What do you buy for your parents? How much to spend? Joint or individual gifts?

[Flingmoo]

I never know what to buy for my parents.

They always spend £100+ on me so I always feel like I need to get them something fairly decent in return, especially as DH and I are doing well financially I'd feel tight if I bought them a cheap gift.

What do you normally get your parents, if they're still around?

Oh and for PILs, for the last few years we've done a secret santa with us, them and Dh's 2 siblings and their spouses. Budget £30 and we use an online one so people can fill in a wishlist and ask questions anonymously. Works really well (although I've drawn BIL this year, who I probably know least well of all and he's neglected to do his wishlist so I gave no clue what to buy him!)

I spend about £10 on a calendar for my mother and have done for the past 3-4 years because she's in a rest home and doesn't have the space for anything.

Even when she wasn't in a rest home and dad was still alive, I only bought a small token gift as she is difficult to buy for. Years ago she refused to accept a present I gave her as it was a 'silly' present (a cheese cutter set) and I once bought her an expensive decorative house accessory and she never opened it, I've got it sitting in my garage because I got it back when we cleared out the house.

I haven't bought anything expensive since.

I budget roughly €100 between the 2 of them, sometimes a joint present, sometimes individual.

This year, DF is getting a gardening kit. Lots of bits he will use but never buy himself.

DM is getting some chanel No.5 bath oil as she loves the perfume but never buys the other bits with it - and loves when she does get them.

I always send flowers on about 21st December so they're still lovely for Xmas day. I'm getting my mum a SAD lamp and my dad... hmm I'm not sure, he is really hard to buy for. Dad still works and earns excellent money and they move in fine wine, minibreaks, brand new Mercedes circles so he has everything he wants. They were skint when I was growing up so I'd love to spoil them but not just with useless tat!

Around ten pounds each or less. I pretty much get them a book/cd/DVD/jigsaw every year.

This year I've got my mum the Tom Jones autobiography and dad a historical fiction novel. They both have key fobs with new pictures of the children too.

My parents like paperback books, and take them travelling. If not sure I get two each. They tend to get us all something small like clothes, plus a cheque.
ILs similar plus anything they ask for that they can't "justify" buying themselves, so will get them a camera this year.

My mum has sooooo much stuff I really don't want to add to it.

This year she's getting consumables - paper napkins (she gets through a lot), food and drink.

I'll spend about £40 but then I also subsidise the gifts she'll buy my children. For example she gave me £50 to buy pyjamas for the 3DC - I couldn't find one set for less than £25 and I don't have the heart to tell her.

I don't buy anything for my father and stepmother as we've agreed to not exchange gifts to each other, just from them to my DCs. However I always feel a bit cheap doing this so I put a photo of the DCs in a nice frame and give that as a joint gift, coupled with a poinsettia or small token gift like that.

My in-laws have specific tastes; MIL likes Just Brazils and FIL likes Midget Gems, so it's always those with a book and a pair of slippers or something like that. Again the adults don't spend that much on each other, it's more for the DCs.

I think as you get older it becomes more about the giving, not the receiving, or at least it has for me. I appreciate you want to give a gift so really think what they like: do they drink? Maybe a bottle of gin or whisky - Lidl have good inexpensive whisky blends in this time of year. How about a personalised calendar? I've just seen an advert for half price personalised calendars from photobox if you put GIFT in the checkout bit. Or maybe go down the photo frame route with a nice photo in it?

It varies but probably £40-£60

DM -pair of jeans, moisturiser, shampoo and money - she wants a pair of boots but she can't find a pair she likes, her birthday is in January so she will get more money towards said boots.

MIL - Burts bees gift set and a bracelet, her partner dies last year and it's a memorial (kind of sorry hard to explain) to him.

Step dad - windbreaker, slippers and a case of real ale.

Dad - a calendar of my DC (DM & MiL get one too) my dad lives 4,500 miles away so only a token gift because postage is loads.

i spend £50 to £60 on my parents, they pick a joint gift, then i also get them a smaller present each