How many people do you buy for?

[Lovemusic33]

And how much do you spend per person/child….not including your own dc?

I’m just writing a list of people I need to buy for, 9 children and 10 adults, I have cut down on who I buy for but can’t really reduce it much more, the kids are mainly my DC’s nieces and nephews (my ex’s children’s children), so I buy them gifts from my dc who are not yet adults and then my niece and nephew. The adults are my parents and their partners (both remarried), my best friend, and my one remaining grandparent as well as the DC’s father and his partner (again I buy a token gift from the dc).

So if I spend £10-£15 on each that’s still over £200 😭

How much do you spend on each child/person? And how many are you buying for?

Are there any good token gift ideas for under £10 that will get used and not end up in landfill?

Wow, some of you must be amazingly well organised, with so many people to buy for!

We hardly have any to buy for, it's just:

My mum, £30-£50

PILs, £20-£30 each

NDNs on one side (who buy individual presents for our 6 dogs), £30

NDNs on the other side, flowers, £20

2 x couple friends, flowers and wine/gin/beers, about £40 per couple

Vet (staff are amazing, and we get "mate's rates" for everything), they get a hamper of decent chocolate, cake, fancy biscuits etc so they've got something nice for a tea break. About £50.

Some nice biscuits for the doctors' receptionists, about £10. They're fantastic, so helpful and kind.

Lastly, usually a wee box of "retro" sweets for the local mechanic who kept my previous car ticking along perfectly for minimal cost. About £10.

NDNs on one side (who buy individual presents for our 6 dogs)

Love that they buy for each dog. 🥰

I thought I was going to win this prize, with 35 but I see a PP has 47 to buy!

It used to be a few more, but then we knocked off some adult siblings, and a couple of people died, and we didn’t see one group of friends at Christmas for a couple of years so that feel away too. But then a few more nieces and nephews were born…

It’s too many really but there’s no appetite for cutting it down. I do just give money to a lot of the youngsters though so while it’s expensive, I’m not racking my brain on what to get an 18 year old lad!

We buy for our two DC £600 then 2 nephews £30 each . That's it .

Partner handles his side of the family, I sort mine. Usually about £100-150 on my mum, and £50 or so on my dad (I would love to spend more on him but he's one of those people who is notoriously difficult to buy for with no hobbies etc so he doesn't have a strict budget as such, just whatever x item costs that is likely to be used by him).
Two kids- £250 or so each.
Partner- between £200 and £300, not a strict budget, though. Could come in as less or more, just depends on what I see.
Grandparents get token gifts (think flowers, chocolates) and anything my mum has thought of as she usually sorts their presents out for everyone in the family.

I don't buy for extended family members etc though. And for my small group of immediate friends, we tend to spend about £10-30 on each other, as a token gift.

Thankful we don't a huge number of people to buy for, as it means we have the cash to be able to spend more on those who we see/spend the most time with. It suits everyone. However, we do send cards to extended members of family, but in the grand scheme of things that doesn't cost too much.

@Lovemusic33

The tie dye kit might work for nephew and niece (they are 5 and 7), the others are younger, I haven’t got a clue what to buy the smallest 2 (age 1 and almost 3), they have so much already, I usually buy books or clothes. Then I have 3 teens to buy for 😬.

5&7 and teens… cinema voucher and a box of sweets to each family.

1&3 a bath toy to share and bubble bath or voucher for soft play.

We have…
4 parents £75 each
1 grandparent £50
2 DN £50 each
1 godparent £25
3 friends £25 each
6 children of friends £10 each
4 elderly neighbours £10 each
Bake Christmas cakes for a few family members £50ish

Then our DC x 3 plus one has a DP

By the time we add Christmas stockings for anyone staying over on Christmas Eve plus new pyjamas it’s a lot of money.

Ok so excluding my kids and DH, I/ we buy for:
My DSis, maybe £50-£60 plus a stocking so another £25ish, she doesn't have a partner or her own kids, and we are very close.
FIL- £25 ish
SIL and partner x2- £10 per pair, bottle of wine (£7) and box of chocolates (£3)
5x nieces and nephews- £20 each, games vouchers for the older ones, toys for youngest.
One set of friends, who are more like family than friends- £40 between the two of them.

So thats about £270, which we save throughout the year, in past years where we weren't as financially stable, we have spent a lot less on people. The amount we spend depends on what we can afford.

@Jumpingintochristmas

We have… 4 parents £75 each 1 grandparent £50 2 DN £50 each 1 godparent £25 3 friends £25 each 6 children of friends £10 each 4 elderly neighbours £10 each Bake Christmas cakes for a few family members £50ish

Then our DC x 3 plus one has a DP

By the time we add Christmas stockings for anyone staying over on Christmas Eve plus new pyjamas it’s a lot of money.

Why do you need to buy new pyjamas?

Can you not include them as part of a present if they are needed?

My sister declared no presents for anyone over 18 about 10 years ago.

So as a single parent I haven't had a Christmas present for 10 years! She has gifts from her husband, and he also sorts out presents from their children. It makes Christmas a miserable affair for me but I can just spend my money on DD

I buy for my Partner, 3 adult children, my mum, my 3 grandchildren and my last remaining nephew who is under 18...about £400 in total .... this is affordable to me ..... if it wasn’t Then I would spend less

Husband
Mum
Dad
Mother in law
Father in law
Brother
Sister
Brother in law
Brother in law
Sister in law
Nephew
Nephew
Best friend

I spend about £150 on my husband, roughly £50 on each adult in my family, £35 on best friend, closer to £70 on nephews. I also have one child but he’s just a baby so haven’t done Christmas presents for him yet.

The presents are all jointly sent from my husband and me.

I always do my shopping in a mad rush in December. Every year I plan to start it earlier but I never seem to get my head in the game.

I buy for
DH
DT’s
DSis, BiL, 2x Nieces, 1x Nephew
DSS & 3x DGC,
DSS ex-partner/parent of 2 of DGC)
DSD & female flatmate (token gift for flatmate)
DMiL
DFiL

DH buys for - me!!

It’s a very one sided breakdown of purchasing and, if I didn’t buy for DH’s family, he wouldn’t!! They don’t seem to prioritise gift giving in his family and definitely aren’t card givers either. I have 2 siblings (both married and have children/grandchildren) who get a card but one rarely reciprocates. To be one who does gets a small gift for her & DBiL (last year myself and DSis shared gifts to them. No parents on my side of the family.

Budget wise it’s a couple hundred £‘s on twins, £150 or so on DH.
DSis & family another £150-200 by time accounted for courier delivery.
PiL £20-30 each
DSC £40-50 each and maybe another £50-60 on DGC

No idea how much DH spends on me - last year it was about £15 on crap from Poundland got stocking fillers and an expensive personalised item that was for wrong ipad so was chucked in a corner and will be thrown out when I sort out for this christmas as it’s no good for anyone else!!

We dramatically cut back at one point.
So we buy for:
Our own 4 children and each other.
Outside of that.
Both sets of parents is usually around £20-30 each set.
My sister and her partner which we get a £20 restaurant voucher for.
My brother and his wife a box of biscuits and there children get a £10 gift each
My brother a box of sweets and his son gets a £10 gift
Both my Nan's are £10 each

So roughly around £120-150 for family members.

I tend to do the classic my children school photos as a gift plus a box of sweets for the adults.
Once you turn 16 I also no longer buy for you.

With my Friends this year we have booked a trip to London to see a show in jan. that's our gift to each other.

Apart from my kids I will buy 2 nephews and 1 niece And my neighbour and her child

Totally cut back last year and it's so much better.

Used to get all stressed buying every friend and children and for people I hadn't seen all year. Not any more.

DH and I are both only children so no siblings, nieces or nephews. My parents don’t celebrate and he has a really small family. So outwith our two girls:

MIL, probably £100-150
Her boyfriend, a bottle of whiskey and some chocolate about £25
DH uncle and his wife, about £40
My best friend a joke type gift under £5 (this year the sloth colouring book - so not tat just a very small something we know each other will love and make us smile)
My god daughter about £70
8 of dd2s friends at around £10 each

Dd1 is working and lives out the home so can buy her own friends.

We are lucky we are financially stable, and I love buying presents so can indulge myself on the few people I have to buy for.

@Bonkerz

With my Friends this year we have booked a trip to London to see a show in jan. that's our gift to each other.

Apart from my kids I will buy 2 nephews and 1 niece And my neighbour and her child

Totally cut back last year and it's so much better.

Used to get all stressed buying every friend and children and for people I hadn't seen all year. Not any more.

I will buy MIL from kids and obviously will have to pay for stbxh from kids.

Just DH (usually a few hundred quid) and DM (about £100). DNs get a tenner in a card. DH buys for his DC and his side of the family (or doesn't!), I don't get involved.

Not including my DC

Mum: £100
Stepdad: £30
Grandma: £30
2 Brothers: £50 each
Best friend: £100

Mum €150
Teen Son €200
Partner €150
Niece €50
Brother €50
€600 total on presents

FIL, MIL, SIL, 3 x DN £20ea = £120. DP & DM c£100 ea

Mum- £30
Friend 1 £25
Friend 2 £20
8 other friends £5 to £15 each.

I buy for
DP, DS, dd
My mum, my 2 sisters, my 3 brothers, my dad, my step mum, my step brother, my brothers gf, my 2 uncles.

Usually do -
£150 for DP
£15 each for my lil siblings
£50 for my mum
£50 for my teen sister ( my mum won’t take money for babysitting so this is how we pay back)
£20 each for bro and his gf plus a £20 restaurant voucher
£10 each for my uncle, his husband and thier dog
£10 each for my dad, step mum and step bro

18. 12 adults, 1 dog and 6 children including my niece who died as a baby - it may sound daft but we always get something for her birthday either to go on her grave, or for her mum to keep - like a plant for the garden that has some connection with her. The other kids are aged between 16 and 3.

I spend about £150 on my husband and each of my children. About £30 on my mum. And 10-20 on everybody else, depending on what we find for them. I absolutely adore Christmas and start buying presents in September to spread the cost.