox, ipad or pair of Nike trainers etc!
I once added up how much I spent on presents for all family & friends and it came to about £800 - that probably covers about 30 people.
I'd say there is no right or wrong - as long as you can afford it. I'm not in debt and don't have credit cards etc. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it.