Christmas budget - how much is not enough?

[WispaGoldsshouldcomeinmultipac]

Afternoon all...

Just a quick query (reassurance mainly).

I've saved £300 so far for Christmas to cover presents for myself, my DH and newborn (due end of November).

Now I know newborns don't need alot of Christmas presents but a colleague told me today that I'll have to save at least double for next year.... Is this true? We only ever had 4 presents and a stocking growing up and I was going to continue this (something we want, need, to read and something random)

Am I being really naive?

A one year old doesn't need any Christmas presents. They won't know what's going on, and will be just as fascinated by the wrapping as any gift you give them!

As they get older I think the 4 gift idea is lovely - it's the kind of thing I plan on doing too (and my Mum always went overboard at Christmas but honestly all it meant was that you got a lot of stuff you didn't actually want or use).

If I had my time back I’d rein in the Christmas spending while they were young, and keep expectations much lower.
By December there will be a lot of posts here along the lines of “what can I buy my 9 year old who already has everything” because there’s an expectation of a gigantic pile. Keep it real.

it's such an eye opener finding out how much people spend at Christmas or what type of things they buy. I remember listening to other mums at school gates when my daughter was younger and comparing there views to mine. I also remember my daughter showing me her friends Christmas haul photos and being horrified. Id do things your way, I think it sounds perfect

Of course you dont have to spend a certain amount, don't let her make you feel bad!
Spend what you can afford - your child will have a great Christmas because they will have family around them who love them, food to eat and a few well chosen gifts. Huge piles of plastic do not a happy christmas make.

Incidentally I would recommend buying gradually throughout the year when things are on special offer. I bought a lot of stuff on Facebook marketplace and summer sales so by september we had all presents sorted and had bought most of it at 50% off.

You should only spend what you can afford.

Your baby will be happy with wrapping paper and cardboard boxes until they’re about 2.

Please don’t waste your money, put it in savings for your child instead if you can afford it

Absolutely no need to spend much at all for quite a few years. Save the money for when they're older and want bikes, iPhones, etc.!

I just don't understand the 'vast pile of presents' mentality, especially if they're all supposed to have come from Santa/FC. Same as when I was a child, we always had stockings with relatively little things only from FC, everything else was from us or relatives, and dds knew from very early on that people needed to be thanked for presents.,
And it certainly didn't lessen the excitement of FC coming.

Babies don't have a clue what's going on anyway and small children are very easily pleased with things that can cost very little.

I well remember how delighted Gdd, then just 2, was, with something dd bought her - a relatively very cheap pack of maybe 5 small baby dolls - called, 'So Many Babies!'
She played with them endlessly.

Your friend is a fool.

Stick to what you want and don’t be guided by your colleague. Christmas gets more expensive as they get older because they start to ask for things so enjoy the cheap years just now.

You're not bad mother for not spending more than you can afford.

The 4 items + stocking sounds brilliant.

Some people spend hundreds, others spend very little especially on DC who are too young to understand. I do think children need a certain amount of toys at the right developmental age for them. When mine were toddlers it was more about making sure they had the "tools" they needed for play - fine and gross motor toys, stuff for imaginative play, learning about cause and effect, shape sorting etc. It doesn't need to cost hundreds but equally, I don't think I could give my children enough "tools" to last the next 6 or 12 months by just getting them 1 each of want, need etc when they were so young and developing so quickly.

When they have older siblings and you have all their toys already, or if you buy them toys at other times, then they will probably need very little.

I bought my child one present for Christmas when she was a year old. She had no concept of what Christmas meant and she already had lots of toys. Other people buy things too and you just don't need all that stuff.
I really miss having young children at Christmas - so easy to get a pile of impressive presents for hardly any money. It's now that they are older the shopping is hard. A playstation game costs £50 and is the size of a CD!

For my one year old last year I spent about £10 on her in total. We picked up some toys and books from charity shops/nearly new sales/boot fairs. A child that age has no concept of presents and whether they are brand new. She was happy to open and play with the wrapping paper. This year I have a small number of gifts put aside that I've got pre owned that I know she will like.

Ive found my people!? People usually make fun of me for doing my Christmas shopping in August September i haven't started yet this year and its all i can think of!
Im not really buying for a lot of people but why buy stuff when it gets more expensive in December!?

Sorry wrong thread - £100 is plenty in my honest opinion

I had a friend, when my girls were small, who used to buy almost all her children's Christmas presents on e bay and at car boot sales and she managed to buy some great things on a really tight budget and the children had lots of nice things to play with.

I never spent a lot when my children were babies. It was pointless and such a waste of money. Plus they got new clothes and toys as and when they needed them through the year. Now that they are teens and want games consoles, phones, laptops etc. they are more than making up for it! Much better to save for when they are older and buy them something nice but inexpensive when younger.

Mine are 5 and 7. For the first few years most of what I got them for birthdays and Christmas was from the charity shop/ NCT sale and didn't cost a lot. Now I would say it's about half. It's my dad's birthday soon and we have spent £30 on a new present and I will top-up with one or two things from our local NCT sale. I will also aim to get their Christmas presents from there ( and top up with a few carefully chosen new items. I think keeps costs down, is good for the environment, and they haven't objected yet. Stick within your budget, and pay no attention to your friend.

When my dc were 1 I probably spent £10 on them as they had not much of a clue what was going on.

I plan on spending £50 on my two combined. Including digging out my old polly pockets which Santa thoughtfully saved for when I had a daughter of my own. That's main present for DD1 free and main present for DS1 was £3 off fb in mint condition vs £30 new. I guarantee my kids will be thrilled and won't know or care how much it cost just that they got great presents. The rest of my budget will be a few bits (mostly of fb I presume) and stocking fillers.

I have family who do 'something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read'.

In retrospect this is a great idea. When young they are sooo easy to buy for and to go mad but aa they get older its harder and more expensive if they are used to a mountain of presents.