To ask how much you spend

[PixieDustt]

On your children at Christmas?
Of course you don't have to answer!
I have a DS and I feel i could be spending too much then I worry it isn't enough because toys are so expensive now!

Should also add that most of our family is 200 miles away so they tend to send money rather than gifts which gets used for vouchers or Magazine subscriptions.

£100 per child.
They get about £20 from one set of grandparents and about £50 worth of toys from the other plus a few small toys from aunties and uncles.

DS is 7 so still wanting Lego not tech.
Probably £50 on advent stuff eg Lego advent calendar, PJs, book, t shirt.
Stocking £50
Main presents £150.
So £250.
We are doing a weekend in London for Christmas treats- seeing the Harry Potter studios and the Tutankhamun exhibition. That’s hundreds but it’s a family holiday

Just the one DS. Usually about £150 on stocking and one main present. His birthday is shortly afterwards so another £100 there. I quite like the short gap now as I can give him whatever he didn't get for Christmas!

This year is unexpectedly easy as I have been given a boxed new phone from the estate of a dead relative, and he's turning 16 and has wanted gym membership for years at that age.

I have most probably spent about £150 on DS so far, but then the new paw patrol mighty pups came out and I will most probably be spending a tad more.. 🙄🙄

About £400-£500 each I have two teenagers so its more tech, trainers, perfume\aftershave and clothes as well as the obligatory chocolate, we have never been abroad as a family due to family circumstances so we can afford to spend what we do for Christmas.

Dd is 10.
Last year I think we spent £700 on dd, but she did get a switch, pro controller and games.
This year she doesnt want anything majorly expensive so I think we will only spend about £3-400 which will be a couple of bigger lego sets, pandora charms, trainers, smellies and board games.

Mine are still quite young but until they know the value I will buy them what they ask for - within reason. No budget, it won't matter if the requested item/s cost £5 or £500. If they ask for too much high value stuff I will explain they can't have it all and they need to choose.

It's probably around the £500 mark tbh on the older children but £350 each on the younger 2. I don't spend equal amounts on them otherwise I would be buying presents for the sake of it.

£80-100 for DD(2)

To be honest I think spending £500 on a toddler is obscene, especially if he will get £200+ from other family members. Where will you put it all!?

I have spent £200 to ds9 and £120 to dd7 so far. Couple of more presents I we are done.

So he’s looking at close to £1000 worth of gifts overall OP? That is a lot for a toddler. Will it be the same next year?
We love Christmas, it’s a big deal here too. We could afford to spend £1000 per child but don’t, as in my opinion it would be madness!
We will spend approx £150 on the 5 and 4 year olds and around £75 on the 1 year old (a ride on, a toy or two and some little stocking fillers).

My DS doesn't really understand birthdays and Christmas. Can get a little overwhelmed by presents and too much going on around him.

So on Christmas Day we stick to the "Something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read" but make it fun and for him and his personality, it's a really nice balance of interesting things, we then also plan an experience for him so we can make memories and have something to look forward to. We probably spend £150-200 on his gifts and day out.

If family or friends buy him gifts he tends to open them one or two a day for the next week or so.

Agree with pp, that is an eye-watering amount to spend on a child too young to understand.

In past years I've spent knocking on £300 which was totally unnecessary.

This year I'm trying to stick to £150 which is much more reasonable.

Only have one child though so could go crazy!

What I can afford and on things I think DD will like and appreciate without overbuying and spoiling her (well, most year we manage the “not spoiling her” part! 😂).

Some years it was very frugal as I saw nice things cheaply and had time to do things myself.

Other years, she had put up with a lot and also wanted bigger things - she got a bike one year, and another was an XBox (that was the biggest year tbh but it is still very well used within screen time limits).

Reading these comments I realise I'm quite stingy! We're fairly well off too but I wouldn't spend more than £100 per kid. My oldest is nearly 6 so maybe as they get older that might change.

I should have added that DD always gets a book as part of her stocking, and there is always something nice but practical under the tree from DH and I. Lots of her presents are solid things that last years and can be added to (she only recently stopped playing with Lego, for example, and has a good few City sets - but we still have it all as she’s doing LEGO club in school with programming), and lots of her toys have gone to others in the family afterwards as well - wooden blocks, walkers, jigsaws etc.

So we don’t mind spending more than the basic version knowing that they will get well. Used over time and not just by her - DD is the eldest of many DGCs on both sides.

We’re doing our best to live ethically and that includes not buying tat and unwanted/unneeded items. We may end up spending more to get useful things like a bike for one of them but I’ve no difficulty keeping things minimal. What I’ve discovered is that kids don’t gain anything except expectations from piles of crap. And how they treat what they do get is directly related to how much they get. It takes very little to make them feel special and loved (which they are).

2 boys age 10 and 7. Budget approx 300 but can be more or less. Stuff gets more expensive the older they get

About 150-200ish on my son, 100 on my partner, upto 100 combined on my mum, sister and Step dad. 60 on my partners son and nephew

Depends on "wants" or "needs" here, I figure it evens out in the end.

DS scooter £70 extras £20 ish. Stocking £10.
DD Sylvanians £15, vtech concert £26, onsie £10, extras £10. Stocking £10.
DD ???

I guess about £100 a child or slightly less.

I estimate about £200 worth of stuff from extended family.

I massively overcompensate for DS being an only child. Last year he probably got £600 ish in presents, plus front row seats at Wembley walking with dinosaurs, Kew gardens at Christmas, then a 3 day VIP Disney trip for 28th to New Year's Day. Previous years I've flown him to Lapland, he's had some amazing times.

This year, our twins should have arrived, and Christmases will be a much more traditional affair and I can't wait. I've longed for "all the children" around the tree, as has he. Going forward, it's going to be more like £50-100 per child with things they'll play together. I can't wait. For me, Christmas is not about the gifts, it's the family experience. And as it's always been just DS and I for so long, I've felt guilty about his lack of siblings, so have created the experience so to speak.

Without sounding like a cliché, I truly believe it's about enjoying the time, not the gifts. Gifts don't create memories.

DS is 5.5 and we'll probably spend about £350. I think in previous years I've gone overboard and spent more. Both myself and my husband have memories off overflowing sofas so we want to give the same to our son (and can afford to do so) but this year I'm going to try and buy less and just get a few things he'll love. This is made easier by 2 of the items being very large physically so I feel we'll still have the wow factor.

I'm always at some of the amounts spent on very small children (or even teenagers....) - my sister spends loads per child and honestly they hardly use any of it and it gets taken to the charity shop during the following year. I'm no eco-warrior but it makes me sad for the planet!

I normally spend £150-ish on DD (6) and tbh even then there's lots of stuff she doesn't ever play with (fingerlings, I'm looking at you, you little bastards...) Even then (with what I think of as a reasonable moderate spend), every year I still wish I'd got a bit less - it's hard to get the balance right.

This year DD is getting her stocking (prob. about £30-35, includes a book, game, and lots of bits and chocolate), a wooden loom (which she wants, and which I got some money off on Amazon); some book sets from The Book People; a ty beanie, bath glitter salts and new pyjamas which were all on sale; some colouring and craft items and a lego elves set (Argos clearance!) I will usually get her a "big" present from santa too nearer the time, of about £30-50. Not sure yet what she wants; I don't think she knows yet either. In earlier years the "big" presents were things like a wooden train set, a toy kitchen and a marble run so I'm a bit stumped about what she might be interested in this year.

I've tried to reduce family presents too this Christmas, by asking for experiences rather than things - so my parents are going to get her ballet tickets and my MIL panto tickets. I have two siblings and we have a general agreement to spend about £25 on each child (though DD gets a little more as she's an only child and my siblings both have 2). This year I've asked my sister to get DD a new lamp for her bedroom - not sure yet what else I'll ask them for; possibly another book set. DD is a happy soul who despite the odd nag for something she's seen "on an advert", isn't that bothered about stuff. She mostly likes drawing, crafting and riding her bike, and we're lucky that she isn't particularly interested in computer games or techy toys - I appreciate that they're more expensive. It's tricky when they grow out of the small child toys.