How much to spend on a toddler at Christmas

[Vbree]

I was thinking no more than £30. Budget isn't really an issue, maybe I'm being a bit stingy. What do you usually spend on an 18 month old at Christmas?

I tend to buy one main present, a stocking- which at that age would probably consist of a teddy, some bubbles, a few figures/animals and chocolate maybe £10-20 and a few books. At that age main presents have ranged from scooters (£70), toy kitchen (£100), toy pram (£10).
So some years I have probably only spent £30ish and others over £100. I don’t set a budget I just try to get them one main present that I think they will love.

When mine were that age I normally got a 2nd hand bundle of toys from Facebook market place along with some clothes and pyjamas. So £30 is about right. They get more expensive as they get older so make the most of it!

We did about £30 at that age. Like you say they get so much from others and unless they really need something it’s so wasteful just for the sake of it. Save the money for in a few years when they just must have a £200 our generation school or a barbie dream house and will actually remember receiving it.

@Vbree I think you're being sensible. At 18 months they will have no idea about Christmas and if you know they will get spoilt by family members there's only so many toys they need. Less is actually more at that age. My just turned two year old, I have bought one toy which was £20 and then will be getting a few books and little bits she needs for a stocking (bath toys/toothbrush/hair clips etc) for her to unwrap. However I might aswell wrap up stuff she already has for her to open as she is still too young to understand! I'd save the money for when they're older and actually understand more. Even then I won't be going overboard. I know she will be spoilt by family and friends.

I've never set a budget as such, just bought things I've felt they would get a lot of use and joy from. My first had a bit more spent because his first Christmas we got him a wooden play kitchen, first birthday a slide for the garden etc. But probably no more than £100 per occasion. My second was far less as we had the big stuff already so probably more £30-40. Definitely save your money while you can as before you know it they'll be wanting consoles and tablets!

Lockdown bear I didn't mean to sound smug. You come across as very aggressive and rude when I just asked a question. You don't have to respond if it upsets you.

Ds is only child, very little family. £30 is pretty tight budget if we ever want to get him a ‘big’ ticket’ item like mentioned about. A trike/ bike/ tent/ sandpit/ climbing frame/ swing over the years all will be more than £30, but it’s not like he will be getting loads and loads of items, just a decent swing alone might be £150.

He doesn’t have an ‘overflowing’ toy box either. Has a nice but small selection of toys, but will need more over time as he grows into new things.

I will prob spend £30-50 on his stocking as well as the main gift of pikler triangle. Not sure what exactly but he likes those little schleich animals, which at £5-10 each soon add up even if I just buy him 3. Maybe some art bits as he hasn’t anything yet.

£30 is fine, at that age I wrapped up some practical bits I'd have had to buy anyway, like clothes in the next size up and he had a right hoot unwrapping them and playing with the paper.

For DD2, she was 13 months on her first proper Christmas, we wrapped up lots of DD1s old toys that had been stored in the loft! I bought very little! Especially as her bite was just before. She'll be 3 this year and have probably spent about £150-200 this year. I can't get away with gifting the hand me downs, plus she actually understands a bit more this year and will actually play with stuff. Don't buy for the sake of it.

No budget here but have spent £30 on playmobil for our two year old ( savvy sale shopping) , bought the snowman teddy and book (£8) , a few books from the charity shop (£5) for her stocking and a huge wooden dolls house with furniture £8 from charity shop.

Grand total of £51 . Also will buy some balloons and she will just love to play with the paper and boxes too!

I really struggle to see how people spend £150-£200 on a toddler . 🤷🏻‍♀️

We spend about £50 on Christmas for my (nearly) 2 year old. His birthday is a month before so we tend to buy birthday toys he can play with now, and Christmas toys that are a bit older so he can grow into them over the year. My five year old we spend about £80 now and as toddler gets older and understands more we will spend the same on him too. They get spoilt rotten by extended family too.

Last year DD was 13 months and we probably spent £100 ish. This year we have bought some second hand bits and are at about £60 and that'll be it because she doesn't need any more and is spoilt by a lot of people!

We tend to get one big thing (eg rocking horse, scooter) and maybe one or two other small things, but we rely on family for the "stuff to open" pile.

My DD will be a similar age at Christmas.

I’m doing the want/ need/ wear/ read thing - I know it’s a bit corny but I find it quite helpful to keep me from going too OTT.

Something she wants - well she can’t obviously tell me what she ‘wants’ at the moment but she always tends to gravitate towards play food/ kitchen stuff and farm animal toys when we are at playgroups so I’ve got her some of each.

Need - kitchen helper tower. Well it’s more I ‘need’ this as I’m hoping it will allow me to get some bits done in the kitchen whilst keeping her entertained, currently she hangs round my legs whining to be picked up and it’s not really safe. There’s a local retired carpenter who makes them for less than half the price I’ve seen on Etsy etc, my friend has one and they’re great quality for £40 (he uses reclaimed wood and does it to raise money for a local charity, he’s awesome).

Wear - pjs, few bits from a local woman who has a business making handmade stuff, quite expensive but pretty much everything else DD wears is hand me downs so I don’t mind.

Read - couple of picture books.

Someone sent her a personalised stocking last year so we will probably stick a few bits in that - bubbles, crayons, an old school satsuma etc.

@cravingmilkshake - not everyone lives where charity shops exist or have cheap bargains. A decent dolls house in a charity shop just doesn’t happen where I live, so it would be a new one probably costing £100+. I also can’t buy English books in this country, so a couple of hard back books in stocking would easily cost £30+ now with buying, postage and import tax.

Have an almost 2 yr old, birthday gift (1 gift with the accessories)my DH wants to get her will probably come in a £250 from us and then money form both sides of family which I will put towards something she will like (probably about another 200). Xmas will probably be about the same. But I’m trying to go for fewer but more useful gifts (like craft table and chairs, that kind of thing).

We did a pile of gifts at 1 and she just got really distressed so scaling it back this year and I think going forward. It really does depend on how much your kids get during the year and how much they get from others.

I’m not sure getting a shitload of stuff every year is good for her (or the clutter in my house)

Yeah second hand where I live doesn’t really happen, and it’s really only for people who need donated items here. Books are extortionately expensive as generally have to have them shipped in too.

Sounds fine to me, at that age a cardboard box or a pan and wooden spoon is great fun. You'll find they get totally spoilt by others at that age.

My mindset is that my toddler gets gifts from approximately 6 separate family members and we also pick up cheap second hand toys and get hand me downs during the year. When it comes to Christmas (and toddler has t got their own idea that it's Christmas or any requests) I tend to spend the bare minimum. I get a few pieces, some second hand, some stocking fillers for a few ££. I balance this by putting money in their savings. I know that when child becomes 5+ they will have their own requests (not that everything will get honoured!)
It seems silly to be to spend tonnes as at that age they are easily overwhelmed and money in their savings (if you're fortunate to have the choice) is a better alternative

@Twinkle1989

If budget / money isn't really an issue then you're being stingy. My DS will be 5 months old at Christmas and I've spent £200 for far. Some of the toys he will be too little for but they'll last until his fourth birthday. Do you buy toys and gifts throughout the year for no reason?

Little warning to you... I did this too sometimes. I bought scooters / balance bikes / big slides etc. Then when my child was age appropriate they had lost lots of novelty. I'm now annoyed I don't have the wow factor of a balance bike this Christmas and instead it's in the garage gathering dust a bit!

@cravingmilkshake
It is easy to spend that much if you buy them one pricey item. As I said in a previous post some years when mine were toddlers we probably didn’t spend more that £30 when the main present I thought they might love was fairly cheap such as a dolly pram or a big truck. But other years their main present cost a lot more, the years we bought balance bikes, scooters, toy kitchens, soft play sets, climbing frames, etc.

I've spent just over £200 on DS, including his new Christmas books for advent.
He has a little wooden shop and accessories, a large duplo set and a stocking with books, Schleich animals, hot wheels cars etc in.
Some people go dizzy at such extravagance, others will bewail books as a gift because they are an essential and should be bought all year (DS gets special books for Christmas, the big hardback treasuries, noisy books with buttons etc. The 99p at aldi type he gets all year round)
People are different, you just need to do the right thing for your child/finances/storage situation etc.

No point spending for spending sake, especially as he will be spoiled by grandparents. How about a small toy, and some money into a savings account or similar in his name? From grandparents, could you suggest they contribute to the savings, get an annual pass to a local soft play, farm or similar or take you all out for a day to a zoo or somewhere you wouldn't normally go?

Save the money, all you need is a cardboard box and a stick!

m.facebook.com/watch/?v=227603749155043&_rdr

My budget has always been about £250 for each of my toddlers. I don't buy a lot throughout the year, so I tend to use Christmas as a way of buying them toys that will last them for the majority of the year (same mindset with birthdays- it's what my parents did for me so I've just followed suit, really). Their grandparents also spoil them, but we ask them to keep the majority of the toys purchased at their own houses so they have things to play with when they visit, and it also keeps things more interesting for them as they would only see those toys once or twice a week at most.

Toy rotation works well in keeping things interesting. They usually have one or two 'big' presents then smaller gifts (think books, small toys, etc)- one of mine is getting the Peppa Pig dolls house this year which is £80 on its own, so if my budget was less than £100 she wouldn't really be getting much variation.

It just completely depends on your budget and mindset. If you tend to buy throughout the year and/or go bigger on birthdays, then of course you could easily cut back on Christmas. Personally I would struggle to find much for £30 (I just purchased DD two Duplo sets and they came to £40 in total, even with discounts).