How much do you spend on your DC

[whattodo2019]

How much do you spend on their stocking?
How much on presents?

1 DS doesn't really have a limit as such I just get what I think he'll like. But if I had to guess maybe £500.
Stocking is usually £50
Christmas Eve box £30ish.

I don't buy clothes and shoes for Christmas though as I think whilst he's little he'd much prefer toys.

Oneohone Absolutely, the comps, costumes and lessons themselves cost a fortune, so anything she wants has to wait for Santa or her birthday.

Plus, other than DD I only have DM and DFIL to buy for, so the Christmas savings pot goes a long way.

I don't think present value and parental income correlate. I used to teach in a school in a deprived area and the monetary value of Christmas presents was astronomical, but half the poor kids had their presents taken back and returned (as they were being paid for in installments their parents couldn't meet) or sold by the end of January.

A lot of middle class parents don't think its a healthy idea to give children everything they ask for plus stuff they didn't and actually buy quite modest presents.

I haven't worked it out to the penny but when I've bought the last few things it will be about £400, maybe £450 per child. 2 dc, 10 and 4.

Depends on what else they’re getting. Prob about £20-30 on stocking. I try to fill it with individual items £1-5.

The rest of presents it varies, some years the kids have asked for expensive electronics. Other years not. Years without electronics prob £200-250. Years with, it’s the cost of the electronic plus £100-150 on some other bits to top up. Kids are 7 and 12.

Generally about £200 or so on main presents then lots of stocking fillers too.

@formerbabe it's a tradition that I've inherited from DP's family. Everyone has a small present on the table when they sit down to christmas dinner. Strictly £5 or less. I think it's a nice idea. Plus it might keep DS quiet for 5 minutes while we eat

@newnamenancy

Come back when your children are teenagers ,you will discover parcels get much much smaller and much more expensive.dd15 has an iPad for Christmas that’s £600 alone .
With young children ,the parcels are huge and much more reasonable !

I have 2 teenagers and I wouldn't spend 500 just because they are older. They understand and they are not selfish about it.

[quote Wherearefoxssocks]@formerbabe it's a tradition that I've inherited from DP's family. Everyone has a small present on the table when they sit down to christmas dinner. Strictly £5 or less. I think it's a nice idea. Plus it might keep DS quiet for 5 minutes while we eat[/quote]
Oh cute...sounds better than crackers!

DD is 3 - £400ish on stocking and wrapped presents.
£100 of that was love to shop vouchers I was given by my dad so technically I only spent £300 of our own money.
Her birthday is July so nicely spaced out so she rarely gets a thing between bday and Xmas.

Nonamesavail I agree. I have teens too and they understand that 600€ on a present isn't going to happen. We have enough in savings to live on for a couple of years and we'll pay for their driving lessons and further education, they have their own bedrooms and a PC or laptop each for school which were not Christmas or birthday presents, ditto decent bikes, and pre lockdown we paid for school trips abroad etc - but Christmas doesn't mean that money loses its value, and none of us have flashy over priced electronics. If the kids want a ridiculously expensive gadget they wish for money for Christmas and save for it, and something costing £500 would mean putting all Christmas and birthday money towards it.

How do these kids who think money falls from the sky cope when they're living on very little at university or in an entry level job?

To the lady who asked what I buy for main presents.

• DS is nearly 13 he has a ps5 / games / Apple air pods / trainers / football boots / football kit / a fit bit watch / parts for his PC and for his bike.

Then smaller things like - lego sets / games / things for his bedroom.

Ds7 has musical instruments / camera / our generation ambulance / new scooter / etc

There must be snow drifts of barely played with toys and bikes and discarded 6 month old electronics in some houses!

A lot of middle class parents don't think its a healthy idea to give children everything they ask for plus stuff they didn't and actually buy quite modest presents

I think some middle class parents are pretty good at dressing up their reluctance to spend money as a parenting decision! When pressed, many of the I could afford more but why on earth would I?? brigade will concede that their dc do own things that cost more than £20 or £50, it’s just that they’re bought by GPs or other family. So sometimes it’s less about not wanting their dc to have these things and more to do with who’s paying...

Genuinely stunned at the expense given out to kids for Christmas. It just seems beyond excessive, so many kids are so spoilt these days. I genuinely think if you have so much you can spend £400-£1000 on them you should give a huge chunk of that to charity as a gift from them and explain that. Most will get so many other gifts from wider family surely?? Which child needs or deserves that much given out.It’s totally against the spirit of Christmas, and all these people who start manically buying gifts months in advance as if their life depended on it!! That’s a tiny element of Christmas and Christmas Day, it’s just ridiculous how much effort, energy and money is spent on gifts.

@Whattheactual20201

To the lady who asked what I buy for main presents.

• DS is nearly 13 he has a ps5 / games / Apple air pods / trainers / football boots / football kit / a fit bit watch / parts for his PC and for his bike.

Then smaller things like - lego sets / games / things for his bedroom.

Ds7 has musical instruments / camera / our generation ambulance / new scooter / etc

That’s a lot for 13 year old, lucky boy!

- DS is nearly 13 he has a ps5 / games / Apple air pods / trainers / football boots / football kit / a fit bit watch / parts for his PC and for his bike.
Then smaller things like - lego sets / games / things for his bedroom

I have a ds the same age...I think this is an absolutely huge amount of stuff. If my ds was getting a ps5, that would be the main gift and he'd get a few extra bits perhaps but not loads of other expensive tech.

Usually €700+, but this year we've had some unexpected expenses so budget is €500
I know it's a lot.

I've barely spent anything on dd (3) this year. Her bday is close to Christmas so I always buy above her age and see what she grows into. Last year I spent a lot but I think that was subconsciously trying to compensate for working so much - that's just my personal experience, not saying others who spend a lot feel the same. Anyhow, this year I was on furlough for a long period and I feel differently. A lot of what I bought last year is just getting played with now and I don't see any major gaps in what she needs.
I got a box of proper LEGO for free using card points. And I had a playmobil voucher so I got her Santa's grotto for just 20 quid. And a baby shark towel gown in the primark bargain bucket for a quid. So I've spent 21 quid.
She will get a couple of other big toys from her gps (scooter, Tonie box and tonies) and small gifts from her uncles.
She is spoiled throughout the year though. Expensive gymnastics and swim classes. She's had loads of days out this year outside of lockdown to zoo/theme park/farm/aquarium and 3 holidays abroad when things were relaxed. I wasn't working most of the time so it took the pressure off having a perfect Christmas. Every outing she gets something from the gift shop and there is no more space. So 21 quid might seem like nothing but I think spending anything more would just be a total waste.

@TheMethodicalMeerkat

A lot of middle class parents don't think its a healthy idea to give children everything they ask for plus stuff they didn't and actually buy quite modest presents

I think some middle class parents are pretty good at dressing up their reluctance to spend money as a parenting decision! When pressed, many of the I could afford more but why on earth would I?? brigade will concede that their dc do own things that cost more than £20 or £50, it’s just that they’re bought by GPs or other family. So sometimes it’s less about not wanting their dc to have these things and more to do with who’s paying...

Sometimes it’s about being able to chip in later on in their lives with driving lessons and financial support at university.

Things that are longer-lasting gifts.

@spagbog5

I can absolutely appreciate that as they get older gifts will get more expensive, I can see this happening already as mine get older. However if we take the £500 iPad as an example, I'm just not sure I'd ever spend that on an iPad for a child/teenager. I don't see the value in the gift, how would they use it to get the value? Watching YouTube videos etc? Will it last for years and years, prob not.

So if they asked for something like that they might get it if it had educational/added value, or perhaps I would link the gift to them doing something such as solid studying and exam results, or if they helped with a large specific task at home.

Otherwise I think they'd prob get some vouchers/money to go towards the item and they'd have to save the rest themselves from birthday money or a part time job.

I don't have an exactly tally but about £200 roughly. Main present this year is £80, stocking is about another £20. Also also bought a couple of games, a cuddly toy, a book, a jumper, some arts and crafts stuff.

@newnamenancy
Our DD is dyslexic and is now able to use it for daily work at school as she types faster than she can write so it most definitely is of educational value .
Giving her that alone for Christmas seems harsh considering it's because of a learning disability so she has other things she will love too.
She will however be thrilled with the iPad .
She has access to a laptop at home too and is very appreciative of all she has , as are her adult sisters who have both been treated at Christmas like she is but obviously to a lesser extent as they are working but all 3 will have stockings at Christmas until I'm pushing up daisies!